ECOLOGY IN ACTION

Preface
Acknowledgements
Part I. Introduction and the Physical Environment:
1. What is ecology in action?
2. The physical environment
Part II. Evolutionary and Organismal Ecology:
3. Evolution and adaptation
4. Physiological and evolutionary ecology of acquiring nutrients and energy
5. Physiological and evolutionary ecology of temperature and water relations
6. Behavioral ecology
7. Bernd Heinrich - studying adaptation in the field and the laboratory
Part III. Population Ecology:
8. Life history evolution
9. Distribution and dispersal
10. Population abundance and growth
11. Conservation ecology
12. The chimpanzees of Gombe
Part IV. Community Ecology:
13. Interspecific competition
14. Predation and other exploitative interactions
15. Facilitation
16. Complex interactions and food webs
17. Biological diversity and community stability
18. Dan Janzen and Winnie Hallwachs - community interactions and tropical restoration through biodiversity conservation
Part V. Ecosystem and Global Ecology:
19. Ecosystem structure and energy flow
20. Nutrient cycles: global, regional and local
21. Disturbance and succession
22. Geographic and landscape ecology
23. The carbon cycle and climate change ecology
24. Jane Lubchenco - from the marine intertidal to global service
25. Epilogue
Glossary
References
Figure and quotation credits
Index.

Taking a fresh approach to integrating key concepts and research processes, this undergraduate textbook encourages students to develop an understanding of how ecologists raise and answer real-world questions. Four unique chapters describe the development and evolution of different research programs in each of ecology's core areas, showing students that research is undertaken by real people who are profoundly influenced by their social and political environments. Beginning with a case study to capture student interest, each chapter emphasizes the linkage between observations, ideas, questions, hypotheses, predictions, results, and conclusions. Discussion questions, integrated within the text, encourage active participation, and a range of end-of-chapter questions reinforce knowledge and encourage application of analytical and critical thinking skills to real ecological questions. Students are asked to analyze and interpret real data, with support from online tutorials demonstrating the R programming language for statistical analysis.

Features
• Strikes the perfect balance in delivering concepts alongside research processes, including four chapters devoted to inspiring ecologists and their research programs, allowing students to develop a deep understanding of how ecologists raise and answer real-world questions
• Written by an experienced and passionate teacher, using an engaging personal narrative and stunning imagery to captivate students and bring this vibrant subject to life
• 'Thinking ecologically' discussion questions integrated within the text encourage active participation, and a range of end-of-chapter exercises support students as they reinforce concepts and apply analytical and critical thinking skills
• Online resources include PPT and JPEG files of all figures, solutions to exercises for instructors, and a tutorial introducing students to the R statistical package and explaining how to use it to solve exercises in the book

Author
Fred D. Singer, Radford University, Virginia. Professor Emeritus of Biology at Radford University, where he began teaching in 1989. A committed teacher, he developed research programs on the behavioral and community ecology of spiders, dragonflies and zebrafish, while also collaborating with several colleagues to promote active learning as part of an ongoing research program on new approaches to teaching. In 2000, in recognition of his dual research programs, he was awarded the Radford Foundation Award for Creative Scholarship. He has taught approximately 20 different courses, including general ecology, field ecology and climate change ecology, using the philosophy that the best learning occurs when students deal with real experiments and real data.