Choose an application

• Reference Manager
• EndNote
• RefWorks (Direct export to RefWorks)

Until comparatively recently, the remoteness, inaccessibility, and extreme climate have meant that the vast pack-ice zone around the Antarctic continent was one of the least-known marine ecosystems on Earth. Myths and speculations prevailed in the literature, often derived from an anthropocentric way of thinking that considered the sea-ice environment as predominantly hostile to marine life. This picture has changed drastically now as a result of a series of international efforts, the most recent of which has been the highly successful EASIZ (Ecology of the Antarctic Sea Ice Zone) programme of the Scientific Council on Antarctic Research (SCAR). Focusing, in contrast to other international programmes, on life at the seafloor, EASIZ has attempted to link processes in the three major marine subsystems (sea ice, pelagic and benthic) within the pack-ice zone. Work has been carried out from both research ships and shore-based research stations. This work included organisms ranging in size from bacteria to seals and covered topics as diverse as biodiversity, iceberg scour, pelagobenthic coupling, autecology, and ecophysiology. Consequently, we now view the sea-ice zone as a rich system with highly adapted organisms, considerable natural disturbance from ice, low resilience and of great potential importance as an indicator for climate change.

Benthos --- Marine ecology --- Animal ecology. --- Plant ecology. --- Ecology . --- Ecosystems. --- Biodiversity. --- Animal Ecology. --- Plant Ecology. --- Ecology. --- Biological diversification --- Biological diversity --- Biotic diversity --- Diversification, Biological --- Diversity, Biological --- Biology --- Biocomplexity --- Ecological heterogeneity --- Numbers of species --- Biocenoses --- Biocoenoses --- Biogeoecology --- Biological communities --- Biomes --- Biotic community ecology --- Communities, Biotic --- Community ecology, Biotic --- Ecological communities --- Ecosystems --- Natural communities --- Ecology --- Population biology --- Balance of nature --- Bionomics --- Ecological processes --- Ecological science --- Ecological sciences --- Environment --- Environmental biology --- Oecology --- Environmental sciences --- Botany --- Phytoecology --- Plants --- Vegetation ecology --- Animals --- Zoology --- Floristic ecology

Choose an application

• Reference Manager
• EndNote
• RefWorks (Direct export to RefWorks)

The question "Why are there so many species?" has puzzled ecologist for a long time. Initially, an academic question, it has gained practical interest by the recent awareness of global biodiversity loss. Species diversity in local ecosystems has always been discussed in relation to the problem of competi­ tive exclusion and the apparent contradiction between the competitive exclu­ sion principle and the overwhelming richness of species found in nature. Competition as a mechanism structuring ecological communities has never been uncontroversial. Not only its importance but even its existence have been debated. On the one extreme, some ecologists have taken competi­ tion for granted and have used it as an explanation by default if the distribu­ tion of a species was more restricted than could be explained by physiology and dispersal history. For decades, competition has been a core mechanism behind popular concepts like ecological niche, succession, limiting similarity, and character displacement, among others. For some, competition has almost become synonymous with the Darwinian "struggle for existence", although simple plausibility should tell us that organisms have to struggle against much more than competitors, e.g. predators, parasites, pathogens, and envi­ ronmental harshness.

Issue --- animals --- co-existence --- competition --- ecology --- models --- plankton --- spatial processes --- Community ecology, Biotic. --- Biodiversity. --- Evolutionary biology. --- Plant ecology. --- Animal ecology. --- Microbial ecology. --- Community & Population Ecology. --- Evolutionary Biology. --- Plant Ecology. --- Animal Ecology. --- Microbial Ecology. --- Environmental microbiology --- Microorganisms --- Ecology --- Microbiology --- Animals --- Zoology --- Botany --- Phytoecology --- Plants --- Vegetation ecology --- Animal evolution --- Biological evolution --- Darwinism --- Evolutionary biology --- Evolutionary science --- Origin of species --- Biology --- Evolution --- Biological fitness --- Homoplasy --- Natural selection --- Phylogeny --- Biological diversification --- Biological diversity --- Biotic diversity --- Diversification, Biological --- Diversity, Biological --- Biocomplexity --- Ecological heterogeneity --- Numbers of species --- Biocenoses --- Biocoenoses --- Biogeoecology --- Biological communities --- Biomes --- Biotic community ecology --- Communities, Biotic --- Community ecology, Biotic --- Ecological communities --- Ecosystems --- Natural communities --- Population biology --- Floristic ecology

Choose an application

• Reference Manager
• EndNote
• RefWorks (Direct export to RefWorks)

Human activities are affecting the global environment in myriad ways, with numerous direct and indirect effects on ecosystems. The climate and atmospheric composition of Earth are changing rapidly. Humans have directly modi?ed half of the ice-free terr- trial surface and use 40% of terrestrial production.Our actions are causing the sixth major extinction event in the history of life on Earth and are radically modifying the interactions among forests, ?elds,streams,and oceans.This book was written to provide a c- ceptual basis for understanding terrestrial ecosystem processes and their sensitivity to environmental and biotic changes.We believe that an understanding of how ecosystems operate and change must underlie our analysis of both the consequences and the mitigation of human-caused changes. This book is intended to introduce the science of ecosystem ecology to advanced undergraduate students, beginning graduate students, and practicing scientists from a wide array of disciplines. We also provide access to some of the rapidly expanding literature in the many disciplines that contribute to ecosystem understanding.

General ecology and biosociology --- Ecology. --- Biogeochemical cycles. --- Biological systems. --- Ecologie --- Cycles biogéochimiques --- Systèmes biologiques --- Écosystème --- ecosystems --- Climatologie --- Climatology --- Pédogénèse --- soil genesis --- Relation plante sol --- plant soil relations --- Nutrition des plantes --- plant nutrition --- Cycle biogéochimique --- cycling --- Paysage --- Landscape --- Ecosystemen --- Biodiversity. --- Endangered ecosystems. --- Life sciences. --- Plant Ecology. --- Ecology --- Biogeochemical cycles --- Biological systems --- Earth & Environmental Sciences --- Ecosystems. --- Plant ecology. --- Life Sciences. --- Terrestial Ecology. --- Balance of nature --- Biology --- Bionomics --- Ecological processes --- Ecological science --- Ecological sciences --- Environment --- Environmental biology --- Oecology --- Environmental sciences --- Population biology --- Biosystems --- Systems, Biological --- System theory --- Systems biology --- Biogeochemistry --- Cycles --- Philosophy --- Ecology . --- Biocenoses --- Biocoenoses --- Biogeoecology --- Biological communities --- Biomes --- Biotic community ecology --- Communities, Biotic --- Community ecology, Biotic --- Ecological communities --- Ecosystems --- Natural communities --- Biological diversification --- Biological diversity --- Biotic diversity --- Diversification, Biological --- Diversity, Biological --- Biocomplexity --- Ecological heterogeneity --- Numbers of species --- Botany --- Phytoecology --- Plants --- Vegetation ecology --- Floristic ecology --- Biotic communities.