Preface

Since The Economy of Nature debuted in 1976, it has enjoyed a strong and loyal following. This edition, the seventh, begins a new collaboration. When we first talked about the book in 2009, it was immediately clear that we had a similar vision to retain everything instructors loved while updating it for today’s instructors and students. We asked hundreds of ecology instructors what they want to see in a textbook and we listened carefully to the challenges they face. You hold in your hands the result of a four-year effort to bring an exciting and completely new textbook to you and your students.

A new vision for the seventh edition.

Chapters are organized around four to six key concepts that are repeated as major headings and repeated again in streamlined summaries. This new structure allows the instructor and student to focus on the essential messages of each chapter.

The chapters contain substantially more figures showing real data with a better balance between terrestrial and aquatic systems. These changes will give students more experience in seeing and interpreting scientific data from a wide range of systems. We have also increased our coverage of species interactions, community ecology, and ecosystem ecology to provide a broader scope for an introductory course.

You told us that you want ecological applications integrated throughout the entire book rather than relegated to a final chapter. We agree, so every chapter now contains multiple studies with real-world applications that underscore the value of understanding ecology and that help students understand why ecology is relevant to their lives.

Like you, we strive to include global change throughout our ecology course. To make this possible, we now discuss global change issues in nearly every chapter. These changes help instructors and students make the connections between basic ecology and real ecological issues that affect their lives.

We know that students appreciate clear writing and strong visuals. To make the text an appealing study tool that students will want to read, we worked with superb editors who helped us put the science into plain language without diminishing the complexity of the concepts. We have also replaced nearly every photo, graph, and illustration in the book. We now give you and your students an abundance of spectacular photos, beautiful color illustrations, and easy-to-interpret graphs.

Presents the process of scientific discovery through a global lens.

As active researchers ourselves, we want students to know that science is an ongoing process. In every chapter we show students how scientists begin with hypotheses and test them with data that the students can view and interpret. We demonstrate how early hypotheses are continually revised as new observations and new data are produced. To help convey the dynamic nature of ecology to your students, we have retained all of your favorite classic studies while adding a large number of new, captivating studies from around the world, including many from 2010 to 2013.

Takes a learning-by-doing approach to basic quantitative tools and the use of data.

You have told us that many of today’s students lack the background to apply basic quantitative tools. This edition contains a new feature, “Analyzing Ecology,” to help students learn basic statistical and mathematical techniques that real ecologists use every day. We show students how to do the math and then challenge them to apply it in “Your Turn.” We make a point of integrating these tools with research studies that are discussed in the chapters.

To help students gain more practice with quantitative skills, we created a feature at the end of each chapter, “Graphing the Data,” in which students are challenged to understand how to create and interpret different types of graphs. To provide immediate feedback to students, answers to both “Analyzing Ecology” and “Graphing the Data” exercises are provided at the back of the book.

Considers many scales and diverse habitats.

To make the seventh edition reflect the broad range of modern ecology, we have included examples from a wider diversity of organisms—from microbes to vertebrates. The section on species interactions includes new chapters on mutualism and parasitism to reflect the importance of these interactions in ecological communities. The research examples also come from a diversity of terrestrial and aquatic habitats.

Fosters ecological literacy through environmental applications.

As ecology instructors, we want to make the material interesting and relevant to our students—most of whom will not go on to become professional ecologists. Our addition of hundreds of applied studies demonstrates the relevance of ecology in students’ lives. Every chapter now opens with an attention-grabbing case study that highlights important and relevant research to pique student interest. Chapters end with an application called Ecology Today: Connecting the Concepts—examples of applied ecology that bring together the major concepts of the chapter and demonstrate their practical importance in a variety of arenas including human health, conservation, and managing our environment.

While making all of these improvements, we were committed to streamlining the book from 27 to 23 chapters, so it will be more manageable for a one-semester course. Our goal is to give you a text that presents the material most relevant to class lectures, discussions, and activities. Based on feedback from hundreds of ecology instructors whom we asked to read the chapters, there is broad agreement that this new edition is a beautiful book that will intrigue your students and capture their interest. We look forward to hearing from you as you review the book and we encourage you to share your thoughts with us.

Robert Ricklefs         Rick Relyea

We were incredibly fortunate to work with a tremendous group of people who made this new edition possible. As with every textbook, each chapter began with a text manuscript and an art manuscript that moved through many revisions to make the final version clear and interesting to undergraduate students. We had the privilege of working daily with developmental editor Rebecca Kohn and art editor Lee Wilcox. These two individuals played a major role in dramatically revising this new edition. The project was kept on track with the great help of project manager Karen Misler. Claire Hunter handled all the reviewing and surveys and conducted focus groups on the text’s design. Other individuals who played key roles in the book’s success include senior acquisitions editor Jerry Correa, project editor Elizabeth Geller, copy editor Fred Burns, art director Diana Blume, layout artist Sheridan Sellers, and production manager Susan Wein. Our replacement of nearly every photograph, graph and illustration required a tremendous effort by a spectacular team; MGMT produced beautiful graphs, Nicolle Fuller of Sayo Art produced stunning illustrations, and the team of Deborah Goodsite and Christine Buese were tireless in hunting down just the right photo to meet each of our requests.

During the past six editions, countless colleagues and instructors have helped shape Ecology: The Economy of Nature into a book that has introduced tens of thousands of students to the wonders of ecology. We are extremely grateful to these colleagues. As we undertook a major revision with this seventh edition, we once again received extensive help at every stage of development from many of our colleagues and fellow instructors. We extend our sincere thanks to the following people who graciously offered their time:

Loreen Allphin, Brigham Young University

Marty Anderies, Arizona State University

Tom Arsuffi, Texas Tech University

Betsy Bancroft, Southern Utah University

Paul Bartell, Pennsylvania State University

David Baumgardner, Texas A&M University

Christopher Beatty, Santa Clara University

Marc Bechard, Boise State University

Mark Belk, Brigham Young University

Michael F. Benard, Case Western Reserve University

Ritin Bhaduri, Spelman College

Andrew Blaustein, Oregon State University

Steve Blumenshine, California State University–Fresno

Michelle D. Boone, Miami University of Ohio

Jennifer Borgo, Coker College

Victoria Borowicz, Illinois State University

Alison Boyer, University of Tennessee

Judith Bramble, DePaul University

Shannon Bros-Seemann, San Jose State University

Ken Brown, Louisiana State University

Romi Burks, Southwestern University

Willodean Burton, Austin Peay State University

David Byres, Florida State College–Jacksonville

Walter P. Carson, University of Pittsburgh

Michael F. Chislock, Auburn University

George Cline, Jacksonville State University

Clay Corbin, Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania

Douglas Crawford-Brown, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

William Currie, University of Michigan

Richard Deslippe, Texas Tech University

Hudson DeYoe, University of Texas–Pan American

James Dunn, Grand Valley State University

Kenneth Ede, Oklahoma State University–Tulsa

James Elser, Arizona State University

Rebecca Ferrell, Metropolitan State University of Denver

Kerri Finlay, University of Regina

Ben Fitzpatrick, University of Tennessee

Lloyd Fitzpatrick, University of North Texas

Matt Forister, University of Nevada

Norma Fowler, University of Texas at Austin

Rachel Elizabeth Gallery, University of Arizona Tucson

Pamela Geddes, Northeastern Illinois University

Linda Green, Georgia Institute of Technology

Danny Gustafson, The Citadel

Monika Havelka, University of Toronto–Mississauga

Stephen Hecnar, Lakehead University

Colleen Hitchcock, Boston College

Gerlinde Hoebel, University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee

Claus Holzapfel, Rutgers University–Newark

Robert Howard, Middle Tennessee State University

Jon Hubbard, Gavilan College

Anthony Ippolito, DePaul University

John Jaenike, University of Rochester

Steven Juliano, Illinois State University

Thomas Jurik, Iowa State University

Doug Keran, Central Lakes College

Tigga Kingston, Texas Tech University

Christopher Kitting, California State University–East Bay

Jamie Kneitel, California State University–Sacramento

Ned Knight, Linfield College

William Kroll, Loyola University of Chicago

Hugh Lefcort, Gonzaga University

Mary Lehman, Longwood University

Dale Lockwood, Colorado State University

Eric Long, Seattle Pacific University

Genaro Lopez, University of Texas–Brownsville

C. J. Lortie, York University

Roy Mason, Mt. San Jacinto College

Robert McGregor, Douglas College

L. Maynard Moe, California State University–Bakersfield

Don Moll, Missouri State University

Peter Morin, Rutgers University

Patrick Osborne, University of Missouri–St. Louis

Peggy Ostrom, Michigan State University

Michael Palmer, Oklahoma State University

Mitchell Pavao-Zuckerman, University of Arizona

William Pearson, University of Louisville

Bill Perry, Illinois State University

Kenneth Petren, University of Cincinnati

Raymond Pierotti, University of Kansas

David Pindel, Corning Community College

Craig Plante, College of Charleston

Thomas Pliske, Florida International University

Diane Post, University of Texas–Permian Basin

Mark Pyron, Ball State University

Laurel Roberts, University of Pittsburgh

Robert Rosenfield, University of Wisconsin–Stevens Point

Tatiana Roth, Coppin State University

Arthur N. Samel, Bowling Green State University

Nate Sanders, University of Tennessee

Mark Sandheinrich, University of Wisconsin–La Crosse

Thomas Sasek, University of Louisiana at Monroe

Kenneth Schmidt, Texas Tech University

Robert Schoch, Boston University

Erik Scully, Towson University

Kathleen Sealey, University of Miami

Kari A. Segraves, Syracuse University

Chrissy Spencer, Georgia Institute of Technology

Janette Steets, Oklahoma State University

Juliet Stromberg, Arizona State University

Keith Summerville, Drake University

Carol Thornber, University of Rhode Island

David Tonkyn, Clemson University

William Tonn, University of Alberta

James Traniello, Boston University

Stephen Vail, William Paterson University

Michael Vanni, Miami University

Eric Vetter, Hawaii Pacific University

Joe von Fischer, Colorado State University

Stephen Wagener, Western Connecticut State University

Diane Wagner, University of Alaska–Fairbanks

Sean Walker, California State University–Fullerton

Xianzhong Wang, Indiana University–Purdue University Indianapolis

John Weishampel, University of Central Florida

Gene Weller, Brigham Young University of Idaho

Marcia Wendeln, Wright State University

Tom Wentworth, North Carolina State University

Yolanda Wiersma, Memorial University

Frank Williams, Langara College

Alan E. Wilson, Auburn University

Kelly Wolfe-Bellin, College of the Holy Cross

Lan Xu, South Dakota State University

Todd Yetter, University of the Cumberlands

Every chapter of ECOLOGY The Economy of Nature, Seventh Edition has been restructured and rewritten to create an accessible, successful learning experience for a wide range of students.

Chapters are organized around four to six key concepts.

An organized learning experience.

Chapter concepts are repeated in both major headings and streamlined summaries.

Hundreds of aquatic examples

Each chapter contains a wealth of contemporary and classic examples.

A modern approach to community and ecosystem ecology

Enhanced coverage of species interactions, community ecology, and ecosystem ecology. Highlights contemporary approaches and research throughout.

Integrated applications to medicine and public health

Numerous examples show the relevance of ecological concepts to contemporary issues in public health.

Students see how ecological thinking is essential to our understanding of infectious disease.

Fosters ecological literacy through applications to conservation and the environment

Each chapter closes with ECOLOGY TODAY: CONNECTING THE CONCEPTS, a case study that applies multiple chapter concepts to a contemporary ecological issue. The effects and challenges of global climate change are considered throughout the text.

A learning-by-doing approach to basic quantitative tools and the use of data

ANALYZING ECOLOGY introduces mathematical and statistical techniques in relevant research contexts. YOUR TURN self-guided study problems provide opportunities for practice.

GRAPHING THE DATA problems help students to gain experience graphing real data.

Focus on scientific method and the process of discovery

Students learn how researchers formulate and test their hypotheses. The text shows how researchers challenge and extend the work of those who came before them. Chapters present research from across the globe.

Test bank More than 80 questions per chapter test student understanding and integration of the concepts at six different levels from knowledge and comprehension checks to application, analysis, synthesis, and evaluation.

e-Book A complete online version of the textbook that allows the reader to highlight, bookmark, and add notes.

Activities Classroom activities use proven active learning techniques to engage students with the material and to encourage critical thinking.

Pre-lecture quizzes Quizzes for each concept heading help ensure that students have read the material before attending class.

Enhanced lectures for PowerPoint presentations Lecture slides using dynamic, layered art taken directly from the text

Optimized art Photos and illustrations from the text in both JPEG and PowerPoint formats.

LaunchPad An intuitive online homework, e-Book, and class-management system that provides curated resources compiled into ready-to-use teaching units, complete with problem sets, activities, e-book sections, and state-of-the-art online quizzing and testing.

Flash cards Key terms and definitions in interactive flashcards.

LearningCurve A set of assessment activities that uses a game-like interface to guide students through a series of questions tailored to individual understanding. Personalized study plans are generated based on quiz results.