ENGLISH

Body Size: The Structure and Function of Aquatic Ecosystems (Ecological Reviews)

Book information

Year
2007
ISBN
0521679672, 9780521679671, 0521861721, 9780521861724
LCC
QH541.5.W3 B63 2007
Open Library ID
OL18009180M
Language
english
Format
PDF
Filesize
9 MB (8937049 bytes)
Pages
356\356
Topic
Biology Ecology
Time added
2011-06-04 13:46:07

Description

Ecologists have long struggled to predict features of ecological systems, such as the numbers and diversity of organisms. The wide range of body sizes in ecological communities, from tiny microbes to large animals and plants, is emerging as the key to prediction. Based on the relationship between body size and features such as biological rates, the physics of water and the amount of habitat available, we may be able to understand patterns of abundance and diversity, biogeography, interactions in food webs and the impact of fishing, adding up to a potential 'periodic table' for ecology. Remarkable progress on the unravelling, describing and modelling of aquatic food webs, revealing the fundamental role of body size, makes a book emphasising marine and freshwater ecosystems particularly apt. Here, the importance of body size is examined at a range of scales that will be of interest to professional ecologists, from students to senior researchers.

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