ENGLISH

Body Size: The Structure and Function of Aquatic Ecosystems

Book information

Publisher
Cambridge University Press
Year
2007
ISBN
9780521861724, 0521861721
LCC
QH541.5.W3 B63 2007
Open Library ID
OL18009180M
Language
english
Format
PDF
Filesize
5 MB (5536483 bytes)
Series
Ecological Reviews
Edition
illustrated edition
Pages
357\357
Topic
Biology
Library
avaxhome.ws
Time added
2010-05-31 15:29:46

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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