Animal Ecology

This book provides an analysis of frequently used research techniques in animal ecology, identifying their limitations and misuses, as well as possible solutions to avoid such pitfalls. The contributors provide an overarching account of central theoretical and methodological controversies. The editors have forged comprehensive presentations of key topics in animal ecology, such as territory and home range estimates, habitation evaluation, population viability analysis, GIS mapping, and measuring the dynamics of societies.

Charles Elton was one of the founders of ecology, and his Animal Ecology was one of the seminal works that defined the field. In this book Elton introduced and drew together many principles still central to ecology today, including succession, niche, food webs, and the links between communities and ecosystems, each of which he illustrated with well-chosen examples. Many of Elton's ideas have proven remarkably prescient—for instance, his emphasis on the role climatic changes play in population fluctuations anticipated recent research in this area stimulated by concerns about global warming. For Chicago's reprint of this classic work, ecologists Mathew A. Leibold and J. Timothy Wootton have provided new introductions to each chapter, placing Elton's ideas in historical and scientific context. They trace modern developments in each of the key themes Elton introduced, and provide references to the most current literature. The result will be an important work for ecologists interested in the roots of their discipline, for educated readers looking for a good overview of the field, and for historians of science.

A major advancement in understanding the factors underlying wildlife-habitat relationships, Foundations for Advancing Animal Ecology will be an invaluable resource to professionals and practitioners in natural resource management in public and private sectors, including state and federal agencies, non-governmental organizations, and environmental consultants.

Remote photography and infrared sensors are widely used in the sampling of wildlife populations worldwide, especially for cryptic or elusive species. Guiding the practitioner through the entire process of using camera traps, this book is the first to compile state-of-the-art sampling techniques for the purpose of conducting high-quality science or effective management. Chapters on the evaluation of equipment, field sampling designs, and data analysis methods provide a coherent framework for making inferences about the abundance, species richness, and occupancy of sampled animals. The volume introduces new models that will revolutionize use of camera data to estimate population density, such as the newly developed spatial capture–recapture models. It also includes richly detailed case studies of camera trap work on some of the world’s most charismatic, elusive, and endangered wildlife species. Indispensible to wildlife conservationists, ecologists, biologists, and conservation agencies around the world, the text provides a thorough review of the subject as well as a forecast for the use of remote photography in natural resource conservation over the next few decades.

A textbook for undergraduates in the life sciences, especially for students of ecology, who tend to lack an understanding of the physiological basis of animal behavior and survival tactics. Discusses the physical and physiological principles of temperature regulation, water relations, nutrition and energy, and reproduction and the environment. Co-published with Wiley. Annotation copyright by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

Practical guidance for wildlife professionals working to improve study design, data analysis, and the application of results to habitat and population management. Winner of the Wildlife Society Publications Book Award by The Wildlife Society Despite major advances in sampling techniques and analytical methods, many animal ecologists conduct research that is primarily relevant to a specific time and place. They also tend to focus more on the statistical analyses and nuances of modeling than actual study design. Arguing that studies of animal ecology should always begin with a focus on the behaviors and characteristics of individual organisms, including how they form into distinct biological populations, Applications for Advancing Animal Ecology takes a fresh and critical look at the field. Building from its companion volume, Foundations for Advancing Animal Ecology, this practical book presents readers with the principal methods used to observe animal behavior. Teaching them to assess resource abundance categories of species-environmental relationships models, it also explores • major aspects of measuring animal habitat: what to measure and how to measure it; • common sampling and estimation methods to assess population parameters; • when to measure and how to analyze data; • problems that will confront ecologists in the coming years—and how to gather information to adequately address them; and • how the experimental approach can be used to advance the science of animal ecology. Throughout the book, the authors stress the importance of speaking a common and well-defined language. Avoiding vague and misleading terminology, they assert, will help ecologists translate science into meaningful and lasting actions in the environment. Taking the perspective of the organism of interest in developing concepts and applications, the authors always keep the potentially biased human perspective in focus. They also provide a selection of suggested research projects, cautions, and caveats. A major advancement in understanding the factors underlying wildlife–habitat relationships, Applications for Advancing Animal Ecology will be an invaluable resource to natural resource management professionals and practitioners, including state and federal agencies, non-governmental organizations, and environmental consultants.

A large number of comprehensive publications has been devoted to the Antarctic, to its plant and animal life. It is therefore relatively easy to familiarize oneself with the current state of Antarctic research. Nothing comparable is available for the Arctic. The heterogeneity and richness of the northern polar regions seem to have discouraged any attempt at a synthethic approach. This book has evolved from an attempt to summarize the results of 15 years of ecological and physiological research work in the Arctic - mostly on Spitsbergen. The necessity of comparing our results and the ecological conditions of Spitsbergen with other arctic regions grew into a full-sized book on arctic animal ecology. It is not meant as an exhaustive survey ofthe relevant literature. Instead I have tried to show how closely the various fields of research are interwoven, how many questions can be solved if only notice is taken of fellow scientists and their results, and how much arctic animals have in common. This book would not have been possible without the helpfulness of many colleagues. Above all I should like to mention Professor Ronning and Professor Solem of Trondheim University (Norway), Professor Arnthor Gardasson of Reykjavik University (Iceland), Dr. NettIeship, Dr. Oliver and Dr. Ryder of Canada and Professor West of Fairbanks University (Alaska, USA).