Evolutionary Ecology

Finally, an eBook version of this now classic textbook has become available. Largely based on the 6th edition, published in 2000, this version is competitively priced. Written by well-known ecologist Eric R. Pianka, a student of the late Robert H. MacArthur, this timeless treatment of evolutionary ecology, first published in 1974, will endure for many decades to come. Basic principles of ecology are framed in an evolutionary perspective.

The Trinidadian guppy represents a uniguely tractable vertebrate system, which has raised key questions in evolutionary ecology and supplied many of the answers. This work discusses this study and incorporates significant new findings and insights.

The Evolutionary Ecology of Invasive Species offers new insights into the mechanisms that underlie rapid evolution in these species. The book provides a comprehensive overview of achievements in the field during the boom of information over the past two decades and includes discussions of possible future directions for the study of evolution in invasive species. Written by an international expert in invasion ecology, population genetics, and evolutionary biology, the book explores the roles of preadaptation, phenotypic plasticity, selection, and stochastic processes in driving rapid evolution. The book draws insights from a wide spectrum of invasive microbes, plants, and animals, covering many of the planet’s biogeographic regions and discusses the evolutionary consequences for native species in response to biological invasions. A valuable resource to researchers and students in evolutionary biology, invasive species biology, and global change biology, this text suggests future research directions related to the evolutionary biology, impacts, and management of invasive species. Highlights the most recent advances and developments in using evolutionary principles to study and manage invasive species Offers new and often overlooked insights in processes that govern rapid evolution Discusses key stages of population demography that underlie rapid evolutionary change in invasive species, including their introduction, naturalisation, and dispersal

Although biologists recognize evolutionary ecology by name, many only have a limited understanding of its conceptual roots and historical development. Conceptual Breakthroughs in Evolutionary Ecology fills that knowledge gap in a thought-provoking and readable format. Written by a world-renowned evolutionary ecologist, this book embodies a unique blend of expertise in combining theory and experiment, population genetics and ecology. Following an easily-accessible structure, this book encapsulates and chronologizes the history behind evolutionary ecology. It also focuses on the integration of age-structure and density-dependent selection into an understanding of life-history evolution. Covers over 60 seminal breakthroughs and paradigm shifts in the field of evolutionary biology and ecology Modular format permits ready access to each described subject Historical overview of a field whose concepts are central to all of biology and relevant to a broad audience of biologists, science historians, and philosophers of science

The first book-length exploration of behavioral mechanisms in evolutionary ecology, this ambitious volume illuminates long-standing questions about cause-and-effect relations between an animal's behavior and its environment. By focusing on biological mechanisms—the sum of an animal's cognitive, neural, developmental, and hormonal processes—leading researchers demonstrate how the integrated study of animal physiology, cognitive processes, and social interaction can yield an enriched understanding of behavior. With studies of species ranging from insects to primates, the contributors examine how various animals identify and use environmental resources and deal with ecological constraints, as well as the roles of learning, communication, and cognitive aspects of social interaction in behavioral evolution. Taken together, the chapters demonstrate how the study of internal mechanistic foundations of behavior in relation to their ecological and evolutionary contexts and outcomes provides valuable insight into such behaviors as predation, mating, and dispersal. Behavioral Mechanisms in Evolutionary Ecology shows how a mechanistic approach unites various levels of biological organization to provide a broader understanding of the biological bases of behavioral evolution.

Evolutionary Ecology simultaneously unifies conceptual and empirical advances in evolutionary ecology and provides a volume that can be used as either a primary textbook or a supplemental reading in an advanced undergraduate or graduate course. The focus of the book is on current concepts in evolutionary ecology, and the empirical study of these concepts. The editors have assembled a group of prominent biologists who have made significant contributions to this field. They both synthesize the current state of knowledge and identity areas for future investigation. Evolutionary Ecology will be of general interest to researchers and students in both ecology and evolutionary biology. Researchers in evolutionary ecology that want an overview of the current state of the field, and graduate students that want an introduction the field, will find this book very valuable. This volume can also be used as a primary textbook or supplemental reading in both upper division and graduate courses/seminars in Evolutionary Ecology.

Evolutionary Behavioral Ecology presents a comprehensive treatment of theevolutionary and ecological processes shaping behavior across a wide array of organisms and a diverse set of behaviors and is suitable as a graduate-level text and as a sourcebook for professional scientists.

In recent years, scientists have realized that evolution can occur on timescales much shorter than the 'long lapse of ages' emphasized by Darwin - in fact, evolutionary change is occurring all around us all the time. This work provides an authoritative and accessible introduction to eco-evolutionary dynamics, a cutting-edge new field that seeks to unify evolution and ecology into a common conceptual framework focusing on rapid and dynamic environmental and evolutionary change.