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The number of species found at a given point on the planet varies by orders of magnitude, yet large-scale gradients in biodiversity appear to follow some very general patterns. Little mechanistic theory has been formulated to explain the emergence of observed gradients of biodiversity both on land and in the oceans. Based on a comprehensive empirical synthesis of global patterns of species diversity and their drivers, this book develops and applies a new theory that can predict such patterns from few underlying processes. The book shows that global patterns of biodiversity fall into four consistent categories, according to where species live: on land or in coastal, pelagic, and deep ocean habitats. The fact that most species groups, from bacteria to whales, appear to follow similar biogeographic patterns of richness within these habitats points toward some underlying structuring principles. Based on empirical analyses of environmental correlates across these habitats, the book combines aspects of neutral, metabolic, and niche theory into one unifying framework. Applying it to model terrestrial and marine realms, the book demonstrates that a relatively simple theory that incorporates temperature and community size as driving variables is able to explain divergent patterns of species richness at a global scale. Integrating ecological and evolutionary perspectives, the book yields surprising insights into the fundamental mechanisms that shape the distribution of life on our planet.

In recent years, evolutionary theorists have come to recognize that the reductionist, individualist, gene-centered approach to evolution cannot sufficiently account for the emergence of complex biological systems over time. The author of this book has been at the forefront of a new generation of complexity theorists who have been working to reshape the foundations of evolutionary theory. Well known for his Synergism Hypothesis—a theory of complexity in evolution that assigns a key causal role to various forms of functional synergy—he puts this theory into a much broader framework in this book, addressing many of the issues and concepts associated with the evolution of complex systems. The book's paradigm embraces and integrates many related theoretical developments of recent years, from multilevel selection theory to niche construction theory, gene-culture coevolution theory, and theories of self-organization. Offering new approaches to thermodynamics, information theory, and economic analysis, the book suggests how all of these domains can be brought firmly within what he characterizes as a post-neo-Darwinian evolutionary synthesis.

Taking a fresh look at Darwin’s original theory of the origin of species and following the road paved by Gause, Hutchinson, MacArthur, and Levins a consistent system of fundamental principles is revealed, one that makes the integration of ecology possible. These principles are explained, formalized, and illustrated by mutually compatible mathematical models in this book, demonstrating how this coherent modelling approach helps to explain or predict actual population and community dynamics and patterns on the field or in the lab. At the core of the Darwinian theory of ecology lies a generalized fitness concept applicable to populations of alleles and clones as well as of conspecific individuals. It is the theory of structured populations that provides a universal methodology to calculate the fitness of any reproductive unit in the face of any complexity arising from differences in individual states. The inherent capacity of all living organisms to increase their populations exponentially is necessarily constrained by resource depletion or natural enemies, so that the ultimate growth rate of persistent populations is regulated. Competition between different reproductive units leads either to competitive exclusion or to robust coexistence, depending on how similarly they are regulated. This is shown in general and demonstrated with several types of model. A generalized and formalized niche theory consistent with the principles is explicated, discussed, and illustrated by empirical studies. Studies on global, regional, and local ecological patterns close the book, discussed in the spirit of the process-based approach of Darwinian ecology.

Community Ecology provides a broad, up-to-date coverage of ecological concepts at the community level and is suitable for advanced undergraduates, graduate students, and ecological researchers. The field of community ecology has undergone a transformation in recent years, from a discipline largely focused on processes occurring within a local area to a discipline encompassing a much richer domain of study, including the linkages between communities separated in space (metacommunity dynamics), niche and neutral theory, the interplay between ecology and evolution (eco-evolutionary dynamics), and the influence of historical and regional processes in shaping patterns of biodiversity. To fully understand these new developments, however, students continue to need a strong foundation in the study of species interactions, and how these interactions are assembled into community modules and ecological networks. Trait-based assembly rules are presented as another approach to understanding community assembly, especially for real-world communities that may contain hundreds of species. This new edition fulfils the book’s original aims, both as a much-needed up-to-date and accessible introduction to modern community ecology, and in identifying the important questions that are yet to be answered. This research-driven textbook introduces state-of-the-art community ecology to a new generation of students, adopting reasoned and balanced perspectives on as-yet-unresolved issues. Pictures and graphics throughout the text allow students to visualize advanced concepts.