Population Systems A General Introduction

About this book

Population Systems: A General Introduction is concerned with the general principles and theories of population ecology, based on the idea that the rules governing the dynamics of populations are relatively simple, and that the rich behavior we observe in nature is a consequence of the structure of the system rather than of the complexity of the underlying rules.

From this perspective, the dynamic behavior of single-species populations is examined and an elementary feedback model of the population system is developed. This single-species model is refined and generalized by examining the mechanisms of population regulation. Graphical procedures are developed for evaluating the behavior of populations inhabiting variable environments, which are then applied to the analysis of interactions between two species.

Finally, spatial effects on population behavior and communities composed of many interacting species are examined in Population Systems: A General Introduction .

Contents

Preface to the first edition
Preface to the second edition
Acknowledgements

Part I. Population Systems
Introduction to Part I

1. A Brief Look at General Systems
1.1. What is a System?
1.2. The State of a System
1.3. Dynamic Systems
1.4. System Diagrams
1.5. Feedback Control
1.6. The Stability of Systems
1.7. Anticipatory Feedforward
1.8. Systems Analysis in Biology
1.9. Chapter Summary
Exercises
Notes

2. Population Dynamics and an Elementary Model
2.1. What is a Population?
2.2. Dynamics in Populations
2.3. An Elementary Population Model
2.4. Analysis of the Model
2.5. Environmental and Genetic Effects
2.6. Chapter Summary
Exercises
Notes

3. Population Regulation and a General Model
3.1. Density-Dependant Mechanisms
3.1.1. Competitive Processes
3.1.2. Cooperative Processes
3.2. Feedback Integration
3.3. A General Population Model
3.4. Analysis of the Model
3.4.1. Environmental and Genetic Effects
3.5. Populations in Changing Environments
3.5.1. Environmental Feedback
3.6. Complex Density-Dependant Relationships
3.7. Chapter Summary
Exercises
Notes

Part II. Systems of Interacting Populations
Introduction to Part II

4. Interactions between Two Species
4.1. Population Interactions
4.2. Cooperative Interactions
4.3. Competitive Interactions
4.3.1. Nonlinear Competitive Interactions
4.3.2. Competition in Variable Environments
4.3.3. Strategies of the Competitor
4.4. Predator-Prey Interactions
4.4.1. Nonlinear Predator-Prey Interactions
4.4.2. Predator Functional Responses
4.4.3. Predation in Variable Environments
4.4.4. Predator and Prey Strategies
4.5. Chapter Summary
Exercises
Notes

5. Interactions in Space
5.1. Introduction
5.2. Movements in Space
5.3. Dynamics in Space
5.4. The Spread and Collapse of Pest Epidemics
5.5. Stability in Space
5.6. Population Quality in Space
5.7. Environmental Stratification
5.8. Chapter Summary
Notes

6. Interactions between many Species (Ecological Communities)
6.1. Community Structure
6.2. Community Stability
6.2.1. Predation as a Stabilizing Influence
6.3. Community Dynamics
6.4. Chapter Summary
Exercises
Notes

Epilogue: The Human Dilemma

Answers to Exercises
Author Index
Subject Index

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