The accelerating pace of ecological discovery makes staying current with the field very difficult. The challenge faced by ecology instructors and their students is captured by a tale told by the Greek philosopher Zeno about 2,500 years ago. In the tale of Achilles and the Tortoise, called Zeno's Paradox, Zeno argued that if a fast runner, such as the mythical Achilles, gave a tortoise a head start in a race, he could never overtake it. Zeno proposed that since there are an infinite number of points between him and the tortoise, Achilles would never catch up. Modern mathematics has solved this paradox and we can take comfort that, even in Zeno's theoretical universe, Olympic runners can overtake tortoises. However, there is a place where Zeno's arguments appear to hold, and that is in the world of teaching dynamic scientific disciplines such as ecology.
The challenge to ecology instructors and their students is much greater than that faced by Achilles—greater because instructors and students are matched against a much swifter opponent with a longer head start. As they attempt to cover the space between the beginning and end of this subject, the rapid pace of discovery moves the limits of the discipline ahead, not at the speed of a tortoise but at that of a hare. Zeno would be very happy in this universe because here, the instructor and students can never catch up. However, with careful organization and modern tools, such as the Internet, they can come close.Approach
In an address at the 1991 meeting of the Ecological Society of America in San Antonio, Texas, eminent ecologist Paul Risser challenged ecology instructors to focus their attention on the major concepts of the field. If we subdivide a large and dynamic subject, such as ecology, too finely, we can not cover it in one or two academic terms. Risser proposed that by focusing on major concepts, however, we may provide students with a robust framework of the discipline upon which they can build.
This book attempts to address Risser's challenge. Each chapter is organized around two to four major concepts to present the student with a manageable and memorable synthesis of the subject. I have found that while beginning ecology students can absorb a few central concepts well, they can easily get lost in a sea of details. Each concept is supported by concept discussions that provide evidence for the concept and introduce students to the research approaches used in the various areas of ecology. Wherever possible, the original research and the scientists who did the research are presented. Allowing the scientists who created this field to emerge from the background and lead students through the discipline breathes life into the subject and helps students retain information. Audience
I have written this book for students taking their first undergraduate course in ecology. I have assumed that students in this one-semester course have some knowledge of basic chemistry and mathematics and that they have had a course in general biology that included introductions to physiology, biological diversity, and evolution. An evolutionary perspective forms the foundation of the entire discussion. Evolution is brought to center stage throughout the book, as it is needed to support understanding of major concepts. My choices about coverage and depth of study are based on the past 29 years of teaching ecology to undergraduate students. With these students in mind, I organized the book as follows.Organization
The textbook begins with a brief introduction to the nature and history of the discipline of ecology, followed by section I, which includes two chapters on natural history—life on land and life in water. My intent is to establish a common foundation of natural history upon which to base the later discussions of ecological concepts. The introduction and natural history chapters can stand on their own and should be readily accessible to most students. They may be assigned as background reading, leaving 17 chapters to cover in a one-semester course. Sections II through VI build a hierarchical perspective through the traditional sub-disciplines of ecology: section II concerns the ecology of individuals: section III focuses on population ecology; section IV presents the ecology of interactions; section V summarizes community and ecosystem ecology; and finally, section VI discusses large-scale ecology and includes chapters on landscape, geographic, and global ecology. These topics were first introduced in section I within a natural history context. In summary, the book begins with the natural history of the planet, considers portions of the whole in the middle chapters, and ends with another perspective of the entire planet in the concluding chapter. Acknowledgements
A complete list of the people who have helped me with this project would be impossibly long. However, during the development of this third edition, several colleagues kindly offered their assistance in fielding questions, reading new passages, sharing their expertise, and volunteering overall support. I extend my gratitude to each and every one of them.
In addition, I wish to acknowledge the skillful guidance throughout the publishing process given by many professionals associated with McGraw-Hill during this project, including Marge Kemp, Lisa Gottschalk, Kathy Loewenberg, Gloria Schiesl, Linda Gomoll, Carrie Burger, Toni Michaels, Michelle Whitaker, Jamie O’Neal, Laura Fuller, Judi David, and Brenda Ernzen.
Finally, I wish to thank all my family for support given throughout the project, especially my children, Hani and Anders Molles.
I gratefully acknowledge the many reviewers who have given of their time and expertise to help this textbook evolve to its present third edition. I honestly could not have done it without them.
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