Fennoscandian Tundra Ecosystems
Fennoscandian Tundra Ecosystems

Author: Frans Emil Wielgolaski

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

Published: 2012-12-06

Total Pages: 349

ISBN-13: 3642662765

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Animals are important components of any ecosystem and it is impossible to describe structure and funCtioning of the Fennoscandian tundra ecosystems without including this part of the system. However, the strong diversity between functionally highly different fauna groups makes it impossible to study all groups in great detail with the funds and expertise available in Fennoscandia. Relatively few productivity studies were carried out on animals in Fenno scandian tundra regions before the IBP projects started in 1969-1970. Within IBP, more fauna groups have been investigated in the Norwegian tundra project than in the other countries, due to better financial support. Even in Norway, however, only a limited number of invertebrate and vertebrate taxons is studied. General lack of information on the same animals in various parts of the Fennoscandian tundra makes it more difficult to present structural and functional comparisons of fauna for the whole region than in plants and microorganisms (see Part 1 of Fennoscandian Tundra Ecosystems). Brief surveys on faunal problems within the area are given in the introduction to the animal section, and general aspects are also discussed in the four first papers of the volume.

Tundra Ecosystems
Tundra Ecosystems

Author: International Biological Programme

Publisher: CUP Archive

Published: 1981

Total Pages: 864

ISBN-13: 9780521227766

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Brings together the results of research programmes in Austria, Canada, U.S.A., Finland, Norway, Sweden, Greenland, U.K., Ireland, U.S.S.R. and the Antarctic describing tundra and related ecosystems in a comparative manner. Includes sections on the abiotic, plant production and fauna components, the decomposer cycle and the utilisation and conservation of tundra.

Food Webs
Food Webs

Author: Gary A. Polis

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

Published: 2013-04-17

Total Pages: 475

ISBN-13: 1461570077

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Reflecting the recent surge of activity in food web research fueled by new empirical data, this authoritative volume successfully spans and integrates the areas of theory, basic empirical research, applications, and resource problems. Written by recognized leaders from various branches of ecological research, this work provides an in-depth treatment of the most recent advances in the field and examines the complexity and variability of food webs through reviews, new research, and syntheses of the major issues in food web research. Food Webs features material on the role of nutrients, detritus and microbes in food webs, indirect effects in food webs, the interaction of productivity and consumption, linking cause and effect in food webs, temporal and spatial scales of food web dynamics, applications of food webs to pest management, fisheries, and ecosystem stress. Three comprehensive chapters synthesize important information on the role of indirect effects, productivity and consumer regulation, and temporal, spatial and life history influences on food webs. In addition, numerous tables, figures, and mathematical equations found nowhere else in related literature are presented in this outstanding work. Food Webs offers researchers and graduate students in various branches of ecology an extensive examination of the subject. Ecologists interested in food webs or community ecology will also find this book an invaluable tool for understanding the current state of knowledge of food web research.

Forest Succession
Forest Succession

Author: D. C. West

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

Published: 2012-12-06

Total Pages: 530

ISBN-13: 1461259509

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Succession-nothing in plant, community, or ecosystem ecology has been so elaborated by terminology, so much reviewed, and yet so much the center of controversy. In a general sense, every ecologist uses the concept in teaching and research, but no two ecologists seem to have a unified concept of the details of succession. The word was used by Thoreau to describe, from a naturalist's point of view, the general changes observed during the transition of an old field to a forest. As data accumulated, a lengthy taxonomy of succession developed around early twentieth century ecologists such as Cooper, Clements, and Gleason. Now, nearer the end of the century, and after much discussion concerning the nature of vegetation communities, where do ecologists stand with respect to knowledge of ecological succession? The intent of this book is not to rehash classic philosophies of succession that have emerged through the past several decades of study, but to provide a forum for ecologists to present their current research and present-day interpretation of data. To this end, we brought together a group of scientists currently studying terrestrial plant succession, who represent research experience in a broad spectrum of different ecosystem types. The results of that meeting led to this book, which presents to the reader a unique summary of contemporary research on forest succession.

Physiological Plant Ecology IV
Physiological Plant Ecology IV

Author: O. L. Lange

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

Published: 2012-12-06

Total Pages: 648

ISBN-13: 3642681565

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O. L. LANGE, P. S. NOBEL, C. B. OSMOND, and H. ZIEGLER In the last volume of the series 'Physiological Plant Ecology' we have asked contributors to address the bases of ecosystem processes in terms of key plant physiological properties. It has often been suggested that it is not profitable to attempt analysis of complex living systems in terms of the properties of component individuals or populations, i. e. , the whole is more than the sum of its parts. Nevertheless, assessments of ecological research over the last century show that other approaches are seldom more helpful. Although it is possible to describe complex systems of living organisms in holistic terms, the most useful descriptions are found in terms of the birth, growth and death of individ uals. This allows analysis of performance of the parts of the whole considering their synergistic and antagonistic interrelationships and is the basis for a synthe sis which elucidates the specific properties of a system. Thus it seems that the description of ecosystem processes is inevitably anchored in physiological under standing. If enquiry into complex living systems is to remain a scientific exercise, it must retain tangible links with physiology. Of course, as was emphasized in Vol. 12A, not all of our physiological understanding is required to explore ecosystem processes. For pragmatic purposes, the whole may be adequantely represented as a good deal less than the sum of its parts.

The Collembola of Fennoscandia and Denmark, Part I: Poduromorpha
The Collembola of Fennoscandia and Denmark, Part I: Poduromorpha

Author: Arne Fjellberg

Publisher: BRILL

Published: 2024-03-11

Total Pages: 187

ISBN-13: 9004273638

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This is the first part of a multivolume monograph dealing with the about 400 species of springtails (Collembola) which are known to occur in the Nordic countries, including the Arctic Islands. Volume 1 contains richly illustrated identification keys and full descriptions of 161 species of the section Poduromorpha. The geographical distribution and the preferred natural habitats of the species are summarised. New morphological concepts in species diagnostics are introduced, in particular concerning the mouthparts' morphology which greatly aids in precise identification of the many difficult species of the family Onychiuridae. The book will be indispensable to everyone working with springtail identification in northern Europe. The introduction of new diagnostic characters will be of universal interest to any Collembola taxonomist.

Harvestmen
Harvestmen

Author: Ricardo Pinto-da-Rocha

Publisher: Harvard University Press

Published: 2007-02-28

Total Pages: 624

ISBN-13: 9780674023437

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The 25 authors provide a much-needed synthesis of what is currently known about these relatives of spiders, focusing on basic conceptual issues in systematics and evolutionary ecology, making comparisons with other well-studied arachnid groups, such as spiders and scorpions. --from publisher description.

Soil Invertebrates
Soil Invertebrates

Author: Nico M. van Straalen

Publisher: CRC Press

Published: 2023-04-27

Total Pages: 407

ISBN-13: 1482231247

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Soil invertebrates make up diverse communities living in soil pores and on the soil surface, digging burrows and tunnels, processing organic matter and interacting with microbes. Soil is also a habitat of growing concern as many human activities cause soil degradation. This book documents the evolutionary history of soil invertebrates and their multitude of adaptations. Soil invertebrates live in a twilight zone: some have gone down to seek stability, constancy and rest, others have gone up and faced environmental variation, heat, cold and activity. And it all happens in a few decimetres, millimetres sometimes. Check out the wonderful life below ground in this book.