A Mechanistic Approach to Plankton Ecology
A Mechanistic Approach to Plankton Ecology

Author: Thomas Kiørboe

Publisher: Princeton University Press

Published: 2018-06-26

Total Pages: 228

ISBN-13: 0691190313

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The three main missions of any organism--growing, reproducing, and surviving--depend on encounters with food and mates, and on avoiding encounters with predators. Through natural selection, the behavior and ecology of plankton organisms have evolved to optimize these tasks. This book offers a mechanistic approach to the study of ocean ecology by exploring biological interactions in plankton at the individual level. The book focuses on encounter mechanisms, since the pace of life in the ocean intimately relates to the rate at which encounters happen. Thomas Kiørboe examines the life and interactions of plankton organisms with the larger aim of understanding marine pelagic food webs. He looks at plankton ecology and behavior in the context of the organisms' immediate physical and chemical habitats. He shows that the nutrient uptake, feeding rates, motility patterns, signal transmissions, and perception of plankton are all constrained by nonintuitive interactions between organism biology and small-scale physical and chemical characteristics of the three-dimensional fluid environment. Most of the book's chapters consist of a theoretical introduction followed by examples of how the theory might be applied to real-world problems. In the final chapters, mechanistic insights of individual-level processes help to describe broader population dynamics and pelagic food web structure and function.

Shallow Lakes in a Changing World
Shallow Lakes in a Changing World

Author: Ramesh D. Gulati

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

Published: 2007-11-03

Total Pages: 459

ISBN-13: 1402063997

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This volume comprises the proceedings of the 5th International Symposium on Shallow Lakes, held at Dalfsen, The Netherlands, in June 2005. The theme of the symposium was Shallow Lakes in a Changing World, and it dealt with water-quality issues, such as changes in lake limnology, especially those driven by eutrophication and pollution, increased nutrient loading and productivity, perennial blooms of cyanobacteria and loss of biodiversity.

Modeling the Plankton–Enhancing the Integration of Biological Knowledge and Mechanistic Understanding
Modeling the Plankton–Enhancing the Integration of Biological Knowledge and Mechanistic Understanding

Author: Christian Lindemann

Publisher: Frontiers Media SA

Published: 2017-12-28

Total Pages: 228

ISBN-13: 2889453650

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In light of climate change and allied changes to marine ecosystems, mathematical models have become an important tool to examine processes and predict phenomena from local through to global scales. In recent years model studies, laboratory experiments and a better ecological understanding of the pelagic ecosystem have enabled advancements on fundamental challenges in oceanography, including marine production, biodiversity and anticipation of future conditions in the ocean. This research topic presents a number of studies that investigate functionally diverse organism in a dynamic ocean through diverse and novel modeling approaches.

Marine Plankton
Marine Plankton

Author: Claudia Castellani

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 2017

Total Pages: 715

ISBN-13: 0199233268

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A thorough understanding of planktonic organisms is the first step towards a real appreciation of the diversity, biology, and ecological importance of marine life. A detailed knowledge of their distribution and community composition is particularly important since these organisms are often very delicate and sensitive to change, and can be used as early indicators of environmental change. Natural and man-induced modification of the environment can affect both the distribution and composition of plankton, with important ecological and economic impacts. Marine Plankton provides a practical guide to plankton biology with a large geographic coverage spanning the North Sea to the north-eastern Atlantic coast of the USA and Canada. The book is divided into three sections: an overview of plankton ecology, an assessment of methodology in plankton research covering sampling, preservation, and counting of samples, and a taxonomic guide richly illustrated with detailed line drawings to aid identification. This is an essential reference text suitable for senior undergraduate and graduate students taking courses in marine ecology (particularly useful for fieldwork) as well as for professional marine biologists. It will also be of relevance and use to environmental scientists, conservation biologists, marine resource managers, environmental consultants, and other specialised practitioners.

Ecological Mechanics
Ecological Mechanics

Author: Mark Denny

Publisher: Princeton University Press

Published: 2015-12-29

Total Pages: 531

ISBN-13: 0691163154

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An in-depth exploration of how biomechanics and ecology work together Plants and animals interact with each other and their surroundings, and these interactions—with all their complexity and contingency—control where species can survive and reproduce. In this comprehensive and groundbreaking introduction to the emerging field of ecological mechanics, Mark Denny explains how the principles of physics and engineering can be used to understand the intricacies of these remarkable relationships. Denny opens with a brief review of basic physics before introducing the fundamentals of diffusion, fluid mechanics, solid mechanics, and heat transfer, taking care to explain each in the context of living organisms. Why are corals of different shapes on different parts of a reef? How can geckos climb sheer walls? Why can birds and fish migrate farther than mammals? How do desert plants stay cool? The answers to these and a host of similar questions illustrate the principles of heat, mass, and momentum transport and set the stage for the book's central topic—the application of these principles in ecology. Denny shows how variations in the environment—in both space and time—affect the performance of plants and animals. He introduces spectral analysis, a mathematical tool for quantifying the patterns in which environments vary, and uses it to analyze such subjects as the spread of invasive species. Synthesizing the book’s materials, the final chapters use ecological mechanics to predict the occurrence and consequences of extreme ecological events, explain the emergence of patterns in the distribution and abundance of organisms, and empower readers to explore further. Ecological Mechanics offers new insights into the physical workings of organisms and their environment.

Competition and Coexistence
Competition and Coexistence

Author: Ulrich Sommer

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

Published: 2012-12-06

Total Pages: 232

ISBN-13: 3642561667

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The question "Why are there so many species?" has puzzled ecologist for a long time. Initially, an academic question, it has gained practical interest by the recent awareness of global biodiversity loss. Species diversity in local ecosystems has always been discussed in relation to the problem of competi tive exclusion and the apparent contradiction between the competitive exclu sion principle and the overwhelming richness of species found in nature. Competition as a mechanism structuring ecological communities has never been uncontroversial. Not only its importance but even its existence have been debated. On the one extreme, some ecologists have taken competi tion for granted and have used it as an explanation by default if the distribu tion of a species was more restricted than could be explained by physiology and dispersal history. For decades, competition has been a core mechanism behind popular concepts like ecological niche, succession, limiting similarity, and character displacement, among others. For some, competition has almost become synonymous with the Darwinian "struggle for existence", although simple plausibility should tell us that organisms have to struggle against much more than competitors, e.g. predators, parasites, pathogens, and envi ronmental harshness.

Microbial Ecology of the Oceans
Microbial Ecology of the Oceans

Author: Josep M. Gasol

Publisher: John Wiley & Sons

Published: 2018-03-27

Total Pages: 571

ISBN-13: 1119107180

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The newly revised and updated third edition of the bestselling book on microbial ecology in the oceans The third edition of Microbial Ecology of the Oceans features new topics, as well as different approaches to subjects dealt with in previous editions. The book starts out with a general introduction to the changes in the field, as well as looking at the prospects for the coming years. Chapters cover ecology, diversity, and function of microbes, and of microbial genes in the ocean. The biology and ecology of some model organisms, and how we can model the whole of the marine microbes, are dealt with, and some of the trophic roles that have changed in the last years are discussed. Finally, the role of microbes in the oceanic P cycle are presented. Microbial Ecology of the Oceans, Third Edition offers chapters on The Evolution of Microbial Ecology of the Ocean; Marine Microbial Diversity as Seen by High Throughput Sequencing; Ecological Significance of Microbial Trophic Mixing in the Oligotrophic Ocean; Metatranscritomics and Metaproteomics; Advances in Microbial Ecology from Model Marine Bacteria; Marine Microbes and Nonliving Organic Matter; Microbial Ecology and Biogeochemistry of Oxygen-Deficient Water Columns; The Ocean’s Microscale; Ecological Genomics of Marine Viruses; Microbial Physiological Ecology of The Marine Phosphorus Cycle; Phytoplankton Functional Types; and more. A new and updated edition of a key book in aquatic microbial ecology Includes widely used methodological approaches Fully describes the structure of the microbial ecosystem, discussing in particular the sources of carbon for microbial growth Offers theoretical interpretations of subtropical plankton biogeography Microbial Ecology of the Oceans is an ideal text for advanced undergraduates, beginning graduate students, and colleagues from other fields wishing to learn about microbes and the processes they mediate in marine systems.

The Biology and Ecology of Tintinnid Ciliates
The Biology and Ecology of Tintinnid Ciliates

Author: John R. Dolan

Publisher: John Wiley & Sons

Published: 2012-09-13

Total Pages: 460

ISBN-13: 1118358120

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Planktonic protists both produce and consume most of the primary production in the world ocean. They not only play key roles in the oceans but also represent an astounding amount of diversity: ecological morphological and genetic. However, for most taxa their ecology, morphology, phylogeny and biogeography are either poorly known or appear to be largely unrelated to one another; this hinders our understanding of their biology as well as interpretation of emerging genetic data. Tintinnid ciliates represent a singular exception. Compared to nearly all other groups of planktonic protists, there is a very substantial and relatively detailed literature (both modern and historical) on tintinnids. This volume synthesizes knowledge concerning a wide variety of topics ranging from anatomy and systematics, physiology, behavior, ecology (including ecological roles, predators, parasites, biogeography, and cysts) to fossil history. It will appeal to an audience ranging from advanced undergraduates to researchers in the fields of Oceanography, Marine Biology and Microbial Ecology.

Marine Ecology
Marine Ecology

Author: Muhammet Turkoglu

Publisher: BoD – Books on Demand

Published: 2018-08-01

Total Pages: 296

ISBN-13: 1789234484

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During the last decades, aquatic resources have been severely depleted due to human-induced factors such as overexploitation and pollution and more recently due to deviations in the physicochemical parameters of oceans, dramatic changes in weather patterns and melting of glaciers. The effects of these man-made factors are occurring in a relatively shorter time scale and, in many cases, are beyond the capacity of organisms to adapt to these deviations. The majority of natural aquatic resources, which are one of the most important food sources on the planet, are being used to the extent that limits their capacity for regeneration. Despite ongoing attempts towards developing strategies for long-term management of aquatic resources all over the world, efforts have met with limited success. Thus, the sustainable use of aquatic resources has become a very important reality considering a projected human population of 11 billion by the year 2100. With this reality in mind, the purpose of this book is to shed more light on the field of marine ecology by emphasizing the diversity of aquatic life on earth and its importance both as part of a balanced ecosystem and as part of critical source of food on earth. The book covers important findings, discussions and reviews on a variety of subjects on environmental and competitive interactions of marine organisms at different trophic levels and their effects on the productivity, dynamics and structure of marine ecosystems around the world. Each chapter focuses on a specific case in the field of marine ecology and was written by researchers with years of experience in their respective fields. We hope that academicians, researchers and students as well as experts and professionals working in the field of marine ecology will benefit from these contributions. We also hope that this book will inspire more studies to help better understand the marine environment and develop strategies to better protect this crucial element of life on earth.

Living at Micro Scale
Living at Micro Scale

Author: David B. Dusenbery

Publisher: Harvard University Press

Published: 2009-01-01

Total Pages: 449

ISBN-13: 0674060210

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Kermit the Frog famously said that it isnÕt easy being green, and in Living at Micro Scale David Dusenbery shows that it isnÕt easy being smallÑexisting at the size of, say, a rotifer, a tiny multicellular animal just at the boundary between the visible and the microscopic. ÒImagine,Ó he writes, Òstepping off a curb and waiting a week for your foot to hit the ground.Ó At that scale, we would be small enough to swim inside the letter O in the word Òrotifer.Ó What are the physical consequences of life at this scale? How do such organisms move, identify prey and predators and (if theyÕre so inclined) mates, signal to one another, and orient themselves? In clear and engaging prose, Dusenbery uses straightforward physics to demonstrate the constraints on the size, shape, and behavior of tiny organisms. While recounting the historical development of the basic concepts, he unearths a corner of microbiology rich in history, and full of lessons about how science does or does not progress. Marshalling findings from different fields to show why tiny organisms have some of the properties they are found to have, Dusenbery shows a science that doesnÕt always move triumphantly forward, and is dependent to a great extent on accident and contingency.