This volume provides a current synthesis of theoretical and empirical food web research. Whether they are binary systems or weighted networks, food webs are of particular interest to ecologists in providing a macroscopic view of ecosystems. They describe interactions between species and their environment, and subsequent advances in the understanding of their structure, function, and dynamics are of vital importance to ecosystem management and conservation. Aquatic Food Webs provides a synthesis of the current issues in food web theory and its applications, covering issues of structure, function, scaling, complexity, and stability in the contexts of conservation, fisheries, and climate. Although the focus of this volume is upon aquatic food webs (where many of the recent advances have been made), any ecologist with an interest in food web theory and its applications will find the issues addressed in this book of value and use. This advanced textbook is suitable for graduate level students as well as professional researchers in community, ecosystem, and theoretical ecology, in aquatic ecology, and in conservation biology.
Author(s): Andrea Belgrano, Ursula M. Scharler, Jennifer Dunne, Robert E. Ulanowicz
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
Year: 2005
Language: English
Pages: 273
0198564821......Page 1
Contents......Page 8
Foreword......Page 6
Contributors......Page 10
Introduction......Page 12
PART I: Structure and function......Page 16
1 Biosimplicity via stoichiometry: the evolution of food-web structure and processes......Page 18
2 Spatial structure and dynamics in a marine food web......Page 30
3 Role of network analysis in comparative ecosystem ecology of estuaries......Page 36
4 Food webs in lakes—seasonal dynamics and the impact of climate variability......Page 52
5 Pattern and process in food webs: evidence from running waters......Page 62
PART II: Examining food-web theories......Page 78
6 Some random thoughts on the statistical analysis of food-web data......Page 80
7 Analysis of size and complexity of randomly constructed food webs by information theoretic metrics......Page 84
8 Size-based analyses of aquatic food webs......Page 97
9 Food-web theory in marine ecosystems......Page 109
PART III: Stability and diversity in food webs......Page 126
10 Modeling food-web dynamics: complexity–stability implications......Page 128
11 Is biodiversity maintained by food-web complexity?—the adaptive food-web hypothesis......Page 141
12 Climate forcing, food web structure, and community dynamics in pelagic marine ecosystems......Page 154
13 Food-web theory provides guidelines for marine conservation......Page 181
14 Biodiversity and aquatic food webs......Page 195
PART IV: Concluding remarks......Page 210
15 Ecological network analysis: an escape from the machine......Page 212
Afterword......Page 219
References......Page 222
C......Page 266
D......Page 267
F......Page 268
L......Page 269
P......Page 270
S......Page 271
Z......Page 273
