Kitching breaks down community ecology into its components using container habitats to demonstrate the underlying principles. A must for those who seek to understand the complexities of ecosystems and life on earth.
Author(s): R. L. Kitching
Edition: 1
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Year: 2000
Language: English
Pages: 447
Cover......Page 1
Half-title......Page 3
Title......Page 5
Copyright......Page 6
Dedication......Page 7
Contents......Page 9
Preface......Page 13
1 Introduction......Page 17
Phytotelmata – defined and described......Page 19
Phytotelmata within modern ecology......Page 20
Tree holes in Lamington National Park......Page 22
Phytotelmata in the northern New Guinea......Page 23
Tree holes in tropical Queensland......Page 24
Structure and content......Page 25
The ontology of food webs......Page 27
Interaction strengths......Page 28
On experimentation......Page 29
Filling the faunistic gaps......Page 30
Part I: The container flora, fauna and environment......Page 31
Bromeliad ‘tanks’......Page 33
Nepenthaceae......Page 37
Sarraceniaceae......Page 40
Tree holes......Page 41
Bamboo internodes......Page 48
Axil waters......Page 51
Minor categories......Page 54
3 The container fauna......Page 59
Filter feeders......Page 60
Fine detritus feeders......Page 62
Macrosaprophages......Page 65
Detritus-based predators......Page 66
Fixed substrate predators......Page 67
Free-swimming predators......Page 68
Sit-and-wait predators......Page 69
Herbivores......Page 70
Trophic egg feeders......Page 71
4 The phytotelm environment......Page 73
Bromeliads in Trinidad......Page 74
Tree holes in England......Page 78
Dimensions and volumetric capacity......Page 80
Detritus dynamics......Page 85
Water levels......Page 89
pH and conductivity......Page 93
Specific chemical analyses......Page 95
Temperature and dissolved oxygen regimes......Page 98
Tree holes in Czechoslovakia and Germany......Page 99
Pitchers of Sarracenia purpurea in North America......Page 102
Bromeliads in Jamaica......Page 104
Part II: Methods and theories......Page 107
From field data to food webs......Page 109
Other representations......Page 114
A bromeliad web......Page 117
A pitcher-plant web......Page 118
An axil-water web......Page 120
Food-web statistics......Page 121
Descriptive statistics......Page 123
Predator:prey ratio......Page 125
Average food-chain length......Page 126
Diversity measures......Page 127
6 Processes structuring food webs......Page 130
Food-web theory: pattern, process and progress?......Page 132
Appropriate scales......Page 136
Continental drift......Page 137
Adaptive radiation......Page 138
Latitude, synoptic climate and productivity......Page 139
The continental scale......Page 142
Climate change and ‘species’ pumps......Page 143
Patterns of habitat segregation and inter-specific interactions......Page 144
The regional scale......Page 145
Interspecific interactions......Page 146
Succession......Page 147
Seasonality......Page 149
Stochastic discovery and survival......Page 150
Connections......Page 152
Part III: Patterns in phytotelm food webs......Page 153
7 Food-web variation across geographical regions......Page 155
Tree holes in Britain, USA, Sulawesi and Australasia......Page 157
Wytham Woods, England......Page 159
Dumoga-Bone National Park, Sulawesi, Indonesia......Page 160
Mt Field National Park, Tasmania, Australia......Page 161
Tall Timbers Reserve, Florida......Page 162
Dumoga-Bone National Park, Sulawesi......Page 163
Food-web statistics and global trends......Page 166
Nepenthes pitcher plants in the Old-World tropics......Page 173
The patterns......Page 174
Penang, Malaysia......Page 175
Sumatra......Page 177
Cape York, Australia......Page 179
Internal relationships......Page 180
Relationships with the number of co-occurring species of Nepenthes......Page 181
Relationships with the distance from the centre of richness of Nepenthes......Page 184
Inter-relationships among the independent variables......Page 185
Summary of Nepenthes analysis......Page 190
Connections......Page 191
8 Food-web variation within a continent: the communities of tree holes from Tasmania to Cape Tribulation......Page 192
Rainforest tree holes in Australia......Page 193
The food webs......Page 197
Species richness......Page 204
Vertical structure......Page 208
Connectance......Page 209
Connections......Page 210
9 Food-web variation at smaller spatial scales: regional and local variation in tree-hole and Nepenthes webs......Page 211
Metapopulations, structured demes and heterogeneous environments......Page 212
The Daintree rainforests......Page 213
Treehole webs from different parts of the forest......Page 215
The pattern and explanation......Page 217
Pitcher plant habitats in Malaysia and Borneo......Page 219
Food webs from Nepenthes albomarginata......Page 220
The pattern and explanation......Page 222
Tree holes in south-east Queensland......Page 224
Constructing food webs from individual tree holes......Page 225
The webs......Page 226
The pattern and explanation......Page 230
Connections......Page 233
Food webs from six species of pitcher plant in Borneo......Page 235
Pitcher patterns......Page 237
Food-web patterns and natural history......Page 243
Connections......Page 247
11 Variation through time: seasonality, invasion and reassembly, succession......Page 248
Seasonality......Page 249
Invasion and reassembly......Page 252
Processes of succession in Nepenthes pitchers in Malaysia......Page 257
Community succession in the water-filled bracts of Curcuma australasica......Page 260
Food webs......Page 262
Insect abundances......Page 264
Connections......Page 267
Part IV: Processes structuring food webs......Page 269
Some theory......Page 271
Habitat partitioning in tree-hole mosquitoes......Page 274
The existence of competition......Page 277
Enter Toxorhynchites – the dramatic impact of a generalist predator......Page 280
A cautionary note – Anatopynnia pennipes and Prionocyphon niger in Australian tree holes......Page 285
Connections......Page 290
Continental drift......Page 291
Host plant biogeography and metahabitats......Page 293
Adaptive radiation......Page 294
Latitude, synoptic climate and productivity......Page 295
The continental scale......Page 297
The finer grain of continental patterns......Page 298
Climate change and species pumps......Page 299
Habitat segregation and intraspecific interactions......Page 300
Metapopulation dynamics......Page 301
Island biogeographic processes......Page 303
Succession......Page 304
Seasonality......Page 305
Stochastic discovery and survival......Page 306
Part V: Synthesis......Page 307
Other templets......Page 309
A food-web templet......Page 311
Why is this particular animal here, now?......Page 313
Why is this particular food web present here, now?......Page 314
Conclusions......Page 315
Phylum: Platyhelminthes......Page 317
Phylum: Rotifera......Page 319
Phylum: Nematoda......Page 320
Phylum: Tardigrada......Page 321
Phylum: Annelida......Page 322
Copepoda......Page 323
INSECTA......Page 330
Odonata......Page 331
Hemiptera......Page 337
Megaloptera......Page 338
Diptera......Page 339
Coleoptera......Page 380
Lepidoptera......Page 384
Hymenoptera......Page 386
Acari......Page 387
Phylum: Chordata......Page 392
ANURA......Page 393
Hylidae......Page 398
Mantellidae......Page 399
Microhylidae......Page 400
References......Page 401
Index......Page 435
