FROM ENERGETICS TO ECOSYSTEMS - THE DYNAMICS AND STRUCTURE OF ECOLOGICAL SYSTEMS

Ecosystems are complex and enigmatic entities that are ultimately our life support systems. Understanding these systems to the point of being able to predict their behaviour in the face of perturbations requires that researchers adopt a number of strategies that vary in both approach and scale. This book, in a sense, is representative of some of the developments that have unfolded when math and physics met ecology. Here, some of the world's leading ecologists examine ecosystems from theoretical, experimental, and empirical viewpoints, from energetics to ecosystems. The book begins with simplifying and synthesizing nature's complex relationships. It then moves on to explore the mapping between food web structure and function and ends with the role of theory in integrating different research areas.