Elements of Ecology

by Thomas M. Smith, Robert Leo Smith

KEY BENEFIT : Elements of Ecology , Sixth Edition maintains its engaging, reader-friendly style as it explains the basic principles of ecology. The text is updated to include new chapters on current ecological topics; new part introductions to connect the subfields of ecology; and new in-text features to encourage students to interpret the ecological data, research, and models used throughout the text. Abundant, accessible examples illustrate and clarify the text's emphasis on understanding ecological patterns within an evolutionary framework. Additionally, the text employs new study questions requiring students to make connections and apply their knowledge. KEY TOPICS : Introduction and Background, The Nature of Ecology, Adaptation and Evolution, The Physical Environment, Climate, The Aquatic Environment, The Terrestrial Environment, Organismal Ecology, Plant Adaptations, Animal Adaptations, Life History Patterns, Population Ecology,Properties of Populations, Population Growth, Interspecific Population Regulation, Metapopulations, The Ecology of Species Interactions,Competition, Predation, Parasitism and Mutualism, Community Ecology,Community Structure, Factors Influencing the Structure of Communities, Community Dynamics, Landscape Ecology, Ecosystem Ecology, Ecosystem Energetics, Decomposition and Nutrient Cycling, Biogeochemical Cycles, Biogeographical Ecology,Terrestrial Ecosystems, Aquatic Ecosystems, Land-Water Interface, Large-scale Patterns of Biodiversity, Human Ecology, Population Growth, Resource Use, and Sustainability, Habitat Decline, Biodiversity, and Conservation Ecology, Global Climate Change. MARKET : For all readers interested in the basic principles ecology.

Genres: Biology, Textbooks, Ecology, School, Nonfiction, Reference, Environmental Science

744 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1977

Reviews

[Max]

This is a great introductory book on ecology. I used it for my second year's Ecology courses and it contained all I needed. This is a study book, so I wouldn't recommend picking it up if you're just interested in basic Ecology, but for Biology students or ecologists trying to freshen up their knowledge, this is perfect. Great examples, nice summaries after every chapter and practice questions!

[Robyn]

Textbook for my Ecology class at Lubbock Christian University, while working on my Environmental Science major with a Biology minor. I don't think we even used the textbook for the class at all! We mostly had field trips & learned about plants & animals thru those.

[Momo]

Also for school, it was very confusingly laid out. The complexity of topics was also really weirdly laid out if that makes any sense.

[Öykü]

Gerçekten çok güzeldi. Herhangi bir ders kitabı gibi değil başucu kitabı gibiydi adeta. Hiçbir yerinde yorgunluk hissi yaratmadı, adım adım detaylandırması, örneklemeler ve saha çalışmalarına ayrılan yerler anlamayı kolaylaştırıyordu. Yine de diğer derslerle birlikte olunca bir dönemde bitirilmesinin zor olduğunu düşünüyorum. Bu arada modern insanları da bir ekolojik komünite olarak bilimsel yollarla ele alması çok hoşuma gitti. Gerçekten vizyonumu genişletti diyebilirim. Pearson'ın diğer ders kitaplarında da dil akıcı, örneklendirmeler ilişkili ve online kaynaklar yararlıydı. Keşke Türkçe çevirisi de olsa.

[Claire Tanner]

Concise book describing the background for ecology as well as very helpful case studies exploring the topic. Definitely extremely helpful when teaching a new topic to look back on the basic info. The infographics are useful and interesting.
Unfortunately, research moves fast and some of the examples are slightly out of date now.

[Santhosh Totiger]

I read 8th edition. Not detailed but concisely written.

[Emanuele Giacomuzzo]

A bit boring sometimes.

[Ev]

this is really well written and lays out all of the concepts extremely well!

[Aaron]

I think this book has some issues from going from very simple basic concepts to jumping to really technical ideas involving math. While I do not see this to be a problem it seemed that it was mostly used as filler instead of something that needed to be learned, because if that was the case there would be example problems to practice on.

[Bilge B]

I probably would've liked it more if I were into ecology more. Still not as boring as I expected.

[Laura Sheffield]

A textbook for a Natural Resources class.

[Terry Freedlander]

broad survey of science of ecology; great graphics and case studies. Detailed chapters well-organized.

[Petra Sando]

This was my textbook for my BIO/315 Ecology and Evolution uni course. I enjoyed the content and found it quite helpful in completing my assignments.