COMMUNITY ECOLOGY

Community ecology has undergone a transformation in recent years from a discipline largely focused on processes occurring within a local area to a discipline encompassing a much richer domain of study including the linkages between communities separated in space metacommunity dynamics niche and neutral theory the interplay between ecology and evolution eco evolutionary dynamics and the influence of historical and regional processes in shaping patterns of biodiversity To fully understand these new developments however students continue to need a strong foundation in the study of species interactions and how these interactions are assembled into food webs and other ecological networks This new edition fulfils the book s original aims both as a much needed up to date and accessible introduction to modern community ecology and in identifying the important questions that are yet to be answered This research driven textbook introduces state of the art community ecology to a new generation of students adopting reasoned and balanced perspectives on as yet unresolved issues Community Ecology is suitable for advanced undergraduates graduate students and researchers seeking a broad up to date coverage of ecological concepts at the community level