Explores equilibrium and non-equilibrium in undisturbed and disturbed ecological systems, examining how human activities affect the balance/imbalance of nature.
Preface; Introduction Klaus Rohde; Part I. Nonequilibrium and Equilibrium in Populations and Metapopulations: 1. Reef fishes: density dependence and equilibrium in populations? Graham Forrester and Mark Steele; 2. Population dynamics of ectoparasites of terrestrial hosts Boris Krasnov and Annapaola Rizzoli; 3. Metapopulation dynamics in marine parasites Ana Perez del Omo, Aneta Kostadinova and Serge Morand; Part II. Nonequilibrium and Equilibrium in Communities: 4. The paradox of the plankton Klaus Rohde; 5. A burning issue: community stability and alternative stable states in relation to fire Peter J. Clarke and Mike J. Lawes; 6. Community stability and instability in ectoparasites of marine and freshwater fish Andrea Simkova and Klaus Rohde; 7. Ectoparasites of small mammals: interactive saturated and unsaturated communities Boris Krasnov; 8. A macroecological approach to the equilibrial vs. nonequilibrial debate using bird populations and communities Brian McGill; Part III. Equilibrium and Nonequilibrium on Geographical Scales: 9. Island flora and fauna: equilibrium and nonequilibrium Lloyd Morrison; 10. The turbulent past and future of arctic vascular plants: climate change, spatial variation, and genetic diversity Christian Brochmann, Mary E. Edwards and Inger G. Alsos; Part IV. Latitudinal Gradients: 11. Latitudinal diversity gradients: equilibrium and nonequilibrium explanations Klaus Rohde; 12. Effective evolutionary time and the latitudinal diversity gradient Len Gillman and Shane Wright; Part V. Effects Due to Invading Species, Habitat Loss and Climate Change: 13. The physics of climate: equilibrium, disequilibrium and chaos Michael Box; 14. Episodic processes, invasion and faunal mosaics in evolutionary and ecological time Eric Hoberg and Daniel R. Brooks; 15. The emerging infectious diseases crisis and pathogen pollution Daniel R. Brooks and Eric Hoberg; 16. Establishment or vanishing: fate of an invasive species based on mathematical models Yihong Du; 17. Anthropogenic footprints on biodiversity Camilo Mora and Fernando Zapata; 18. Worldwide decline and extinction of amphibians Harold Heatwole; 19. Climatic change and reptiles Harvey B. Lillywhite; 20. Equilibrium and non-equilibrium in Australian bird communities - the impact of natural and anthropogenic effects Hugh Ford; 21. Population dynamics of insects: impacts of a changing climate Nigel Andrew; 22. The futures of coral reefs Peter Sale; Part VI. Autecological Studies: 23. Autecology and the balance of nature-ecological laws and human induced invasions Gimme Walter; 24. The intricacy of structural and ecological adaptations: micromorphology and ecology of some Aspidogastrea Klaus Rohde; Part VII. An Overall View: 25. The importance of interspecific competition in regulating communities, equilibrium vs. nonequilibrium Klaus Rohde; 26. Evolutionarily stable strategies: how common are they? Klaus Rohde; 27. How to conserve biodiversity in a nonequilibrium world Klaus Rohde, Hugh Ford, Nigel R. Andrew and Harold Heatwole; Index.