Biological Diversity: The Coexistence of Species

Michael A. Huston

Cambridge University Press, Sep 15, 1994 - Nature - 681 pages

The key to preserving and managing biodiversity is understanding which processes are important at different scales, and how changes affect different components of biodiversity. In this book, existing theories on diversity are synthesised into a logical framework. Global and landscape-scale patterns of biodiversity are described in the first section. In the second, the spatial and temporal dynamics of diversity are emphasised. The third section develops an integrated set of mechanistic explanations for diversity patterns at the levels of population, community, ecosystem and landscape. Finally, case studies examine diversity patterns in marine and terrestrial ecosystems and the effects of biological invasions. The book concludes with a discussion of the economics of preserving biological diversity. This book will interest research workers and students of ecology, biology and conservation.

Contents

• Introduction: 1
• Functional Classifications of Organisms: 2
• An Approach to Understanding Biological Diversity: 7
• Overview: 9
• Raw Material and Tools: 13
• General Patterns of Species Diversity: 15
• The Major Global Patterns of Biological Diversity: 16
• Factors Correlated with Diversity: 28
• Productivity: 29
• Diversity and the Size of the Sample Area: 35
• Diversity and the Spatial Heterogeneity of the Sample Area: 40
• Diversity and the Age of the Sample Area: 42
• Diversity and Disturbances: 44
• Other Spatial Patterns of Diversity: 46
• Snapshots versus Movies: 55
• Conclusion: 62
• The Assessment of Species Diversity: 64
• The Conceptual and Statistical Definitions of Diversity: 65
• What Diversity to Measure and Where to Measure it: 69
• Sampling Diversity in Relation to Potential Mechanisms: 70
• Processes that Influence Diversity at Different Scales: 72
• Summary: 74
• Theories of Species Diversity: 75
• Equilibrium Processes and the Maintenance of Landscapescale Species Diversity: 79
• Competitive Exclusion and The Theory of Competitive Equilibrium: 80
• The Failure of Equilibrium Competition Theory: 84
• Competitive Exclusion and Species Diversity: 85
• Environmental Heterogeneity and the Diversity of Competitors: 86
• Environmental Heterogeneity and the Diversity of Functional Types: 90
• Fundamental Differences between Animals and Plants: 94
• Largescale Longterm Equilibria: 98
• Intermediatescale Equilibria: 101
• Extinction and Diversity: 104
• Summary: 107
• Non_equilibrium Processes and the Maintenance of Local Species Diversity: 110
• Competitive Exclusion and its Prevention: 111
• Disturbances that Remove Dominant Species: 113
• General Classes of Mortality: 115
• Processes that Prevent Competitive Exclusion by Slowing its Rate: 122
• Slow Population Growth Rates: 125
• A Dynamic Equilibrium of Opposing Processes: 131
• Empirical Support for the Dynamic Equilibrium Model: 139
• Synthesis: 143
• Summary: 154
• Mechanisms that Regulate Diversity at Various Spatial and Temporal Scales: 157
• Diversity within Populations: 161
• Genetic Diversity: 162
• Size Diversity: 164
• Factors that Influence Size Diversity: 166
• A Unifying Theory of Ecology based on Individual Organisms: 178
• Link Physiology Populations Communities and Ecosysterms: 181
• Summary: 184
• The Structure of Communities and Ecosystems: 186
• Universal Constraints Produce Universal Patterns: 188
• Physiological Constraints on Plants: 189
• Plant Growth: 195
• Communitylevel Consequences of Individual Properties: 199
• Environmental Conditions and the Ecological Roles of Species: 202
• Consequences of Individual Physiology: 205
• Summary: 213
• Landscape Patterns Disturbance and Diversity: 215
• The Effects of Disturbances on Landscape Patterns: 216
• Disturbance Intensity: 219
• Disturbance Frequency: 220
• The Timing of Disturbances: 223
• Disturbance Area: 224
• Disturbances and Resource Availability: 227
• Summary: 230
• Landscape Patterns Succession and Temporal Change: 232
• Types and Causes of Succession: 233
• Holism versus Reductionism: 237
• Patterns of Change in Resource Availability and Species Diversity: 241
• The Effect of Species Physiology and Life History on Successional Pattern: 247
• The Effect of Resource Availability on Species Composition and Diversity: 257
• Spatial and Temporal Patterns along Moisture Gradients: 259
• The Effect of Succession on Ecosystem Processes: 266
• Summary: 270
• Landscape Patterns Gradients and Zonation: 271
• Zonation Caused by Temporal Asynchrony of Biotic Conditions: 272
• Zonation Caused by Spatial Gradients of Physical Conditions: 274
• Patterns of Species Distributions along Gradients: 278
• Patterns of Species Diversity along Environmental Gradients: 285
• Shifts in Species Distributions over Time: 289
• Successional Patterns along a Resource Gradient: 293
• Interaction of Regulator Gradients and Resource Gradients: 294
• Summary: 298
• Case Studies Patterns and Hypotheses: 301
• Case Studies Endemism and Invasions: 303
• Patterns of Endemism: 304
• Factors that Create and Perpetuate Endemism: 308
• Geographical Range Endemism and Species Diversity: 313
• Endemism Productivity and Refuge Theory: 316
• Biological Invasions: 318
• Transport of Invading Species: 319
• Properties of Organisms in Relation to Invasions: 320
• Ecosystem Properties Related to Invasibility: 329
• Summary: 341
• Case Studies Species Diversity in Marine Ecosystems: 342
• Differences between Terrestrial and MarineAquatic Environments: 345
• The Intertidal Zone: 347
• Marine Benthic Communities: 356
• Marine Open Water Ecosystems: 369
• Species Diversity on Coral Reefs: 381
• Components of the Dynamic Equilibrium on Coral Reefs: 387
• Summary of Disturbance Effects on Coral Reefs: 395
• Coral Growth and Competition: 396
• The Interaction of Competition and Disturbance: 403
• Evolutionary History and Biogeography of Coral Reefs: 405
• Patterns of Vertebrate Diversity on Coral Reefs: 408
• Summary: 411
• Case Studies Species Diversity in Fireinfluenced Ecosystems: 413
• The Predictable and Unpredictable Effects of Fire: 415
• Deserts: 425
• Firedependent Shrub Communities of Mediterranean Climate Zones: 427
• Grasslands: 438
• Fire and Grazing in GrassTree Systems: 451
• Fire in Forests: 468
• Conclusion: 480
• Case Studies Species Diversity in Tropical Rain Forests: 483
• The Distribution and Phytogeography of Tropical Rain Forests: 484
• The Structure and Diversity of Tropical Forests: 489
• Continentalscale Patterns of Total Plant Species Richness: 493
• High Spatial and Temporal Heterogeneity: 498
• The Influence of Precipitation and Soils: 512
• LowDiversity Tropical Forests: 531
• Organisms that Depend on Trees The Regulation of Animal Diversity: 536
• A Comparison: 545
• A TropicalTemperate Comparison: 550
• Summary: 555
• Concluding Comments The Economics of Biological Diversity: 558
• References: 571
• Index: 671

Popular passages

Page 610 - M.-J. Boyle. 1987. Herbivory on coral reefs: Community structure following mass mortalities of sea urchins.‎

Bibliographic information

• Title: Biological Diversity: The Coexistence of Species; Biological Diversity: The Coexistence of Species on Changing Landscapes, Michael Alan Huston
• Author: Michael A. Huston
• Edition: illustrated, reprint
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press, 1994
• ISBN: 0521369304, 9780521369305
• Length: 681 pages
• Subjects: Nature / Ecology; Science / Life Sciences / Biological Diversity; Science / Life Sciences / Biology; Science / Life Sciences / Ecology