Rs. 250
Basically this book is from mathematics but cover environment factors also.
The word ecology comes from the Greek word oikos which means house, and was coined by the German Zoologist Ernst Haeckel in 1870. Ecology is a branch in biology that deals with relation of organisms to one another and to the physical environment in which they live. Examples of such relations are predator-prey interactions and plants competing for resources. Such interactions may be influenced by demographic and environmental fluctuations and occur over a wide range of spatial and temporal scales. Scientific curiosity and understanding of species relations and interactions is not just an academic exercise. Humans rely on ecological services for purification of water and air, soil maintenance, pest control, waste management, nutrient recycling and much more. The above processes are controlled by complex interactions of species with each other and with the environment. We are now changing the environment at an unprecedented rate; foremost are land-use changes and invasion by non-native species. These manmade alterations of the environment disrupt the functioning of ecosystems, often with devastating consequences. For instance, land-use changes, such as the deforestation, conversion of forests into agricultural land are often accompanied by soil erosion that affects waste flow and nutrient cycling. Land-use changes and species invasions increasing pollutant (both in air and water) are the two major causes of species extinction. It is estimated that human activities have increased extinction rates by a factor of 100 to 1000 [1]. Both empirical work and theoretical work contribute to our understanding of how ecosystem function and to our ability to successfully manage and preserve them. Mathematicians contribute significantly to this understanding by collaborating with biologists on developing models, analyzing models and relating theory to empirical work. Ecological theory has over a few decades made very extensive use of mathematical models. Models in ecology serve a variety of purposes, which range from illustrating an idea to parametrizing a complex real-world situation. They are used to make general predictions, to guide management practices. Tilman?s resource model [2] and the Lotka-Volterra competition model [3], for example, illustrate the ideas. In Tilman?s model, species compete for just one resource, the model predicts that the species with lowest equilibrium resource requirement will out compete all other species. The Lotka-Volterra competition model incorporating the logistic growth (as their densities increase), predicts that co-existence occurs if the competition among individuals of the same species (interspecific competition) is stronger than competition among individuals of different species (intraspecific competition). In 1934, Gause tested this model in an experiment on competition between different species paramecia (fresh water protozoans). Making predictions in management situations requires more detailed and realistic models. There are more examples of models that investigate which areas need to be preserved to ensure persistence of an endangered species and models that predict how spatial planting pattern of genetically modified crop affect the evolution of pathogence resistance. Realistic models are essential when experiments are not feasible or when either the temporal or the spatial scale over which the predictions are sought is very large. For example, the predictions of the effect of an increase in carbon-dioxide in the atmosphere on global climate and vegetation over the next one hundred years have to be aided by modelling. .......
| BOOK DETAILS | |
|---|---|
| Publisher | V L Media Solutions |
| ISBN-10 | 9380820704 |
| Edition | 1 |
| Number of Pages | 84 Pages |
| Publication Year | 2013 |
| Language | English |
| ISBN-13 | 9789380820705 |
| Binding | Hardcover |
