Introduction to Population Ecology, 2nd Edition is a comprehensive textbook covering all aspects of population ecology.  It uses a wide variety of field and laboratory examples, botanical to zoological, from the tropics to the tundra, to illustrate the fundamental laws of population ecology. Controversies in population ecology are brought fully up to date in this edition, with many brand new and revised examples and data. Each chapter provides an overview of how population theory has developed, followed by descriptions of laboratory and field studies that have been inspired by the theory. Topics explored include single-species population growth and self-limitation, life histories, metapopulations and a wide range of interspecific interactions including competition, mutualism, parasite-host, predator-prey and plant-herbivore. An additional final chapter, new for the second edition, considers multi-trophic and other complex interactions among species.  Throughout the book, the mathematics involved is explained with a step-by-step approach, and graphs and other visual aids are used to present a clear illustration of how the models work. Such features make this an accessible introduction to population ecology; essential reading for undergraduate and graduate students taking courses in population ecology, applied ecology, conservation ecology, and conservation biology, including those with little mathematical experience.

Table of Contents:
Preface ix Acknowledgments xi About the companion website xiii Part 1 Single species populations 1 1 Density independent growth 5 1.1 Introduction 5 1.2 Fundamentals of population growth 8 1.3 Types of models 10 1.4 Density independent versus density dependent growth 12 1.5 Discrete or "geometric" growth in populations with non-overlapping generations 12 1.6 Exponential growth in populations with overlapping generations 16 1.7 Examples of exponential growth 18 1.8 Applications to human populations 19 1.9 The finite rate of increase (λ) and the intrinsic rate of increase (τ) 23 1.10 Stochastic models of population growth and population viability analysis 25 1.11 Conclusions 30 References 30 2 Density dependent growth and intraspecific competition 33 2.1 Introduction 33 2.2 Density dependence in populations with discrete generations 37 2.3 Density dependence in populations with overlapping generations 42 2.4 Nonlinear density dependence of birth and death rates and the Allee effect 46 2.5 Time lags and limit cycles 51 2.6 Chaos and behavior of the discrete logistic model 53 2.7 Adding stochasticity to density dependent models 54 2.8 Laboratory and field data 55 2.9 Behavioral aspects of intraspecific competition 60 2.10 Summary 64 References 64 3 Population regulation 69 3.1 Introduction 69 3.2 What is population regulation? 70 3.3 Combining density-dependent and density-independent factors 71 3.4 Tests of density dependence 73 3.5 Summary 77 References 78 4 Populations with age structures 81 4.1 Introduction 81 4.2 Survivorship 83 4.3 Fertility 90 4.4 Mortality curves 94 4.5 Expectation of life 96 4.6 Net reproductive rate, generation time, and the intrinsic rate of increase 97 4.7 Age structure and the stable age distribution 99 4.8 Projecting population growth in age-structured populations 99 4.9 The Leslie or population projection matrix 102 4.10 A second version of the Leslie matrix 103 4.11 The Lefkovitch modification of the Leslie matrix 104 4.12 Dominant latent roots and the characteristic equation 105 4.13 Reproductive value 107 4.14 Conclusions: sensitivity analysis 109 References 112 5 Metapopulation ecology 115 5.1 Introduction 115 5.2 Metapopulations and spatial ecology 116 5.3 MacArthur and Wilson and the equilibrium theory 120 5.4 The Levins or classical metapopulation 124 5.5 Lande's extension of the Levins model 125 5.6 Extinction in metapopulations 127 5.7 Metapopulation dynamics of two local populations 127 5.8 Source-sink metapopulations and the rescue effect 129 5.9 Nonequilibrium and patchy metapopulations 130 5.10 Spatially realistic models 130 5.11 Assumptions and evidence for the existence of metapopulations in nature 135 5.12 Summary 138 References 139 6 Life history strategies 145 6.1 Introduction 145 6.2 Power laws 149 6.3 The metabolic theory of ecology 152 6.4 Cole and Lewontin 154 6.5 The theory of τ- and κ-selection versus fast and slow life histories 159 6.6 Cost of reproduction and allocation of energy 162 6.7 Clutch size 163 6.8 Latitudinal gradients in clutch size 164 6.9 The effects of predation and disease on life history characteristics 165 6.10 Bet-hedging 166 6.11 The Grime general model for three evolutionary strategies in plants 166 6.12 Summary 168 References 168 Part 2 Interspecific interactions among populations 173 7 Interspecific competition 177 7.1 Introduction 177 7.2 Interspecific competition: early experiments and the competitive exclusion principle 178 7.3 The Lotka–Volterra competition equations 180 7.4 Laboratory experiments and competition 186 7.5 Resource-based competition theory 187 7.6 Spatial competition and the competition-colonization trade-off 194 7.7 Evidence for competition from nature 196 7.8 Indirect evidence for competition and 'natural experiments' 198 7.9 Summary 205 References 205 8 Mutualism 209 8.1 Introduction 209 8.2 Ant–plant mutualisms 210 8.3 Modeling mutualism 215 8.4 Summary: the costs of mutualism 217 References 217 9 Host–parasite interactions 221 9.1 Introduction 221 9.2 Factors affecting microparasite population biology 223 9.3 Modeling host–microparasite interactions 224 9.4 Dynamics of the disease 226 9.5 Immunization 229 9.6 Endangered metapopulations and disease 230 9.7 Social parasites 232 9.8 Summary 235 References 235 10 Predator/prey interactions 239 10.1 Introduction 239 10.2 The Lotka-Volterra equations 248 10.3 Early tests of the Lotka–Volterra models 250 10.4 Functional responses 252 10.5 Adding prey density dependence and the type II and III functional responses to the Lotka-Volterra equations 256 10.6 The graphical analyses of Rosenzweig and MacArthur 258 10.7 Use of a half saturation constant in predator/prey interactions 262 10.8 Parasitoid/host interactions and the Nicholson–Bailey models 264 10.9 Section summary 267 10.10 Field studies 268 10.11 The dangers of a predatory lifestyle 277 10.12 Escape from predation 277 10.13 Summary 281 References 282 11 Plant–herbivore interactions 287 11.1 Introduction 287 11.2 Classes of chemical defenses 289 11.3 Constitutive versus Induced Defense 294 11.4 Plant communication 296 11.5 Novel defenses/herbivore responses 296 11.6 Detoxification of plant compounds by herbivores 297 11.7 Plant apparency and chemical defense 298 11.8 Soil fertility and chemical defense 299 11.9 Modeling plant–herbivore population dynamics 299 11.10 Summary: the complexities of herbivore–plant interactions 303 References 306 12 Multi-trophic interactions 311 Jonathan Witt 12.1 Introduction 311 12.2 Trophic cascades 312 12.3 Trophic cascades and antropogenic change 317 12.4 Intraguild predation 319 12.5 Intraguild predation and prey suppression 321 12.6 Intraguild predation and mesopredator release 322 12.7 Cannibalism 323 References 326 Appendix 1: Problem sets 333 Appendix 2: Matrix algebra: the basics 337 Appendix 3: List of mathematical symbols used in this book 343 Index 351