Ecosystem engineers : plants to protists / [editors] Kim Cuddington ... [and others].

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Cuddington, Kim.

Hazel M. Hussong Fund.

Series:

Theoretical ecology series

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Habitat (Ecology)--Modification.

Habitat (Ecology).

Ecology.

Physical Description:

xix, 405 pages, 10 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations (some color) ; 24 cm.

Place of Publication:

Amsterdam ; Boston : Academic Press, [2007]

Summary:

The concept of ecosystem engineering is a novel way of looking at species and their ecological interactions. It forces ecologists to recognize that species are not passive victims of environmental conditions, but may also actively influence and modify their physical environment. Moreover, it promises to provide conceptual links between physiological, population, community, ecosystem, and evolutionary ecology. However, from its inception, this concept has generated controversy that may lead some to conclude that it has nothing new to offer to ecology. This volume embraces that debate and simultaneously illustrates the value of the ecosystem engineering approach as a means of understanding ecological and evolutionary relationships.

The first book entirely devoted to this topic, Ecosystem Engineers begins with the history of the concept, presenting opposing definitions of ecosystem engineering. These varied definitions advance the debate and move past trivial difficulties to crystallize key issues such as the value of outcome-based vs. process-based definitions. Authors include case studies spanning a wide spectrum of species and habitats, including above- and below- ground, aquatic and terrestrial, and extant and paleontological examples. These studies enable readers to understand how the categorization of species as ecosystem engineers allows scientists to forge new explanatory generalizations. Key for all ecologists and environmentalists, this book ultimately illustrates how to inform and manage natural resources.

Contents:

Section I History and Definitions of Ecosystem Engineering

1 On the Purpose, Meaning, and Usage of the Physical Ecosystem Engineering Concept / Clive G. Jones, Jorge L. Gutierrez 3

1.2 On the Definition 5

1.3 On Process Ubiquity 12

1.4 On Effect Magnitude and Significance 13

1.5 On Usage 15

1.6 On Breadth and Utility 17

1.7 On the Underlying Perspective 18

1.8 A Concluding Remark on Concept and Theory 19

2 A Historical Perspective on Ecosystem Engineering / Natalie Buchman, Kim Cuddington, John Lambrinos 25

2.2 Soil and Sediment Processes 27

2.3 Succession 31

2.4 Microclimate Modification, Facilitation, and Inhibition 32

2.5 Habitat Creation 34

3 A New Spirit and Concept for Ecosystem Engineering? / William G. Wilson 47

3.2 A Short Historical Perspective 49

3.3 A Connection with Keystone Species? 54

3.4 A Unique Feature for Ecosystem Engineering? 59

3.5 A Selective Argument for Ecosystem Engineering? 62

4 Ecosystem Engineering: Utility, Contention, and Progress / Kim Cuddington 69

Section II Examples and Applications

5 Earthworms as Key Actors in Self-Organized Soil Systems / Patrick Lavelle, Sebastien Barot, Manuel Blouin, Thibaud Decaens, Juan Jose Jimenez, Pascal Jouquet 77

5.2 Adaptation of Earthworms and Other Organisms to Soil Constraints: The Power of Mutualism 79

5.3 The Drilosphere as a Self-Organizing System 82

5.4 Harnessing the Drilosphere to Restore Ecosystem Functions in Degraded Soils 96

6 Microhabitat Manipulation: Ecosystem Engineering by Shelter-Building Insects / John T. Lill, Robert J. Marquis 107

6.2 Shelters and Shelter-Builders 108

6.3 Leaf Shelters as Habitats for Arthropods 113

6.4 Engineering Effects on Arthropod Communities 120

6.5 Prospectus 127

7 Carpobrotus as a Case Study of the Complexities of Species Impacts / Nicole Molinari, Carla D'Antonio, George Thomson 139

7.2 Carpobrotus as an Ecosystem Engineer 142

8 Ecosystem Engineering in the Fossil Record: Early Examples from the Cambrian Period / Katherine N. Marenco, David J. Bottjer 163

8.2 Paleocommunity Reconstruction 164

8.3 Identifying Ecosystem Engineers in the Fossil Record 166

8.4 Setting the Stage: The Cambrian Period 168

8.5 Early Metazoan Allogenic Engineers 171

8.6 Early Metazoan Autogenic Engineers 176

9 Habitat Conversion Associated with Bioeroding Marine Isopods / Theresa Sinicrope Talley, Jeffrey A. Crooks 185

9.2 Sphaeroma Quoianum 186

9.3 Sphaeroma Terebrans 193

9.4 Limnoria Spp. 196

9.5 Lessons and Implications 197

10 Lessons from Disparate Ecosystem Engineers / James E. Byers 203

Section III Theories and Models

11 Community Responses to Environmental Change: Results of Lotka-Volterra Community Theory / Willliam G. Wilson, Justin P. Wright 211

11.2 Lotka-Volterra Community Model 213

12 Model Studies of Ecosystem Engineering in Plant Communities / Ehud Meron, Erez Gilad, Jost von Hardenberg, Antonello Provenzale, Moshe Shachak 229

12.2 A Mathematical Model for Plant Communities in Drylands 231

12.3 Ecosystem Engineering in the Model 236

12.4 Applying the Model to Woody-Herbaceous Systems 240

13 Balancing the Engineer-Environment Equation: The Current Legacy / Kim Cuddington, Alan Hastings 253

13.2 Population Models of Ecosystem Engineers: The Simplest Cases 255

13.3 Population Models: Spatially Explicit and Mechanistically Detailed Cases 259

13.4 Population Models: Cases with an Evolutionary Focus 262

13.5 Community and Ecosystem Models 263

14 Synthesis of Ecosystem Engineering Theory / William G. Wilson 275

Section IV Socio-Economic Issues and Management Solutions

15 Restoring Oyster Reefs to Recover Ecosystem Services / Jonathan H. Grabowski, Charles H. Peterson 281

15.2 Evaluating Ecosystem Services Provided by Oyster Reefs 283

15.3 Challenges and Conclusions 293

16 Managing Invasive Ecosystem Engineers: The Case of Spartina in Pacific Estuaries / John G. Lambrinos 299

16.2 Spartina Invasion in Willapa Bay 300

16.3 Difficulties Predicting Spread 301

16.4 Invasion Impact Mechanisms 302

16.5 Choice of Control Studies 306

16.6 Alternative Restoration Trajectories 309

16.7 Collateral Impacts of Control 314

17 Livestock and Engineering Network in the Israeli Negev: Implications for Ecosystem Management / Yarden Oren, Avi Perevolotsky, Sol Brand, Moshe Shachak 323

17.1 Engineering Networks 324

17.2 Livestock and Engineering Network 328

17.3 Negev Desert Management: Exploitation and Modulation 333

18 Ecosystem Engineers and the Complex Dynamics of Non-Native Species Management on California's Channel Islands / Rob Klinger 343

18.2 Overview of California's Channel Islands 344

18.3 Feral Sheep and Pigs on Santa Cruz Island 346

18.4 Post-Eradication Flora and Fauna Dynamics 347

18.5 Non-Native Species as Ecosystem Engineers and Ecosystems with Multiple Invaders 353

18.6 Complexity, Uncertainty, and Their Role in Shaping Management Decisions 356

18.7 Conclusion: How Does the Ecosystem Engineer Concept Fit into Ongoing and Future Non-Native Species Management Programs on the Channel Islands? 359

19 The Diverse Faces of Ecosystem Engineers in Agroecosystems / John Vandermeer, Ivette Perfecto 367

19.1 Planned Ecosystem Engineers 370

19.2 Associated Ecosystem Engineers 372

19.3 The Interaction of Human Engineers with Ecological Engineers: The Case of Pesticides 378

20 Management and Ecosystem Engineers: Current Knowledge and Future Challenges / Alan Hastings 387

20.2 Effects and Impacts of Single Engineering Species 388

20.3 Effects and Impacts of Engineers in the Context of Ecosystems 389

20.4 Conclusions and Further Directions 391.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Local Notes:

Acquired for the Penn Libraries with assistance from the Hazel M. Hussong Fund.

ISBN:

9780123738578

0123738571

OCLC:

123818304