In this age of increasing human domination of the Earth's
biological and physical resources, a basic understanding of ecology
is more important than ever. Students need a textbook that
introduces them to the basic principles of ecological science, one
that is relevant to today's world, and one that does not overwhelm
them with detail and jargon.

Peter Cotgreave and Irwin Forseth have designed this book to
meet the needs of these students, by providing a basic synthesis of
how individual organisms interact with their physical environment,
and with each other, to generate the complex ecosystems we see
around us. The unifying theme of the book is biodiversity-its
patterns, causes, and the growing worldwide threats to it.

Basic ecological principles are illustrated using clearly
described examples from the current ecological literature. This
approach makes the book valuable to all students studying ecology.
Examples have been chosen carefully to represent as wide a range of
ecosystems (terrestrial and aquatic, northern and southern
hemisphere) and life forms (animal, plant and microbe) as possible.
Particular attention is paid to consequences of global change on
organisms, populations, ecological communities and ecosystems. The
end result is a text that presents a readable and persuasive
picture of how the Earth's natural systems function, and how that
functioning may change over the coming century.

Features include:

· strong coverage of applied and evolutionary ecology

· applications of ecology to the real world

· a question-orientated approach

· the only comprehensive treatment of ecology written for the
introductory student

· an emphasis on definitions of key words and phrases

· an integration of experimental, observational and
theoretical material

· examples drawn from all over the world and a wide variety of
organisms

· a logical structure, building from the response of
individual organisms to physical factors, through population growth
and population interactions, to community structure and ecosystem
function

· suggested further reading lists for each chapter

· boxes to explain key concepts in more depth

· dedicated textsite featuring additional information and
teaching aids www.blackwellpublishing.com/cotgreave

Peter Cotgreave is an animal ecologist who has worked for the
University of Oxford and the Zoological Society of London. His
research interests centre on abundance and rarity within animal
communities. Irwin Forseth is a plant physiological ecologist who
has taught introductory ecology and plant ecology at the University
of Maryland since 1982. His research focuses on plant responses to
the environment. The authors have studied organisms as diverse as
green plants, insects and mammals in habitats from deserts to
tropical rainforests. They have worked in ecological research and
education in Africa, Asia, North and South America, Europe and the
Caribbean.