Foundations of Macroecology: Classic Papers with Commentaries

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Foundations of Macroecology

Classic Papers with Commentaries

Edited by: , and

Language: English

Published/Copyright: 2014

About this book

Macroecology is an approach to science that emphasizes the description and explanation of patterns and processes at large spatial and temporal scales. Some scientists liken it to seeing the forest through the trees, giving the proverbial phrase an ecological twist. The term itself was first introduced to the modern literature by James H. Brown and Brian A. Maurer in a 1989 paper, and it is Brown’s classic 1995 study, Macroecology, that is credited with inspiring the broad-scale subfield of ecology. But as with all subfields, many modern-day elements of macroecology are implicit in earlier works dating back decades, even centuries.

Foundations of Macroecology charts the evolutionary trajectory of these concepts—from the species-area relationship and the latitudinal gradient of species richness to the relationship between body size and metabolic rate—through forty-six landmark papers originally published between 1920 and 1998. Divided into two parts—“Macroecology before Macroecology” and “Dimensions of Macroecology”—the collection also takes the long view, with each paper accompanied by an original commentary from a contemporary expert in the field that places it in a broader context and explains its foundational role. Providing a solid, coherent assessment of the history, current state, and potential future of the field, Foundations of Macroecology will be an essential text for students and teachers of ecology alike.

Author / Editor information

Felisa A. Smith is professor of biology at the University of New Mexico and coeditor of Animal Body Size, also published by the University of Chicago Press. John L. Gittleman is dean of the Odum School of Ecology at the University of Georgia. He is coeditor of Carnivore Conservation and Phylogeny and Conservation. James H. Brown is Distinguished Professor of Biology at the University of New Mexico and past president of the International Biogeography Society. He is author of Macroecology and coeditor of Foundations of Ecology and Foundations of Biogeography, all also published by the University of Chicago Press.

Reviews

“I love these papers. They’re our disciplinary heritage, and it’s valuable to wrap them all up in one spot. The pieces that have been selected are truly important, and there’s a roster of terrific scientists who have written informatively, sometimes even passionately, about the inspiration these papers provide. What’s not to like? A formidable summary that could and should be a useful basis for students new to the field.”

— Jeremy T. Kerr, University of Ottawa

“Like the other ‘Foundations of’ books, this title includes classic papers and commentary by the editors on the development of the topics. Dates of the papers range from 1920 to 1998; topics include determinants of diversity and species abundances, allometry, speciation and extinction patterns, and new methodologies.”

— Ecology

“Macroecology emphasizes the study of patterns and processes of species distributions, interactions, and diversity at broad temporal and spatial scales. This collection of classic papers is especially relevant for researchers studying biodiversity in a world impacted by human population growth on the one hand and climate change on the other. . . .The volume is also particularly timely in illustrating the roots of macroecology, which seems to be more a perspective on species and ecology than a discipline. . . . The papers in this useful but somewhat specialized book are mainly from the 1970s and 1980s, a golden age that allowed ecologists to recognize macroecology as a perspective distinct from many ecological endeavors of the period. . . . Recommended.”

— J. Burger, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, New Brunswick, Choice

“Foundations of Macroecology is an essential compilation for researchers and teachers as well as students.”

— Conservation Biology

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Frontmatter
i

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Contents
v

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Preface
xv

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Introduction: The Macro of Macroecology
1
Felisa A. Smith, John L. Gittleman and James H. Brown

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1. Macroecology: The Division of Food and Space among Species on Continents
5
J. H. Brown and B. A. Maurer

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Part One. Macroecology before Macroecology
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Introduction
13

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2. Distribution of the Species over the Area (1920)
17
O. Arrhenius

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3. The Relation between the Number of Species and the Number of Individuals in a Random Sample of an Animal Population (1943)
24
R. A. Fisher, A. S. Corbet and C. B. Williams

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4. The Generic Relations of Species in Small Ecological Communities (1947)
42
C. B. Williams

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5. A Theoretical Ecological Model of Size Distributions among Species of Animals (1959)
52
G. E. Hutchinson and R. H. MacArthur

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6. Aggregation, Variance and the Mean (1961)
63
L. R. Taylor

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7. Bioenergetics and the Determination of Home Range Size (1963)
68
B. K. McNab

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8. Community Evolution and the Origin of Mammals (1966)
78
E. C. Olson

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9. A Continuous Size Spectrum for Particulate Matter in the Sea (1967)
91
R. W. Sheldon and T. R. Parsons

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10. Net Primary Productivity of Terrestrial Communities: Prediction from Climatological Data (1968)
99
M. L. Rosenzweig

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11. Marine Benthic Diversity: A Comparative Study (1968)
108
H. L. Sanders

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Part Two. Dimensions of Macroecology
Allometry and Body Size
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12. Size and Shape in Biology (1973)
154
T. A. McMahon

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13. Intrinsic Rate of Natural Increase: The Relationship with Body Size (1974)
159
T. Fenchel

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14. Population Density and Body Size in Mammals (1981)
170
J. Damuth

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15. Body Size, Physiological Time, and Longevity of Homeothermic Animals (1981)
174
S. L. Lindstedt and W. A. Calder

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16. Species Number, Species Abundance and Body Length Relationships of Arboreal Beetles in Bornean Lowland Rain Forest Trees (1988)
192
D. R. Morse, N. E. Stork and J. H. Lawton

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17. Theory of Growth Geometry of Plants and Self- Thinning of Plant Populations: Geometric Similarity, Elastic Similarity, and Different Growth Modes of Plant Parts (1988)
207
R. Å. Norberg

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18. Spatial Scaling of Species Composition: Body Masses of North American Land Mammals (1991)
245
J. H. Brown and P. F. Nicoletto

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Evolutionary Dynamics
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19. A New Evolutionary Law (1973)
284
L. Van Valen

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20. Ecospace Utilization and Guilds in Marine Communities through the Phanerozoic (1983)
315
R. K. Bambach

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21. Response of Mammalian Communities to Environmental Changes during the Late Quaternary (1986)
345
R. W. Graham

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22. Background and Mass Extinctions: The Alternation of Macroevolutionary Regimes (1986)
361
D. Jablonski

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23. Evolution of Species Assemblages: Effects of Energetic Constraints and Species Dynamics on the Diversification of the North American Avifauna (1987)
368
J. H. Brown and B. A. Maurer

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24. Species- Range Size Distributions: Products of Speciation, Extinction and Transformation (1998)
387
K. J. Gaston

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Abundance and Distributions
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Introduction
400

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25. Dominance and the Niche in Ecological Systems (1970)
403
S. J. McNaughton and L. L. Wolf

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26. Geographic Ranges of North American Terrestrial Mammals (1977)
414
S. Anderson

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27. Changing Patterns in the Holocene Pollen Record of Northeastern North America: A Mapped Summary (1977)
431
J. C. Bernabo and T. Webb

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28. The Latitudinal Spans of Seaweed Species and Their Patterns of Overlap (1977)
465
E. C. Pielou

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29. Seven Forms of Rarity (1981)
480
D. Rabinowitz

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30. Dynamics of Regional Distribution: The Core and Satellite Species Hypothesis (1982)
495
I. Hanski

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31. On the Relationship between Abundance and Distribution of Species (1984)
509
J. H. Brown

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Species Diversity
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Introduction
536

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32. The Dynamics and Diversity of Insect Faunas (1978)
539
R. M. May

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33. Determinants of Diversity in Higher Taxonomic Categories (1980)
558
J. W. Valentine

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34. Two Decades of Homage to Santa Rosalia: Toward a General Theory of Diversity (1981)
567
J. H. Brown

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35. Mass Extinctions in the Marine Fossil Record (1982)
581
D. M. Raup and J. J. Sepkoski

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36. Patterns in Vascular Land Plant Diversification (1983)
586
K. J. Niklas, B. H. Tiffney and A. H. Knoll

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37. Species- Energy Theory: An Extension of Species- Area Theory (1983)
593
D. H. Wright

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38. Are the Smallest Organisms the Most Diverse? (1988)
606
K. P. Dial and J. M. Marzluff

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39. Alpha, Beta, or Gamma: Where Does All the Diversity Go? (1988)
613
J. J. Sepkoski

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40. The Latitudinal Gradient in Geographical Range: How So Many Species Coexist in the Tropics (1989)
629
G. C. Stevens

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Methodological Advances
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Introduction
648

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41. Tertiary Climatic Fluctuations and Methods of Analysis of Tertiary Floras (1971)
652
J. A. Wolfe

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42. Taxonomic Diversity Estimation Using Rarefaction (1975)
684
D. M. Raup

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43. The Statistics and Biology of the Species- Area Relationship (1979)
696
E. F. Connor and E. D. McCoy

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44. Comparisons between Taxa and Adaptive Trends: Problems of Methodology (1982)
740
P. H. Harvey and G. M. Mace

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45. A Null Model for Null Models in Biogeography (1984)
760
R. K. Colwell and D. W. Winkler

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46. Phylogenies and the Comparative Method (1985)
778
J. Felsenstein

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List of Contributors
795

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Index
799

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Publishing information

Pages and Images/Illustrations in book

eBook published on:

December 16, 2020

eBook ISBN:

9780226115504

Pages and Images/Illustrations in book

https://doi.org/10.7208/9780226115504

eBook ISBN: 9780226115504

Keywords for this book

ecological; science; scientific; academic; scholarly; research; beginning; foundational; biology; biological; pattern; temporal; ecology; 20th century; field; subfield; discovery; metabolism; metabolic rate; teacher; student; professor; college; university; higher education; textbook; essay collection; commentary; discussion; debate

Audience(s) for this book

For an expert adult audience, including professional development and academic research

University of Chicago Press

Foundations of Macroecology

Overview

About this book

Author / Editor information

Reviews

Topics

Table of contents

Frontmatter

Contents

Preface

Introduction: The Macro of Macroecology

1. Macroecology: The Division of Food and Space among Species on Continents

Introduction

2. Distribution of the Species over the Area (1920)

3. The Relation between the Number of Species and the Number of Individuals in a Random Sample of an Animal Population (1943)

4. The Generic Relations of Species in Small Ecological Communities (1947)

5. A Theoretical Ecological Model of Size Distributions among Species of Animals (1959)

6. Aggregation, Variance and the Mean (1961)

7. Bioenergetics and the Determination of Home Range Size (1963)

8. Community Evolution and the Origin of Mammals (1966)

9. A Continuous Size Spectrum for Particulate Matter in the Sea (1967)

10. Net Primary Productivity of Terrestrial Communities: Prediction from Climatological Data (1968)

11. Marine Benthic Diversity: A Comparative Study (1968)

12. Size and Shape in Biology (1973)

13. Intrinsic Rate of Natural Increase: The Relationship with Body Size (1974)

14. Population Density and Body Size in Mammals (1981)

15. Body Size, Physiological Time, and Longevity of Homeothermic Animals (1981)

16. Species Number, Species Abundance and Body Length Relationships of Arboreal Beetles in Bornean Lowland Rain Forest Trees (1988)

17. Theory of Growth Geometry of Plants and Self- Thinning of Plant Populations: Geometric Similarity, Elastic Similarity, and Different Growth Modes of Plant Parts (1988)

18. Spatial Scaling of Species Composition: Body Masses of North American Land Mammals (1991)

19. A New Evolutionary Law (1973)

20. Ecospace Utilization and Guilds in Marine Communities through the Phanerozoic (1983)

21. Response of Mammalian Communities to Environmental Changes during the Late Quaternary (1986)

22. Background and Mass Extinctions: The Alternation of Macroevolutionary Regimes (1986)

23. Evolution of Species Assemblages: Effects of Energetic Constraints and Species Dynamics on the Diversification of the North American Avifauna (1987)

24. Species- Range Size Distributions: Products of Speciation, Extinction and Transformation (1998)

Introduction

25. Dominance and the Niche in Ecological Systems (1970)

26. Geographic Ranges of North American Terrestrial Mammals (1977)

27. Changing Patterns in the Holocene Pollen Record of Northeastern North America: A Mapped Summary (1977)

28. The Latitudinal Spans of Seaweed Species and Their Patterns of Overlap (1977)

29. Seven Forms of Rarity (1981)

30. Dynamics of Regional Distribution: The Core and Satellite Species Hypothesis (1982)

31. On the Relationship between Abundance and Distribution of Species (1984)

Introduction

32. The Dynamics and Diversity of Insect Faunas (1978)

33. Determinants of Diversity in Higher Taxonomic Categories (1980)

34. Two Decades of Homage to Santa Rosalia: Toward a General Theory of Diversity (1981)

35. Mass Extinctions in the Marine Fossil Record (1982)

36. Patterns in Vascular Land Plant Diversification (1983)

37. Species- Energy Theory: An Extension of Species- Area Theory (1983)

38. Are the Smallest Organisms the Most Diverse? (1988)

39. Alpha, Beta, or Gamma: Where Does All the Diversity Go? (1988)

40. The Latitudinal Gradient in Geographical Range: How So Many Species Coexist in the Tropics (1989)

Introduction

41. Tertiary Climatic Fluctuations and Methods of Analysis of Tertiary Floras (1971)

42. Taxonomic Diversity Estimation Using Rarefaction (1975)

43. The Statistics and Biology of the Species- Area Relationship (1979)

44. Comparisons between Taxa and Adaptive Trends: Problems of Methodology (1982)

45. A Null Model for Null Models in Biogeography (1984)

46. Phylogenies and the Comparative Method (1985)

List of Contributors

Index

Bibliographic data