The Macroecological Perspective Theories, Models and Methods

About this book

This comprehensive volume discusses the patterns and processes analyzed in macroecology with a distinct look at the theoretical and methodological issues underlying the discipline as well as deeper epistemological matters. The book serves as a synthesis of macroecological literature that has been published since Brown and Maurer proposed and defined the term "macroecology" in 1989. Author José Alexandre Felizola Diniz-Filho draws from the different disciplines and branches (ecology, evolutionary biology, physiology, behavioural sciences, climatology, and palaeontology) that make up macroecology to present a full, holistic picture of where the discipline stands.

Through ten chapters, Diniz-Filho moves from a discussion of what macroecology actually is to macroecological modelling to the more applied side of the discipline, covering topics such as richness and diversity patterns and patterns in body size. The book concludes with a synthesis of how macroecological research is done in a theoretical and operational sense as well as unifying explanations for each of the macroecological patterns discussed, moving on to evaluate which theories and models are still useful and which ones can be abandoned. The book is intended for academics, young researchers and students interested in macroecology and conservation biogeography. In addition, because of the integrative nature of macroecology and the theoretical and methodological background in the book, it can be of interest to researchers working in related fields including but not limited to ecology and evolutionary biology.

Contents

Chapter 1. Introduction
Chapter 2. Theories and Models
Chapter 3. The Structure of Macroecological Data
Chapter 4. Structure and Dynamics of Geographic Ranges
Chapter 5. The Macroecological Understanding of Ecological Niches
Chapter 6. Richness and Diversity Patterns
Chapter 7. Macroecological Assemblages
Chapter 8. Patterns in Body Size
Chapter 9. From Theoretical to Applied Macroecology
Chapter 10. Concluding Remarks

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Biography

Dr Jose Alexandre Felizola Diniz-Filho serves as a professor in the Departamento de Ecologia at Universidade Federal de Goias, Brazil.