Most of ecology is about metabolism: the ways that organisms use energy and materials. The energy requirements of individuals - their metabolic rates - vary predictably with their body size and temperature. Ecological interactions are exchanges of energy and materials between organisms and their environments. So metabolic rate affects ecological processes at all levels: individuals, populations, communities and ecosystems. Each chapter focuses on a different process, level of organization, or kind of organism. It lays a conceptual foundation and presents empirical examples. Together, the chapters provide an integrated framework that holds the promise for a unified theory of ecology.
The book is intended to be accessible to upper-level undergraduate, and graduate students, but also of interest to senior scientists. Its easy-to-read chapters and clear illustrations can be used in lecture and seminar courses. Together they make for an authoritative treatment that will inspire future generations to study metabolic ecology.
Metabolic Ecology: A Scaling Approach. With figures and tables from the book for downloading, together with updates and additional resources
Notes on contributors, vii
Preface, xiv
Introduction: Metabolism as the basis for a theoretical unification of ecology, 1
JAMES H. BROWN, RICHARD M. SIBLY, AND ASTRID KODRIC-BROWN
PART I FOUNDATIONS, 7
1 Methodological tools, 9
ETHAN P. WHITE, XIAO XIAO, NICK J. B. ISAAC, AND RICHARD M. SIBLY
2 The metabolic theory of ecology and its central equation, 21
JAMES H. BROWN AND RICHARD M. SIBLY
3 Stoichiometry, 34
MICHAEL KASPARI
4 Modeling metazoan growth and ontogeny, 48
ANDREW J. KERKHOFF
5 Life history, 57
RICHARD M. SIBLY
6 Behavior, 67
APRIL HAYWARD, JAMES F. GILLOOLY, AND ASTRID KODRIC-BROWN
7 Population and community ecology, 77
NICK J.B. ISAAC, CHRIS CARBONE, AND BRIAN MCGILL
8 Predator-prey relations and food webs, 86
OWEN L. PETCHEY AND JENNIFER A. DUNNE
9 Ecosystems, 99
KRISTINA J. ANDERSON-TEIXEIRA AND PETER M. VITOUSEK
10 Rates of metabolism and evolution, 112
JOHN L. GITTLEMAN AND PATRICK R. STEPHENS
11 Biodiversity and its energetic and thermal controls, 120
DAVID STORCH
PART II SELECTED ORGANISMS AND TOPICS, 133
12 Microorganisms, 135
JORDAN G. OKIE
13 Phytoplankton, 154
ELENA LITCHMAN
14 Land plants: new theoretical directions and empirical prospects, 164
BRIAN J. ENQUIST AND LISA PATRICK BENTLEY
15 Marine invertebrates, 188
MARY I. O'CONNOR AND JOHN F. BRUNO
16 Insect metabolic rates, 198
JAMES S. WATERS AND JON F. HARRISON
17 Terrestrial vertebrates, 212
WILLIAM KARASOV
18 Seabirds and marine mammals, 225
DANIEL P. COSTA AND SCOTT A. SHAFFER
19 Parasites, 234
RYAN F. HECHINGER, KEVIN D. LAFFERTY, AND ARMAND M. KURIS
20 Human ecology, 248
MARCUS J. HAMILTON, OSKAR BURGER, AND ROBERT S. WALKER
PART III PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS, 259
21 Marine ecology and fisheries, 261
SIMON JENNINGS, KEN H. ANDERSEN, AND JULIA L. BLANCHARD
22 Conservation biology, 271
ALISON G. BOYER AND WALTER JETZ
23 Climate change, 280
KRISTINA J. ANDERSON-TEIXEIRA, FELISA A. SMITH, AND S. K. MORGAN ERNEST
24 Beyond biology, 293
MELANIE E. MOSES AND STEPHANIE FORREST
25 Synthesis and prospect, 302
JAMES H. BROWN, RICHARD M. SIBLY, AND ASTRID KODRIC-BROWN
Glossary, 306
References, 309
Index, 361
COMPANION WEBSITE
This book is accompanied by a companion website: www.wiley.com/go/sibly/metabolicecology
With figures and tables from the book for downloading, together with updates and additional resources