Population Ecology:
First Principles
J. H. Vandermeer and D. E. Goldberg, eds.
Princeton University Press, Princeton NJ, 2003
304 pp., $35.00
ISBN: 0-691-11441-2
In
this latest addition to the growing number of texts aimed at life
scientists interested in learning about population ecology,
Vandermeer and Goldberg make a strong case for the necessity of
mathematical literacy for practicing ecologists of any ilk. What is
especially nice about their treatment of the material is that they
include liberal doses of examples from up-to-date field experiments,
with all of the appropriate caveats and emphasis on the difficulty
of getting data that is "clean" enough for most worthwhile
mathematical analyses. Students and professionals alike should come
away from reading this book with a renewed or continued appreciation
of the challenges and power of the application of mathematical
models to ecological field data. Vandermeer and Goldberg write in an
easy style, friendly but technically sound and precise. Apart from a
few typographical errors early on, the equations and examples are
clearly explained and easy to understand. More mathematically
sophisticated readers will welcome new and updated examples of
familiar concepts, whereas novices will appreciate the care the
authors have taken to include thorough explanations of the concepts,
including more detailed lessons in appendices where important.
After a brief introduction to simple models of dynamics, the authors
move on to explain how life history data can be used in matrix model
analyses, with a helpful extensive lesson on linear algebra. In the
third chapter, the authors describe qualitative analyses of
nonequilibrium systems. This section is well written and informs
readers in a logical, clear fashion about techniques for analyzing
dynamical systems while also explaining the historical context of
these methods. In particular, the authors draw analogies between
traditional equilibrium-based analyses of physical systems to older
ecological perspectives, highlighting the more recent transition in
the ecological sciences to a focus on nonequilibrium dynamics. In
the next chapter, they continue with a discussion of more complex
population dynamics, carefully dispelling popular misconceptions and
explaining the nuances of chaos theory that are most relevant to
ecological applications. In the final three chapters, Vandermeer and
Goldberg move from single-species populations to multispecies
interactions, first describing spatially explicit models through a
primer on metapopulation theory (with some classic examples) and
then moving on to predator-prey, host-parasite,
competition/mutualism scenarios, and models.
The book in some ways is structured much like a typical textbook in
ecology, with an emphasis on explanations of the quantitative
aspects. The authors do, however, use several examples from the
ecological literature to illustrate each of the basic quantitative
principles covered. Despite the fact that both authors have
backgrounds and extensive research experience in agricultural
ecology, the examples provided are not particularly biased toward
entomological or agroecological scenarios-a feature that renders
this book as useful in teaching a basic ecology class as in teaching
an applied entomological seminar.
While the book does a good job of covering most concepts important
to basic population ecology, the level of detail given to different
theoretical constructs is not entirely consistent. For instance,
familiarity with basic ecological theory in some cases is assumed
(e.g., the MacArthur-Wilson Equilibrium Theory of Biogeography as
the inspiration for modern-day advances in spatially explicit
modeling), but in other cases, the theory is derived from first
principles (e.g., Lotka-Volterra predator-prey equations, the focus
of chapter 6). This is not necessarily a liability but is worth
keeping in mind if readers were planning to use the book to teach
students with a background in either ecology/entomology or applied
mathematics.
Finally, topics such as diffusion and other types of differential
equation models, popular tools for a variety of applications in
invasion ecology and predator-prey interactions, are not described
or mentioned. Readers looking for more technical descriptions of
these and other more complex models would be better off looking at
recent texts by Kot (2001),
Edelstein-Keshet (2005), or
Turchin (2003). Population
Ecology is really a primer rather than a comprehensive
mathematical text; its purpose, as stated by the authors themselves,
is to introduce readers to a range of basic quantitative principles
that have proven to be essential for anyone aspiring to attain
literacy in basic or applied population ecology. An elegant
rationale for this need is given in the last chapter, which gives a
thoughtful overview of how population ecology underlies many of
today's global problems, from AIDS epidemics in Africa to economic
development in Central America. The authors do a good job of
providing a comprehensive overview of the tools essential for a
basic understanding of these complex issues.
References
Edelstein-Keshet L. Mathematical models in biology. Philadelphia,
PA, Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics, 2005.
Kot M. Elements of mathematical ecology. Cambridge, UK, Cambridge
University Press, 2001.
Turchin P. Complex population dynamics: a theoretical/empirical
synthesis. Princeton, NJ, Princeton University Press, 2003.
John E. Banks
Environmental Science, Interdisciplinary
Arts and Sciences
University of Washington
Tacoma, Washington
Environmental Entomology
Vol. 35, No. 3, June 2006, Page 811 - 811
