Applied Population Ecology
by H. Resit Akçakaya, Mark A. Burgman, and Lev R. Ginzburg
Applied Population
Ecology introduces junior- and senior-level undergraduates to the
principles of population ecology. Each chapter of the book discusses a topic in
detail, with examples from wildlife management, conservation biology, and
natural resource management, and chapter-end exercises reinforce the concepts
covered. These exercises emphasize practical
problems facing ecologists, conservation
biologists, and natural resource managers, and incorporation of variability
into simple models of population dynamics.
Most of the exercises
involve the use of the RAMAS® EcoLab 2.0 software
that is included with every copy of the book. EcoLab 2.0 combines tutorial
features of more advanced RAMAS programs that are used in research and teaching
at over 1000 universities and governmental laboratories in 40 countries.
Students work with real data on the dynamics of endangered species, recovering
populations, harvested species, and human populations. The use of software
instead of analytical models facilitates understanding of these important
concepts early on, even by those without strong mathematical backgrounds. An
instructor's supplement (available to adopters) includes answers to exercises
and overhead transparency masters.
RAMAS EcoLab 2.0 has three modules for (1) simple models that incorporate variability and density dependence, (2) matrix models that incorporate age and stage structure, variability and density dependence, and (3) metapopulation models with spatial structure, variability and density dependence. Each module is used to create models or load sample files, enter or modify input parameters, and run simulations. Students can create and save their own models, run simulations, and watch as the population trajectories or the map of the metapopulation is updated at every time step during a simulation. While this versatile textbooksoftware combination can stand alone as a text for courses in population ecology, conservation biology, applied ecology, and wildlife management, it can also be used in combination with a number of leading textbooks.
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Major Ecology Textbook Chapters |
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Applied Population Ecology Chapters |
Begon, Harper, & Townsend |
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R. E. Ricklefs |
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1 |
1,4 |
10,12,18 |
16 |
6 |
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2 |
2,3 |
7,19 |
18 |
7 |
|
3 |
6 |
12,16 |
17 |
13 |
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4 |
4,14 |
11,12,17 |
15,16 |
6 |
|
5 |
4 |
12 |
- |
- |
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6 |
5,15,23 |
19 |
15 |
13,19 |
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7 |
25 |
19 |
- |
3 |
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8 |
16 |
17 |
25 |
- |
H. Resit Akçakaya is Senior Scientist at Applied Biomathematics, New York. His research interests include metapopulation modeling, population viability analysis, and ecological risk assessment. Dr. Akçakaya is the author or coauthor of over fifty publications and one of the principal architects of the RAMAS library of ecological software.
Mark A. Burgman is Professor at the School of Botany and Coordinator of the Environmental Science Program at the University of Melbourne. He is a coauthor (with S. Ferson and H. R. Akçakaya) of Risk Assessment in Conservation Biology. He teaches and does research in ecological modeling, statistics, and conservation biology.
Lev R. Ginzburg is a Professor in the Department of Ecology and Evolution at Stony Brook University. Dr. Ginzburg has authored, coauthored, or edited eight books and over one hundred articles in theoretical ecology and evolution. He is a theoretical ecologist primarily interested in population dynamics and cycling, maternal effects, and risk analysis.
