The Ecology of Bird Communities, Volume 1, Foundations and patterns

Wiens, John A.

ISBN 10: 0521426340 / ISBN 13: 9780521426343

Published by Cambridge University Press, 1992

About this Item

1992. Birds, Natural History. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge Studies in Ecology, 539p., very good paperback with previous owner's name on first page. 6/25.

Seller Inventory # -1324740709

Bibliographic Details

• Title: The Ecology of Bird Communities, Volume 1, Foundations and patterns
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Publication Date: 1992
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0521426340
• ISBN 13: 9780521426343
• Binding: Soft cover
• Condition: Very Good

About this title

Synopsis

These two books represent a synthesis and critical evaluation of studies conducted on bird communities, or sets of bird species that occur together. Drawing from studies conducted throughout the world, they review in detail what is known about the patterns of organization of such communities and the factors, such as competition, predation, past history, climate, habitat or disturbance that may determine these patterns. In Volume 1, the author considers why the avian community ecologists ask the questions they do, and how they have proceeded to answer them. The questions have generally involved both "what" (pattern) and "why" (process) components. Most of the volume is devoted to a critical evaluation of the patterns of bird communities. In Volume 2, the author considers how community organization patterns have been explained in terms of causal processes, how the operation of those processes has been determined, and how the patterns and our efforts to discern and understand them are influenced by the complexity and variability of natural environments.

From the Back Cover

Processes and Variations, discusses the ways in which bird community patterns have been interpreted. It describes how ecologists have gone about identifying the factors believed to influence the patterns of organization of of bird communities and examines how the complexity and variability of natural environments may influence efforts to discern and understand the nature of these communities.