Stability and Complexity in Model Ecosystems

Robert M May

ISBN 10: 0691088616 / ISBN 13: 9780691088617

Published by Princeton University Press, US, 2001

About this Item

What makes populations stabilize? What makes them fluctuate? Are populations in complex ecosystems more stable than populations in simple ecosystems? In 1973, Robert May addressed these questions in this classic book. May investigated the mathematical roots of population dynamics and argued-counter to most current biological thinking-that complex ecosystems in themselves do not lead to population stability. Stability and Complexity in Model Ecosystems played a key role in introducing nonlinear mathematical models and the study of deterministic chaos into ecology, a role chronicled in James Gleick's book Chaos. In the quarter century since its first publication, the book's message has grown in power. Nonlinear models are now at the center of ecological thinking, and current threats to biodiversity have made questions about the role of ecosystem complexity more crucial than ever. In a new introduction, the author addresses some of the changes that have swept biology and the biological world since the book's first publication.

Seller Inventory # LU-9780691088617

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Stability and Complexity in Model Ecosystems
• Publisher: Princeton University Press, US
• Publication Date: 2001
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0691088616
• ISBN 13: 9780691088617
• Binding: Paperback
• Condition: New
• Weight: 340 grams

About this title

Synopsis

What makes populations stabilize? What makes them fluctuate? Are populations in complex ecosystems more stable than populations in simple ecosystems? In 1973, Robert May addressed these questions in this classic book. May investigated the mathematical roots of population dynamics and argued-counter to most current biological thinking-that complex ecosystems in themselves do not lead to population stability. Stability and Complexity in Model Ecosystems played a key role in introducing nonlinear mathematical models and the study of deterministic chaos into ecology, a role chronicled in James Gleick's book Chaos. In the quarter century since its first publication, the book's message has grown in power. Nonlinear models are now at the center of ecological thinking, and current threats to biodiversity have made questions about the role of ecosystem complexity more crucial than ever. In a new introduction, the author addresses some of the changes that have swept biology and the biological world since the book's first publication.

About the Author

Robert M. May has been a pioneer in theoretically driven biology for the last thirty years. He has done key work in population ecology, the dynamics of infectious diseases, extinctions, and other areas. He is currently a Professor at Oxford University as well as President of the Royal Society in the United Kingdom.