Description: Providing students with a solid understanding of core ecological concepts while explaining how ecologists raise and answer real-world questions, this second edition weaves together classic and cutting-edge case studies to bring the subject to life. It is fully updated throughout, including two chapters devoted to climate change ecology, along with extensive coverage of disease ecology, and has been designed specifically to equip students with the tools to analyze and interpret real data. Each chapter emphasizes the linkage between observations, ideas, questions, hypotheses, predictions, results, and conclusions. Additional summary sections describe the development and evolution of research programs in each of ecology's core areas, providing students with essential context. Integrated discussion questions, along with end-of-chapter questions, encourage active learning. These are supported by online resources including tutorials that teach students to use the R programming language for statistical analyses of data presented in the text.
Brief description: Fred D. Singer is Professor Emeritus of Biology at Radford University, where he has taught courses including general ecology, field ecology, and climate change ecology for 25 years. He was awarded the 2000 Radford Foundation Distinguished Creative Scholar Award in recognition of his work in developing dual research programs into spider behavioral and community ecology as well as approaches to active learning.
Review Quotes: 'Dr. Singer's book is a masterpiece of ecological knowledge. I love how he improved upon the first edition with new information throughout, much of which builds upon classic studies. The increased emphasis on climate change in the second edition is a reflection not only of the time we live in, but of Dr. Singer's elegant response, providing an opportunity for the next generation not only to understand the existential problem we are facing, but also to be prepared with the tools and knowledge of how to effectively deal with a changing climate. Those sections are almost worth the price of admission alone, but the rest of the text, which is an in-depth look at all aspects of ecology and a student-centered focus on problem solving and learning how to be ecologists, continues to make this the best ecology text on the market.' Howard Whiteman, Murray State University