30-Second Ecology: 50 Key Concepts and Challenges, Each Explained in Half a Minute(30-Second)

Whether you're looking to save the planet or learn more about your local environment, 30-Second Ecology introduces you to the diversity, behaviours and challenges within our ecosystem. Part of the 30-Second series, this introductory guide to ecology is split into 7 chapters that cover: Evolution & Ecology Behavioural Ecology Population Ecology Communities & Landscapes Biomes & Biodiversity Applied Ecology  Ecology in a Changing World  Plus profiles of notable ecologists, such as Robert H. Macarthur, Rachel Carson and Wangari Maathai. Each topic is summarised in 300 words with one image, helping you understand the subject at great speed. Written by professors and experts from around the world, this book shows us that humans are truly part of this global ecology, not a separate entity from it and our collective actions have far-reaching ramifications on the environment around us.  If you like this, you might also be interested in 30-Second Zoology . . . 

Table of Contents:
Introduction   Evolution & Ecology GLOSSARY Natural selection Making new species Counting species Profile: Daniel H. Janzen Habitats & niches Life history trade-offs   Behavioural Ecology GLOSSARY Sexual selection Mating systems Costs of reproduction Defence & counter-defence Group living Kin selection Profile: William D. Hamilton   Population Ecology GLOSSARY Population distributions Dispersal Limits to population growth Profile: Paul R. Ehrlich Cycling populations Metapopulations Eating . . . . . . And being eaten Parasites Competition Mutual benefits   Communities & Landscapes GLOSSARY Energy flows Nutrient cycles Keystone species Indirect effects Disturbance & resilience Ecological succession Species-area relationship Island biogeography Profile: Robert H. MacArthur   Biomes & Biodiversity GLOSSARY Global patterns of biodiversity Oceans Freshwaters Tundra & boreal forests Temperate forests & grasslands Tropical forests & savanna Profile: Wangari Maathai Deserts   Applied Ecology GLOSSARY Valuing biodiversity Ecosystem services Soil ecology Pollination & society Biological control Vectors of disease Overharvesting Conservation biology Profile: Rachel Carson   Ecology in a Changing World GLOSSARY The sixth mass extinction Climate change Urban ecosystems Human-wildlife conflict Profile: Raman Sukumar Nature-deficit disorder Rewilding   Appendices Resources Notes on contributors Index Acknowledgements  

About the Author :
Mark Fellowes has been passionate about wildlife since an early age, spending his formative years in the wilds of the west of Ireland surveying birds and bringing bits of the countryside back home. He completed his BSc in zoology and a PhD in evolutionary biology at Imperial College London. Following a brief post-doctoral stint at the NERC Centre for Population Biology at Imperial, he joined Reading as a lecturer. Since then he became Professor of Ecology, and he is now Pro-Vice Chancellor at the University. Professor Fellowes has published several books and numerous papers in research journals. He undertakes a range of outreach work to engage the public and media in the importance of biodiversity and was listed as one of the UK’s 100 most influential men under the age of 40 by Esquire magazine.  Becky Thomas is an urban ecologist and Senior Teaching Fellow at Royal Holloway, University of London, UK. Her research interests focus on the conservation biology and ecology of birds and mammals, specifically in how people's decisions affect the ecology of wild species. She is particularly interested in how human activity affects ecological interactions at a range of scales, especially in trying to uncover some of the unexpected and unpredicted consequences of our behaviour.

Review :
This resource provides educators with an accessible guide to the ins and outs of ecology in a way that’s easy to transmit to students.