A Primer of Ecology with R by STEVENS,M. H. H.

A Primer of Ecology with R (M. H. H. Stevens) Péter Sólymos Handbook on Analyzing Human Genetic Data: Computational Approaches and Software (S. Lin and H. Zhao, Editors) Peter M. Visscher From Finite Sample to Asymptotic Methods in Statistics (P. K. Sen, J. M. Singer, and A. C. Pedroso de Lima) Miodrag Lovric Dynamic Linear Models with R (G. Petris, S. Petrone, and P. Campagnoli) Helio S. Migon Functional Data Analysis with R and Matlab (J. O. Ramsay, G. Hooker, and S. Graves) Hervé Cardot Continuous Bivariate Distributions, 2nd edition (N. Balakrishnan and C.‐D. Lai) Márcia D'Elia Branco Brief Reports by the Editor The Elements of Statistical Learning: Data Mining, Inference, and Prediction, 2nd edition. (T. Hastie, R. Tibshirani, and J. Friedman) Gene Expression Studies Using Affymetrix Microarrays (H. Göhlmann and W. Talloen)     

The application of ecological theory to palaeoecological studies, with special reference to equilibrium theory and the Ordovician System

In the light of recent applications of equilibrium theory to palaeoecological investigation, the origins and scope of the model are reviewed as a perspective for considering the viability of such applications in the analysis of Ordovician faunal associations. Alternative methods for the detection of immigration and emigration patterns are advanced in favour of other recently proposed techniques. The mid-Caradoc Gelli-grin Formation is used as an example of a well sampled fossiliferous deposit from which comprehensive faunal data can be derived for use in the detection of intra-association fluctuations in faunal composition. Different methods of defining such fluctuations are shown to produce consistent results. 'Saturation', 'area effect' and 'overshoot effect' are all shown to be aspects of equilibrium theory with potential for application in the palaeoecological field. The calculation of the coefficient of variation for eight faunal associations discussed here is shown to be a useful method for the determination of the degree of saturation of such associations; comparable associations show similar saturation values.     

Ecology,thermodynamics and H.T. Odum's conjectures

The central rôle of energy in all life processes has led to the development of numerous hypotheses, conjectures and theories on the relationships between thermodynamics and ecological processes. In this paper we examine the theoretical and empirical support for these developments, and in particular for the widely published set of thermodynamic conjectures developed by H.T. Odum, in which the maximum power principle is put forward as a generic feature of evolution in ecosystems. Although they are widely used, we argue that many of the ecological studies that have adopted the ideas encapsulated in Odum's work have done so without being aware of some of the fundamental problems underlying this approach. We discuss alternative ways in which a general available-work concept could be constructed for use as a numeraire in an energy-centered ecological theory or paradigm. In so doing, we examine what is meant by material accessibility and energy stocks and flows with respect to traditional food web and food chain theories, and relate these to results from the evolutionary dynamics of ecosystems. We conclude that the various forms and uses of energy bound up in essential ecosystem processes present a formidable obstacle to obtaining an operational definition of a general, aggregated available-work concept, a prerequisite for the systems approach of Odum and others. We also show that the prototypical derivations of the maximum power principle, and its interpretation, are contradicted on many scales both by empirical data and models, thereby invalidating the maximum power principle as a general principle of ecological evolution. The conclusions point to the fundamental problem of trying to describe ecosystems in a framework which has a one-dimensional currency.