I. INTRODUCTION. 1. Ecology: Meaning and Scope. II. THE PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT. 2. Solar Radiation and Climate. 3. The Physical Environment. 4. Soils. Ecological Application: How a Lack of Mushrooms Helped Power the Industrial Revolution. III. THE ORGANISM IN ITS ENVIRONMENT. 5. Adaptation. 6. Plant Adaptations to the Environment I: Photosynthesis and the Light Environment. 7. Plant Adaptations to the Environment II: Thermal, Moisture, and Nutrient Environments. 8. Animal Adaptations to the Environment. 9. Decomposition. Ecological Application: St. Patrick and the Absence of Snakes in Ireland. IV. INTRASPECIFIC POPULATION ECOLOGY. 10. Properties of Populations. 11. Population Growth. 12. Intraspecific Competition: Population Regulation. 13. Life History Patterns. V. POPULATION INTERACTIONS. 14. Interspecific Competition. 15. Concepts of Predation. 16. Predators and their Prey. 17. Coevolutionary Interactions: Parasitism and Mutualism. 18. Human Impacts on Populations. Ecological Application: The Complete Recipe for Apple Pie. VI. ECOLOGICAL GENETICS. 19. Population Genetics. VII. THE COMMUNITY. 20. Community Structure. 21. Community Dynamics. 22. Processes Controlling Community Dynamics. 23. Landscape Ecology. Ecological Application: Asteroids, Bulldozers, and Biodiversity. VIII. THE ECOSYSTEM. 24. Ecosystems Productivity. 25. Biogeochemistry I: Nutrient Cycling. 26. Biogeochemistry II: Global Cycles and Human Impacts. 27. Biogeography of Ecosystems. Ecological Application: Time to Rethink the Lawn. IX. COMPARATIVE ECOSYSTEM ECOLOGY. 28. Grassland to Tundra. 29. Forests. 30. Freshwater Ecosystems. 31. Saltwater Ecosystems. 32. Global Environmental Change. Ecological Application: Time is On Their Side. Appendix A: Sampling Plant and Animal Populations. Appendix B: Measuring Community and Population Structure. Appendix C: Distribution of World Vegetation Maps.. Glossary. Bibliography. Acknowledgements. Index.