Includes bibliographical references and index.

Contents: Introduction:what is Ecology? -- Natural History:life on land -- Life in water -- Individuals: temperature relations -- Water relations -- Energy and nutrient relations -- Social relations -- Population Ecology: population genetics and natural selection -- Population distribution and abundance -- Population dynamics -- Population growth -- Life histories -- Interactions:Competition -- Exploitation: predation, herbivory, parasitism, and disease --Mutualism -- Communities and ecosystems: Species abundance and diversity -- Species interactions and community structure -- Primary production and energy flow -- Nutrient cycling and retention -- Succession and stability -- Large-scale ecology: landscape ecology -- Geographic ecology -- Global ecology -- Appendix A -- Appendix B -- Appendix C -- Glossary -- References -- Credits -- Index.