Why acknowledging diverse eco-social relationships can help us overcome the political polarization that undermines our ability to protect the environment When we picture the ideal environmentalist, we likely have in mind someone who dedicates herself to reducing her own environmental footprint through individual choices about consumption—driving a fuel-efficient car, for example, or eating less meat, or refusing plastic straws. This is a benchmark that many aspire to—and many others reject. In Eco-Types, Emily Huddart Kennedy shows that there is more than one way to care about the environment, outlining a spectrum of eco-social relationships that range from engagement to indifference. Drawing on three years of interviews and research, Kennedy describes five archetypal relationships with the environment: the Eco-Engaged, often politically liberal, who have an acute level of concern about the environment, a moral commitment to protect it, and the conviction that an individual can make a difference; the Self-Effacing, who share the Eco-Engaged’s concerns but not the belief in their own efficacy; the Optimists, often politically conservative, who are confident in their relationship with the environment, doubt the severity of environmental problems, and resent insinuations that they don’t care; the Fatalists, who are pessimistic about environmental decline and feel little responsibility to adopt environment-friendly habits; and the Indifferent, who have no affinity for any part of the environmental movement. Kennedy argues that when liberals feel they have a moral monopoly on environmental issues, polarization results. If we are serious about protecting the planet, we must acknowledge that we don’t all need to care about the environment in the same way.

In many areas nutrient loadings to aquatic ecosystems have increased considerably as a result of population growth, industrial development and urbanisation. This has resulted in enhanced growth of phytoplankton, shifts in composition of the plankton community and changes in the structure of ecosystems, which are often considered to be objectionable. To help understanding these processes and to predict future conditions, a mathematical model, BLOOM, has been developed and applied since 1977. It simulates the biomass and composition of phytoplankton and macro algae in relation to the amount of nutrients, the under water light climate and grazing. It can be applied as a relatively simple screening tool, but also as part of advanced integrated modelling systems including additional hydrodynamic, suspended matter and habitat components. The model has been extensively validated, which means that its credibility was demonstrated systematically for certain types of applications. It has been applied as a supporting management tool to a very large number of aquatic systems worldwide: lakes, channel systems, estuaries, lagoons and coastal seas, using generic coefficients (one set for fresh water, one set for marine simulations) as much as possible. The principles of the model, its validation and a number of representative applications are described in Eco-Hydrodynamic Modelling of Primary Production in Coastal Waters and Lakes Using BLOOM.

This 33-chapter volume presents a critical examination of the importance of stable isotopes in understanding key plant metabolic processes. - Carbon isotope analyses for estimates of plant water use and metabolism - Integrated estimates of stress impacts and life history in ecological systems - Hydrogen and oxygen isotope analyses for evaluating water sources and transpiration - Use of stable isotopes in scaling from leaf to global levels - Sections include: History and Theoretical Considerations, Ecological Aspects of Carbon Isotope Variation, Agricultural Aspects of Carbon Isotope Variation, Genetics and Isotopic Variation, Water Relations and Isotopic Composition

Encyclopedia of Evolutionary Biology, Four Volume Set is the definitive go-to reference in the field of evolutionary biology. It provides a fully comprehensive review of the field in an easy to search structure. Under the collective leadership of fifteen distinguished section editors, it is comprised of articles written by leading experts in the field, providing a full review of the current status of each topic. The articles are up-to-date and fully illustrated with in-text references that allow readers to easily access primary literature. While all entries are authoritative and valuable to those with advanced understanding of evolutionary biology, they are also intended to be accessible to both advanced undergraduate and graduate students. Broad topics include the history of evolutionary biology, population genetics, quantitative genetics; speciation, life history evolution, evolution of sex and mating systems, evolutionary biogeography, evolutionary developmental biology, molecular and genome evolution, coevolution, phylogenetic methods, microbial evolution, diversification of plants and fungi, diversification of animals, and applied evolution. Presents fully comprehensive content, allowing easy access to fundamental information and links to primary research Contains concise articles by leading experts in the field that ensures current coverage of each topic Provides ancillary learning tools like tables, illustrations, and multimedia features to assist with the comprehension process

In recent years, scientists have realized that evolution can occur on timescales much shorter than the 'long lapse of ages' emphasized by Darwin - in fact, evolutionary change is occurring all around us all the time. This work provides an authoritative and accessible introduction to eco-evolutionary dynamics, a cutting-edge new field that seeks to unify evolution and ecology into a common conceptual framework focusing on rapid and dynamic environmental and evolutionary change.

Advances in Agronomy