Ladies a n d g e n t 1 e m e n , I have the pleasure to welcome you here in Prague in the name of the Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences and to open the Fifth Inter national Colloquium on Soil Zoology. We are very glad that Czecho slovakia was chosen for this important meeting. It is clear to all of us that the soil plays and will play a de cisive part in providing food for the explosive increase of human pop ulation. For this reason we watch with great anxiety the negative influence of human activities on the environment accompanied also by the other destructive intervention into the soil ecosystem, its devas tation by inefficient management, application of herbicides and pesti cides pollution by the waste products of industry and human settlements. The basis for solving these accumulating and now sometimes latent prob lems is among others a good knowledge of the role of soil organisms in the cycles of materials and in the energy flow. Soil zoology as a part of soil biology is still at the beginning of this trend The lack of in formation about life in soil is obvious when compared with the results of a related biological science dealing with the water ecosystem.

This classic text, whose First Edition one reviewer referred to as"the ecologists' bible," has been substantially revised andrewritten. Not only have the advances made in the field since theSecond Edition been taken into account, but the scope has beenexplicitly extended to all macroscopic animals, with particularattention being paid to fish as well as other vertebrates. Ecological Methods provides a unique synthesis of themethods and techniques available for the study of populations andecosystems. Techniques used to obtain both absolute and relativepopulation estimates are described, and approaches to the directmeasurement of births, deaths, migration and the construction andinterpretation of life tables are reviewed. The text is extensively illustrated, clearly describing a widerange of equipment and methods of analysis. Comprehensive andup-to-date bibliographies to each chapter fully cover the relevantliterature, and references are given to available computer programsand internet addresses. The book has an active web site providingadditional illustrations, details of equipment and programs, andreferences to work published since the revision was completed. Likethe earlier editions, this book will be an indispensable source ofreference to researchers and students at all levels in the fieldsof ecology, entomology and zoology. Completely revised and rewritten edition of a classic. Scope extended to all macroscopic animals, notably fish andother vertebrates. Active web site displaying additional material. References to computer programmes and internet addressesthroughout the text. Affordable paperback.

the virtual impossibility of extracting the many different species from a habitat with equal efficiency by a single method (e.g. Nef, 1960). 1.1 Population estimates Population estimates can be classified into a number of different types; the most convenient classification is that adopted by Morris (1955), although he used the terms somewhat differently in a later paper (1960). 1.1.1 Absolute and related estimates The animal numbers may be expressed as a density per unit area of the ground of the habitat. Such estimates are given by nearest neighbour and related techniques (Chapter 2), marking and recapture (Chapter 3), by sampling a known fraction of the habitat (Chapter 4-6) and by removal sampling and random walk techniques (Chapter 7). Absolute population The number of animals per unit area (e.g. hectare, acre). It is almost impossible to construct a budget or to study mortality factors without the conversion of population estimates to absolute figures, for not only do insects often move from the plant to the soil at different developmental stages, but the amount of plant material is itself always changing. The importance of obtaining absolute estimates cannot be overemphasized.

Ecological Methods by the late T.R. E. Southwood and revised over the years by P. A. Henderson has developed into a classic reference work for the field biologist. It provides a handbook of ecological methods and analytical techniques pertinent to the study of animals, with an emphasis on non-microscopic animals in both terrestrial and aquatic environments. It remains unique in the breadth of the methods presented and in the depth of the literature cited, stretching right back to the earliest days of ecological research. The universal availability of R as an open source package has radically changed the way ecologists analyse their data. In response, Southwood's classic text has been thoroughly revised to be more relevant and useful to a new generation of ecologists, making the vast resource of R packages more readily available to the wider ecological community. By focusing on the use of R for data analysis, supported by worked examples, the book is now more accessible than previous editions to students requiring support and ideas for their projects. Southwood's Ecological Methods provides a crucial resource for both graduate students and research scientists in applied ecology, wildlife ecology, fisheries, agriculture, conservation biology, and habitat ecology. It will also be useful to the many professional ecologists, wildlife biologists, conservation biologists and practitioners requiring an authoritative overview of ecological methodology.

This volume contains papers highlighting the diverse interests of modern ecologists. All areas of ecology are covered: from the current concerns over changes in CO2 levels and its affects on the Earth's vegetation to the unique Cichlid fish populations in Lake Tanganika, whose structure is important for other organismal populations, including humans. Other theoretical and applied ecological studies are also discussed, making this volume essential for all ecologists.