Comparative Analyses of Ecosystems: Patterns, Mechanisms, and Theories

Front Matter....Pages i-xvi
Front Matter....Pages 1-1
Comparative Ecology and Undiscovered Public Knowledge....Pages 3-6
Comparative Analysis of Ecosystems: Past Lessons and Future Directions....Pages 7-23
Comparing Apples with Oranges: Methods of Interecosystem Comparison....Pages 24-45
On the Relevance of Comparative Ecology to the Larger Field of Ecology....Pages 46-63
Front Matter....Pages 65-65
Patterns of Primary Production and Herbivory in 25 North American Lake Ecosystems....Pages 67-96
Relationships of Primary and Secondary Production in Lakes and Marine Ecosystems....Pages 97-119
Primary and Secondary Production in Terrestrial Ecosystems....Pages 120-139
Comparing Ecosystem Structures: The Chesapeake Bay and the Baltic Sea....Pages 140-166
Front Matter....Pages 167-167
Comparative Responses of Aquatic Ecosystems to Toxic Chemical Stress....Pages 169-195
Streams and Disturbance: Are Cross-Ecosystem Comparisons Useful?....Pages 196-221
Searching for Specific Measures of Physiological Stress in Forest Ecosystems....Pages 222-238
Front Matter....Pages 239-239
A Cross-System Study of Phosphorus Release from Lake Sediments....Pages 241-258
Stoichiometry of C:N:P Fluxes in Shallow-Water Marine Ecosystems....Pages 259-286
Gradient Analysis of Ecosystems....Pages 287-298
Front Matter....Pages 299-299
Variance and the Description of Nature....Pages 301-318
Comparing Tropical and Temperate Forests....Pages 319-330
Density-Dependent Positive Feedbacks between Consumers and Their Resources....Pages 331-340
Front Matter....Pages 341-341
Institutional Structures....Pages 343-345
Cross-System Comparisons of Detritus Food Webs....Pages 346-347
Improving Use of Existing Data....Pages 348-350
Front Matter....Pages 341-341
Comparative Analysis of Ecosystems along Gradients of Urbanization: Opportunities and Limitations....Pages 351-355
Comparison between Tropical and Temperate Ecosystems....Pages 356-357
Legitimizing Cross-System Comparison in Ecology....Pages 358-358
Front Matter....Pages 359-359
Concluding Remarks....Pages 361-368
Back Matter....Pages 369-375