Introduction to the Study of Animal Populations

I: Theory.- 1. The history and scope of ecology.- 1.0 Introduction.- 1.1 Population ecology: The Study of the Distribution and Abundance of Animals.- 1.2 The Broad Bases for Population Ecology.- 1.3 How to Write About Ecology.- 1.4 Further Reading.- 2. Environment.- 2.0 Introduction.- 2.1 The Idea that Environment is Divisible into five Components.- 2.2 Further Reading.- 3. Components of environment; resources.- 3.0 Introduction.- 3.1 Relative Shortages.- 3.11 Extrinsic relative shortages.- 3.12 Intrinsic relative shortages.- 3.121 Outbreaks of pests.- 3.2 Absolute Shortages.- 3.21 Territorial behaviour in relation to resources.- 3.211 Territorial behaviour in insects.- 3.212 Territorial behaviour in vertebrates.- 3.3 The distribution and abundance of resources.- 4. Components of environment; mates.- 4.0 Introduction.- 4.1 Shortage of Mates.- 4.2 The prevalence of sparseness.- 4.3 Adaptations that increase the chance of finding a mate when numbers are few.- 5. Components of environment; predators and pathogens: aggressors.- 5.0 Introduction.- 5.1 Predators.- 5.11 The ‘biological control’ of insect pests.- 5.12 Predators of vertebrates.- 5.2 Pathogens.- 5.21 The biological control of rabbits by myxomatosis.- 5.22 The biological control of insect pests.- 5.23 The activity of pathogens.- 5.3 Aggressors.- 6. Components of environment; weather.- 6.0 Introduction.- 6.1 Temperature.- 6.11 The influence of temperature on speed of development.- 6.111 The speed of development at constant temperatures.- 6.12 The lethal influence of temperature.- 6.13 The limits of the tolerable zone.- 6.131 The influence of acclimatization on the limits of the tolerable zone.- 6.14 Behaviour in a gradient of temperature.- 6.15 Adaptations to temperature.- 6.2 Moisture.- 6.21 Behaviour in relation to moisture.- 6.22 Physiological mechanisms for conserving water no.- 6.221 ‘Water-balance’ in aquatic animals no.- 6.222 Conservation of water in terrestrial insects, ticks and snails.- 6.223 Conservation of water in terrestrial mammals.- 6.3 Light.- 6.31 The influence of light in synchronizing life-cycles with each other.- 6.32 The influence of light in synchronizing the life-cycle with the season of the year.- 7. Components of environment; malentities.- 7.0 Introduction.- 7.1 Browning’s definition of hazards.- 7.2 Malentities.- 8. Components of environment; more about the ecological web.- 8.0 Introduction.- 8.1 Some advantages in being one of many.- 8.2 Interactions in the ecological web may be important.- 8.3 Interactions in the ecological web may ramify.- 8.4 Ecological barriers as part of the ecological web.- 9. Theory; the numbers of animals in natural populations.- 9.0 Introduction.- 9.01 The meanings of ‘common’ and ‘rare’.- 9.1 The conditions of ‘Commonness’ and *Rare-ness’ in local populations.- 9.11 The conditions of commonness in local populations.- 9.12 The conditions of rareness in local populations.- 9.13 The way in which weather keeps a local population rare relative to food and other resources.- 9.2 The conditions of ‘Commonness’ or ‘Rare-ness’ in natural populations.- 9.21 General conclusions.- 9.22 Negative feed-back to density.- 9.221 The conditions of negative feed-back in natural populations.- II: Practical Course.- 10. Methods for estimating density, patterns of distribution and dispersal in populations of animals.- 10.0 Introduction.- 10.1 The measurement of relative density.- 10.2 The measurement of absolute density.- 10.21 Counting the whole population.- 10.22 The use of quadrats.- 10.23 The method of capture, marking, release and recapture.- 10.3 The measurement of ‘Aggregation’ in natural populations.- 10.31 A test for randomness: the Poisson distribution.- 10.4 Dispersal.- 10.41 Dispersal by drifting.- 10.411 Dispersal of the bean aphis. Aphis fabae.- 10.412 Dispersal of wingless insects, mites and spiders.- 10.413 The dispersal of locusts.- 10.414 The dispersal of strong-flying insects by winds near the ground.- 10.415 The dispersal of marine species that drift with currents.- 10.42 Dispersal by swimming, walking or flying.- 10.421 The measurement of dispersal.- 10.43 Dispersal by clinging.- 10.44 The special importance of dispersal in insect predators.- 10.45 The general importance of dispersal.- 10.5 Class experiments on the estimation of density, distribution and dispersal.- 10.51 Density.- 10.511 To compare the relative densities of two populations of Paramoecium.- 10.512 To estimate the number of Tribolium in a box of flour.- 10.513 To estimate the number of Tribolium using stratified sampling.- 10.514 To estimate the number of Helix by capture, marking, release and recapture.- 10.515 To estimate the trends in the density of a population of Tribolium using a trellis diagram.- 10.52 Patterns of distribution.- 10.521 To compare the distribution of Saissetia with the Poisson distribution.- 10.522 To compare the pattern of distribution of two colonies of Paramoecium.- 10.53 The measurement of dispersal.- 10.531 To measure the rate of dispersal of Paramoecium.- 10.532 To measure the rate of dispersal of Helix.- 11. Physiological responses to temperature.- 11.1 The influence of temperature on speed of development.- 11.11 To compare the rate of egg-laying of flour beetles over a range of temperature.- 11.12 To measure the influence of temperature on the rate of egg-production by Thrips imaginis.- 11.2 The lethal influence of extreme temperature.- 11.21 To estimate the duration of exposure to 5°C required to kill Calandra granaria.- 11.22 To estimate the duration of exposure to 5°C required to kill the flour beetles Tribolium castaneum and T. confusum.- 12. Behaviour in relation to moisture and food.- 12.1 Moisture.- 12.11 To measure the response of flour beetles to a gradient of moisture.- 12.2 Food.- 12.21 To measure the response of egg-laying females of Pieris to a variety of common garden plants.- 12.22 To measure the response of egg-laying females of Pieris to different species of Brassicae.- 12.23 To measure the response of Helicella virgata to food and shelter.- Bibliography and Author Index.