Abstract Mussels are a group of bivalves that includes the dominant species shallow-sea, freshwater, and deep-sea chemosynthetic ecosystems. cling to various solid underwater surfaces using proteinaceous thread, called byssus, which is central their ecology, physiology, evolution. cluster byssi form “mussel beds,” thereby increasing biomass per unit habitat area, also creating habitats for othe...

Teeth are central for the study of ecology, as teeth are at the direct interface between an organism and its environment. Recent years have witnessed a rapid growth in the use of teeth to understand a broad range of topics in living and fossil primate biology. This in part reflects new techniques for assessing ways in which teeth respond to, and interact with, an organism's environment. Long-te...

A theoretical and quantitative framework of first principles would benefit estuarine and coastal ecologists in search of predictions to enhance our understanding and management of marine resources. The Metabolic Theory of Ecology describes a possible unifying theory for ecology, including mechanistically derived equations that predict scaling exponents observed in empirical, allometric relation...

Chemical ecology is a mechanistic approach to understanding the causes and consequences of species interactions, distribution, abundance, and diversity. The promise of chemical ecology stems from its potential to provide causal mechanisms that further our understanding of ecological interactions and allow us to more effectively manipulate managed systems. Founded on the notion that all organism...

INTRODUCTION Although oaks dominate many forest ecosystems worldwide (Barnes and others 1998), several aspects of oak ecology remain poorly understood including oak regeneration and masting (McShea and Healy 2001). Animals that eat and disperse acorns, such as squirrels, mice, and jays may play a pivotal role in oak forest dynamics (Jones and others 1998, Ostfeld and others 1996), influencing r...

The Balearic Islands Menorca, Mallorca, Ibiza and Formentera are known to be of immense significance for European birds migrating to the South. They are used either as intermediate stops on the route to Africa or as the final winter destination. The Balearic bird communities also incorporate many permanent residents, however. The seasonal dynamics and the specific island situation have fascinat...

abstract purpose - the aim of this paper is to describe the population ecology theory through fractal thinking, an emergent human operating system that is creative, adaptive, healthy, and evolutionary; furthermore, a parallel is drawn between the population ecology model and the fractal structure. top-down hierarchies are typically characterized by command and control systems of the authority t...