Category Archives: Ecology readings

“Contrasting the effects of natural selection, genetic drift and gene flow on urban evolution in white clover (Trifolium repens)”

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CITATION:
Marc T. J. Johnson, Cindy M. Prashad, Mélanie Lavoignat, Hargurdeep S. Saini. 2018.  Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, vol. 285, no. 1883, published on-line July 25, 2018: pp. 8-33.
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ABSTRACT:
Urbanization is a global phenomenon with profound effects on the ecology and evolution of organisms. We examined the relative roles of natural selection, genetic drift and gene flow in influencing the evolution of white clover (Trifolium repens), which thrives in urban and rural areas. Continue reading →

“A sociometabolic reading of the Anthropocene: Modes of subsistence, population size and human impact on Earth”

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CITATION:
Marina Fischer-Kowalski, Fridolin Krausmann and Irene Pallua. 2014.  The Anthropocene Review, vol. 1, no. 1: pp. 8-33.
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ABSTRACT:
We search for a valid and quantifiable description of how and when humans acquired the ability to dominate major features of the Earth System. While common approaches seek to quantify Continue reading →

“Designing Autonomy: Opportunities for New Wildness in the Anthropocene”

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CITATION:
Cantrell, B., Martin, L.J., and Ellis, E.C. 2017. Trends in Ecology and Evolution Vol. 32, No. 3, pp. 156–66.
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ABSTRACT:
Maintaining wild places increasingly involves intensive human interventions. Several recent projects use semi-automated mediating technologies to Continue reading →

“Advances in restoration ecology: rising to the challenges of the coming decades”

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CITATION:
Perring, M.P. et al. 2015. Ecosphere, 6(8): art. 131.
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ABSTRACT:
Simultaneous environmental changes challenge biodiversity persistence and human wellbeing. The science and practice of restoration ecology, in collaboration with other disciplines, can Continue reading →

“The Big Ratchet: How Humanity Thrives in the Face of Natural Crisis: A Biography of an Ingenious Species”

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CITATION:
R. DeFries. 2014. New York: Basic Books.
BOOK WEBSITE:
ABSTRACT:

The human species has long lived on the edge of starvation. Now we produce enough food so that all 7 billion of us could eat nearly 3,000 calories every day. This is such an astonishing transformation as to Continue reading →

“Paleolithic population growth pulses evidenced by small animal exploitation”

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We welcome Zach Throckmorton, of Lincoln Memorial University, as our first guest blogger . . . click for his bio, or go to the “Who we are” tab.

CITATION:
M. Stiner et al. 1999. Science. 283:190-194.
ONLINE AVAILABILITY:
ABSTRACT:
Variations in small game hunting along the northern and eastern rims of the Mediterranean Sea and results from predator-prey simulation modeling indicate that human population densities Continue reading →

“Fifteen forms of biodiversity trend in the Anthropocene”

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CITATION:
Brian J. McGill, et al. 2015. Trends in Ecology & Evolution, Vol. 30, No. 2, pp. 104-113.
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ABSTRACT:
Humans are transforming the biosphere in unprecedented ways, raising the important question of how these impacts are changing biodiversity. Here we argue that our understanding of biodiversity trends in the Anthropocene, and our ability to protect the natural world, is impeded by Continue reading →

“Organisms as ecosystem engineers”

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THIS POST IS PART OF THE SOCIAL MEDIA IN THE ANTHROPOCENE PROJECT—SEE THIS DESCRIPTION OF OUR SUBMISSION.

CITATION:
Jones, C. G., J. H. Lawton, and M. Shachak. 1994. Oikos, 69, pp. 373-386.
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ABSTRACT:
Ecosystem engineers can alter the environment to meet their needs by controlling the availability of resources. In doing so, they create habitat for themselves as well as other organisms. Continue reading →

“What is ecological engineering?”

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CITATION:
Mitsch, W.J. 2012. Ecological Engineering, Vol. 45, pp. 5-12.
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ABSTRACT:
Ecological engineering, defined as the design of sustainable ecosystems that integrate human society with its natural environment for the benefit of both, has developed over the last 30 years, and rapidly over the last 10 years. Its goals include Continue reading →

“On the Poverty of Our Nomenclature”

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CITATION:
Eileen Crist. 2013. Environmental Humanities, Vol. 3, pp. 129-147.
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ABSTRACT:
This paper examines the recent proposal to christen our geological epoch “the Anthropocene.” The reasoning offered for this new name is that humanity’s enormous mark on the geological strata would be Continue reading →