Adaptive Herbivore Ecology: From Resources to Populations in Variable Environments [Hardcover]

A unique monograph describing plantherbivore interactions in the context of large African herbivorous mammals.Adaptive Herbivore Ecology describes plant-herbivore interactions in the context of large African mammals (such as antelope and cattle) and is written by the world-leading ecologist, Norman Owen-Smith. The author develops computational models based on his extensive field experience and a comprehensive survey of the literature. These models represent a novel approach to the integration of concepts at physiological, behavioural and population ecology levels and have the potential to be applied to other areas of ecology. This text is particularly aimed at academic researchers and graduates in the field of ecology.Adaptive Herbivore Ecology describes plant-herbivore interactions in the context of large African mammals (such as antelope and cattle) and is written by the world-leading ecologist, Norman Owen-Smith. The author develops computational models based on his extensive field experience and a comprehensive survey of the literature. These models represent a novel approach to the integration of concepts at physiological, behavioural and population ecology levels and have the potential to be applied to other areas of ecology. This text is particularly aimed at academic researchers and graduates in the field of ecology.The adaptation of herbivore behavior to seasonal and locational variations in vegetation quantity and quality is inadequately modelled by conventional methods. Norman Owen-Smith innovatively links the principles of adaptive behavior to their consequences for population dynamics and community ecology, through the application of a metaphysiological modeling approach. The main focus is on large mammalian herbivores occupying seasonally variable environments such as those characterized by African savannas, but applications to temperate zone ungulates are also included. Issues of habitat suitability, species coexistence, and population stability or il#(