<I>Population Ecology: First Principles</I>

Abstract

John E. Banks, J. H. Vandermeer, D. E. Goldberg Population Ecology: First Principles 2003 Princeton University Press Princeton NJ 304 0-691-11441-2 $35.00 In this latest addition to the growing number of texts aimed at life scientists interested in learning about population ecology, Vandermeer and Goldberg make a strong case for the necessity of mathematical literacy for practicing ecologists of any ilk. What is especially nice about their treatment of the material is that they include liberal doses of examples from up-to-date field experiments, with all of the appropriate caveats and emphasis on the difficulty of getting data that is clean enough for most worthwhile mathematical analyses. Students and professionals alike should come away from reading this book with a renewed or continued appreciation of the challenges and power of the application of mathematical models to ecological field data. Vandermeer and Goldberg write in an easy style, friendly but technically sound and precise. Apart from a few typographical errors early on, the equations and examples are clearly explained and easy to … 3Corresponding author: Department of Entomology, College of Agronomy and Biotechnology, China Agricultural University; No.2 West Yuan-Ming-Yuan Road, Beijing 100094, China (e-mail: zhangqingwen{at}263.net).