Biotic Interactions and Global Change

Book Description

This digital document is a journal article from Forest Ecology and Management, published by Elsevier in 2007. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Media Library immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Description:
The mechanisms by which climate affects recruitment and loss of plants and the interactions between those plants and other organisms (e.g., pathogens, granivores, seed dispersers) have seldom been studied in the context of plant response to climate change. We examined how climate influences Jeffrey pine (Pinus jeffreyi) recruitment, mortality, and species interactions at three elevation zones (low, mid, high) across its elevation range (1550-2470m) in the semi-arid Carson Range of western Nevada. Local climate was correlated with several aspects of stand structure, including smaller trees, slower growth rates, greater predation by seed insects, and higher tree mortality at low elevation. Cone crop was not affected by elevation, but there were more mature trees and more filled seeds per cone at mid- and high elevations. Populations of seed-caching rodents were largest at mid-elevation, but sufficient rodents were present at all elevations to cause rapid removal and dispersal of pine seeds. Seedling emergence from rodent caches was greatest at low and middle elevation, but seedling survival was best at middle and high elevations. The number of saplings was greatest at mid-elevation sites. These results suggest a retracting population at low elevation (high adult tree mortality and low recruitment), a rapidly expanding population at mid-elevation (low adult tree mortality and high recruitment), and a slowly expanding population at high elevation (low adult tree mortality and low recruitment). These demographic patterns foreshadow a shift in distribution upslope over future decades, driven by changes in climate and facilitated by biotic interactions.

Book Description

Maple is a very powerful computer algebra system used by students, educators, mathematicians, statisticians, scientists, and engineers for doing numerical and symbolic computations. Greatly expanded and updated from the author's MAPLE V Primer, The MAPLE Book offers extensive coverage of the latest version of this outstanding software package, MAPLE 7.0 The MAPLE Book serves both as an introduction to Maple and as a reference. Organized according to level and subject area of mathematics, it first covers the basics of high school algebra and graphing, continues with calculus and differential equations then moves on to more advanced topics, such as linear algebra, vector calculus, complex analysis, special functions, group theory, number theory and combinatorics. The MAPLE Book includes a tutorial for learning the Maple programming language. Once readers have learned how to program, they will appreciate the real power of Maple. The convenient format and straightforward style of The MAPLE Book let users proceed at their own pace, practice with the examples, experiment with graphics, and learn new functions as they need them. All of the Maple commands used in the book are available on the Internet, as are links to various other files referred to in the book. Whatever your level of expertise, you'll want to keep The MAPLE Book next to your computer.

Customer Reviews:

A very good and up-to-date book for learning Maple........2002-06-19

This book is a good choice for engineers, scientists or students who need to learn Maple 7 in a short time. The first chapters are written as a hands-on tutorial, beginning with Maple's environment and basic commands and progressing step by step toward programming structures, document preparation and ample discussions of some higher math topics (such as differential equations, 2d and 3d graphics, linear algebra, vector calculus, complex analysis and statistics).
The last chapter contains overviews of many other packages (about group theory, number theory, combinatorics and a lot of other things), including the new packages found in release 7.
There is also a glossary, a bibliography and references to Maple sites in the web.
On the other hand, you should know that the author does not delve into Maple's inner workings. He does not explain in depth what a data structure is in Maple, or how expressions are evaluated. Well, most of us can live without that... but if you are planning to do lots of programming with Maple, or perhaps writing a new package, probably you'll need more information.

Introduction to Geographic Information Systems with Data Files CD-ROM

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Introduction to Geographic Information Systems with Data Files CD-ROM
Kang-tsung (Karl) Chang
Manufacturer: McGraw-Hill Science/Engineering/Math
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0073312797

Book Description

This book is designed to provide students in a first or second GIS course with a solid foundation in both GIS concepts and the use of GIS. Introduction to GIS strikes a careful balance between GIS concepts and hands-on applications. The main portion of the chapter presents GIS terms and concepts and helps students learn how each one fits into a complete GIS system. At the end of each chapter, an application section with 3-5 tasks presents students with actual GIS exercises and the necessary data to solve the problem.

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Introduction to GIS w/data files CD-ROM
Kang-tsung (Karl) Chang , and Kang-tsung Chang
Manufacturer: McGraw-Hill Science/Engineering/Math
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Getting to Know ArcGIS Desktop: The Basics of ArcView, ArcEditor, and ArcInfo Updated for ArcGIS 9 (Getting to Know series)

ASIN: 0072861215

Book Description

This book is designed to provide students in a first or second GIS course with a solid foundation in both GIS concepts and the use of GIS. The book retains the same comprehensive coverage of GIS topics as featured in the first edition. This edition is organized into five parts. Part 1 (Chapters 1 to 7) explains the fundamentals of GIS including coordinate systems, data models, data input, spatial data editing, and attribute data management. Part 2 (Chapters 8 and 9) includes data display and data exploration. Part 3 (Chapters 10 and 11) examines the basic tools for GIS analysis and their applications. Part 4 (Chapters 12 and 13) covers terrain mapping and analysis, and spatial interpolation. Part 5 (Chapters 14 to 16) deals with GIS models and modeling, regions, and network and dynamic segmentation.

Book Description

Computational Geosciences with Mathematica is the only book written by a geologist specifically to show geologists and geoscientists how to use Mathematica to formulate and solve problems. It spans a broad range of geologic and mathematical topics, which are drawn from the author's extensive experience in research, consulting, and teaching. The reference and text leads readers step-by-step through geologic applications such as custom graphics programming, data input and output, linear and differential equations, linear and nonlinear regression, Monte Carlo simulation, time series and image analysis, and the visualization and analysis of geologic surfaces. It is packed with actual Mathematica output and includes boxed Computer Notes with tips and exploration suggestions. The accompanying CD-ROM contains notebooks of all text and graphics, plus an appendix on color graphics and specialised functions.

Lost Creatures of the Earth: Mass Extinction in the History of Life (Facts on File Science Library)

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Disorganized and Full of Errors

Lost Creatures of the Earth: Mass Extinction in the History of Life (Facts on File Science Library)
Jon Erickson
Manufacturer: Checkmark Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Customer Reviews:

Disorganized and Full of Errors.......2002-09-04

I wish that it wasn't so, but this book about mass extinction events suffers from serious problems with accuracy. There were so many questionable statements contained within this book, that I found myself running to the bookshelf to check the validity of my
objections with other sources.
Here are just a couple of examples. The author on pages 11 and 39 intoduces trilobites as "aquatic crustaceans". Trilobites are an extinct class of Arthropods (Crustacea is a another class) and were entirely marine in habitat. However, there follows a very brief (and confusing) description of dominant faunal groups of trilobites during the Ordovician, the Ibex and Whiterock fauna. It is far too complicated a concept to express, as the author attempts, in just two sentences, especially when neither term is included in the glossary.
In a section on extinct fish, Erikson describes placoderms as "ferocious giants that reached 30 or more feet in length", when in fact, nearly all placoderms were rather small. Only a couple of species within the arthrodire group of placoderms, such as Dunkleosteus, reached such proportions. Included in a section about the Age of Fishes, defined as the mid-paleozoic, the author refers to both sharks and rays. Rays don't show up in the fossil record until the Jurassic. That's only a couple a hundred million year off. One could go on and on describing other mistakes as blatant as these.
There are just too many serious errors to overlook and, in my opinion, additional problems with the organization and presentation of subject matter make this book tough to follow and a poor choice for those interested in extinct creatures.
Most of the illustrations are crude and the photography appears to be dated USGS and US Navy "freebies".
Skip this one and buy a copy of Richard Fortey's "Fossils- The Key To The Past" for accuracy and a more compelling overview.

Data Analysis with Excel®: An Introduction for Physical Scientists

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A disappointing book
A must for engineering statistics

Data Analysis with Excel®: An Introduction for Physical Scientists
Les Kirkup
Manufacturer: Cambridge University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0521797373

Book Description

Data analysis is of central importance in the education of scientists. This book offers a compact and readable introduction to techniques relevant to physical science students. The material is thoroughly integrated with the popular and powerful spreadsheet package Excel by Microsoft. Excel features of most relevance to the analysis of experimental data in the physical sciences are dealt with in some detail. Fully worked problems reinforce basic principles. Underlying assumptions and range of applicability of techniques are discussed, though detailed derivations of basic equations are mostly avoided or confined to the appendices.

Customer Reviews:

A disappointing book.......2004-11-12

This is an introductory book on Excel for physical scientists. Cambridge University Press deserves a compliment for a beautifully produced volume. Unfortunately, its contents are disappointing, because the text contains serious errors and omissions. The most obvious error is the statement, on page 308, that Excel does not provide built in facilities for fitting equations to data using nonlinear least squares. Excel does provide these, in the form of Solver, but the reader will look in vain for any mention of Solver in this book. (Figure 9.1 on page 365 shows that the author indeed has not bothered to activate the Solver Add-in.) The most serious omission is that the existence of user-definable functions and macros is not mentioned either. This leaves out two of the most powerful features of Excel: nonlinear least squares, and user programmability.

Another major problem with this book is that it doesn't show the reader how to use the spreadsheet effectively, but often goes out of its way to make easy things difficult. The almost exclusive emphasis in this book is on least squares methods, yet these are handled quite clumsily. On page 244, e.g., the linear correlation coefficient is computed from its formula by calculating the necessary sums, rather than by taking advantage of the fact that Linest, Regression, and Trendline all provide this parameter or its square. On page 284 the reader is shown the matrix algebra for fitting data to a parabola, and then told that "The built in matrix functions of Excel are well suited to estimating parameters in linear least squares problems", as if Linest, Regression, and Trendline are not there to take care of such tedious data manipulations. Likewise, on page 290, the user is not informed that Linest and Regression can also do multivariate analysis, but instead is instructed to do this the hard way, again by setting up and solving matrix equations. It is as if the author hasn't quite figured out yet that the spreadsheet has several built-in facilities specifically designed to make such least squares problems user-friendly.

In comparison with other books vying for the scientific spreadsheet market it is difficult to come up with any area in which Kirkup's book has the edge over its competitors: Billo (2nd ed., Wiley, 2001), Bloch (2nd ed., Wiley, 2003), de Levie (Oxford, 2004), Gottfried (2nd ed., McGraw-Hill, 2002), Liengme (3rd ed., Newnes, 2002), and Orvis (2nd ed., Sybex, 1996) all provide much more useful information, and don't make their readers jump through unnecessary hoops either.

A must for engineering statistics.......2003-10-20

If you are doing an engineering statistics course this book is of a hell of a lot more value than Engineering Statistics by Hubele, Montgomery and Runger.

Product Description

Readers of all ages, it's never too late to learn about the "Weather". Book is part of "just read Florida", does not list reading age. Learn all about weather related matter. 9" x 11".

A Change in the Weather (Facts on File Dangerous Weather Series)

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A Change in the Weather (Facts on File Dangerous Weather Series)
Michael Allaby
Manufacturer: Facts on File
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0816047901

The Facts on File Dictionary of Earth Science (Science Dictionary)

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The Facts on File Dictionary of Earth Science (Science Dictionary)

Manufacturer: Facts on File
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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The Facts on File Dictionary of Weather And Climate (Science Dictionary)

ASIN: 0816060002

The Facts on File Marine Science Handbook (The Facts on File Science Handbooks)

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The Facts on File Marine Science Handbook (The Facts on File Science Handbooks)
Scott McCutcheon , and Bobbi McCutcheon
Manufacturer: Facts on File
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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The Facts on File Weather and Climate Handbook (The Facts on File Science Handbooks)

ASIN: 0816048126

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