Dear ECOLOG-L:
The University of California Press is pleased to announce the publication of:
Laws, Theories, and Patterns in Ecology
Walter K. Dodds is Professor of Biology at Kansas State University
and the author of Freshwater Ecology and Humanity's Footprint.
http://go.ucpress.edu/Dodds
Physics and chemistry are distinguished from biology by the way
generalizations are codified into theories tested by observation and
experimentation. Some theories have been sufficiently tested to
qualify as laws. In ecology, generalizations worthy of being called
theories are less common because observations and experimentation are
difficult and exceptions are more common. In this book, Walter K.
Dodds enumerates generalizations in ecology. Introductory material
describes how the practice of science in general, and ecology
specifically, yields theories and laws. Dodds also discusses why such
ideas are only useful if they have predictive ability, and delineates
the scope of these generalizations and the constraints that limit
their application. The result is a short book that delves deeply into
important ecological ideas and how they predict and provide
understanding.
Full information about the book is available online:
http://go.ucpress.edu/Dodds
--
____
Lindsay Wong
Electronic Marketing Coordinator
University of California Press
Phone: 510-643-4738
Email: [email protected]
Website: http://www.ucpress.edu
UC Press Blog: http://ucpress.typepad.com/ucpresslog/
