Adaptive Herbivore Ecology - by Norman Owen-Smith (Paperback)

About the Book

A unique monograph describing plant-herbivore interactions in the context of large African herbivorous mammals.

Book Synopsis

An innovative connection between adaptive behavior and community ecology in herbivores

The adaptation of herbivore behavior to seasonal and geo- graphic variations in vegetation quantity and quality is inadequately modeled 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 modeling approach accommodates various sources of environmental variability, in space and time, in a simple conceptual way and has the potential to be applied to other consumer-resource systems.

Review Quotes

..."extremely easy to read and I have no doubt that many courses will use this book as material for teaching undergraduates. Having said that, graduates and researchers alike will find much to enjoy and debate in the book...Owen-Smith has done a sterling job in pulling the disparate theory of plant-herbivore interactions and the consequences for system dynamics into one book." Ecoscience

About the Author

Norman Owen-Smith is a research professor in African ecology and heads the Centre for African Ecology at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg.