Ecology: The Economy of Nature
Tenth Edition ©2025 Rick Relyea Formats: Achieve, E-book, Print
As low as $65.99
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Authors
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Rick Relyea
Rick Relyea is the David Darrin Senior ‘40 Endowed Chair in Biological Sciences and the director of the Darrin Freshwater Institute at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. He received a BS in environmental forest biology from the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry, an MS in wildlife management from Texas Tech University, and a PhD in ecology and evolution from the University of Michigan. He has authored more than 200 scientific articles and book chapters and presented research seminars throughout the world. Rick was a professor at the University of Pittsburgh for 15 years, where he was named the Chancellor’s Distinguished Researcher and received the Tina and David Bellet Teaching Excellence Award. In 2014, he moved to Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute to direct The Jefferson Project, which is the most technologically advanced research endeavor to study freshwater lakes. Rick has a strong interest in high school education, including hosting high school science teachers who conduct research in his laboratory. He is co-author of Environmental Science for the AP® Course, also published by BFW publishers.
Table of Contents
Preface
1 An Introduction to Ecology
Part I: Climates, Climate Change, and Biomes
2 Global Climates
3 Global Climate Change
4 Terrestrial and Aquatic Biomes
Part II: Adaptations to Environments
5 Evolutionary Ecology
6 Adaptations to Aquatic Environments
7 Adaptations to Terrestrial Environments
8 Adaptations to Variable Environments
Part III: Life Histories, Reproductive Strategies, and Social Behaviors
9 Life Histories
10 Reproductive Strategies
11 Social Behaviors
Part IV: Populations
12 Population Distributions
13 Population Growth and Regulation
14 Population Dynamics over Time and Space
Part V: Species Interactions
15 Predation and Herbivory
16 Parasitism and Infectious Diseases
17 Competition
18 Mutualism
Part VI: Communities and Ecosystems
19 Community Structure: Biodiversity and Food Webs
20 Community Succession
21 Energy Flow in Ecosystems
22 Nutrient Cycling in Ecosystems
Part VII: Global Ecology
23 Landscape Ecology and Global Biodiversity
24 Conservation of Global Biodiversity
Appendices
Reading Graphs
Statistical Tables
Answers to Working with Ecological Data
Glossary
Index
Product Updates
For the 10th edition we have created stand-alone chapters on Global Climates (Chapter 2) and Global Climate Change (Chapter 3). These chapters provide the foundation for students to understand subsequent discussions of global change that is now woven into all of the subsequent chapters. We have also added an emphasis on the diversity of ecologists in the world by featuring more research of underrepresented groups in STEM and adding lots of photos of researchers so students can see a wide diversity of people doing the science of ecology. Finally, with the recent growth in merging Western science and Indigenous knowledge, we have also included a new emphasis of ecological research that teaches students about the unmatched, long-term contributions of Indigenous peoples that is increasingly informing our science.
SNew Working with Ecological Data: Calculating Climate Anomalies. Students use real data to plot temperature anomalies over time and evaluate if presenting data in this fashion helps communicate how climate is changing (Chapter 3).
- New Ecology Today: Embracing Indigenous Knowledge and “Two-Eyed Seeing” to Understand Climate Change. Description of the research effort to understand changes to Alaskan ecosystems as informed by Indigenous knowledge, which provides a longer time horizon than otherwise available to Western science (Chapter 3).
- New Ecological Problem-Solving: The Melting Polar Ice Cap. Students plot and evaluate the most current data on ice loss in the Arctic (Chapter 3). ome examples include:
Authors
-
Rick Relyea
Rick Relyea is the David Darrin Senior ‘40 Endowed Chair in Biological Sciences and the director of the Darrin Freshwater Institute at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. He received a BS in environmental forest biology from the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry, an MS in wildlife management from Texas Tech University, and a PhD in ecology and evolution from the University of Michigan. He has authored more than 200 scientific articles and book chapters and presented research seminars throughout the world. Rick was a professor at the University of Pittsburgh for 15 years, where he was named the Chancellor’s Distinguished Researcher and received the Tina and David Bellet Teaching Excellence Award. In 2014, he moved to Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute to direct The Jefferson Project, which is the most technologically advanced research endeavor to study freshwater lakes. Rick has a strong interest in high school education, including hosting high school science teachers who conduct research in his laboratory. He is co-author of Environmental Science for the AP® Course, also published by BFW publishers.
Table of Contents
Preface
1 An Introduction to Ecology
Part I: Climates, Climate Change, and Biomes
2 Global Climates
3 Global Climate Change
4 Terrestrial and Aquatic Biomes
Part II: Adaptations to Environments
5 Evolutionary Ecology
6 Adaptations to Aquatic Environments
7 Adaptations to Terrestrial Environments
8 Adaptations to Variable Environments
Part III: Life Histories, Reproductive Strategies, and Social Behaviors
9 Life Histories
10 Reproductive Strategies
11 Social Behaviors
Part IV: Populations
12 Population Distributions
13 Population Growth and Regulation
14 Population Dynamics over Time and Space
Part V: Species Interactions
15 Predation and Herbivory
16 Parasitism and Infectious Diseases
17 Competition
18 Mutualism
Part VI: Communities and Ecosystems
19 Community Structure: Biodiversity and Food Webs
20 Community Succession
21 Energy Flow in Ecosystems
22 Nutrient Cycling in Ecosystems
Part VII: Global Ecology
23 Landscape Ecology and Global Biodiversity
24 Conservation of Global Biodiversity
Appendices
Reading Graphs
Statistical Tables
Answers to Working with Ecological Data
Glossary
Index
Product Updates
For the 10th edition we have created stand-alone chapters on Global Climates (Chapter 2) and Global Climate Change (Chapter 3). These chapters provide the foundation for students to understand subsequent discussions of global change that is now woven into all of the subsequent chapters. We have also added an emphasis on the diversity of ecologists in the world by featuring more research of underrepresented groups in STEM and adding lots of photos of researchers so students can see a wide diversity of people doing the science of ecology. Finally, with the recent growth in merging Western science and Indigenous knowledge, we have also included a new emphasis of ecological research that teaches students about the unmatched, long-term contributions of Indigenous peoples that is increasingly informing our science.
SNew Working with Ecological Data: Calculating Climate Anomalies. Students use real data to plot temperature anomalies over time and evaluate if presenting data in this fashion helps communicate how climate is changing (Chapter 3).
- New Ecology Today: Embracing Indigenous Knowledge and “Two-Eyed Seeing” to Understand Climate Change. Description of the research effort to understand changes to Alaskan ecosystems as informed by Indigenous knowledge, which provides a longer time horizon than otherwise available to Western science (Chapter 3).
- New Ecological Problem-Solving: The Melting Polar Ice Cap. Students plot and evaluate the most current data on ice loss in the Arctic (Chapter 3). ome examples include:
Ecology: The Economy of Nature takes students through all of the key concepts of an ecology course. It challenges them along the way with questions that encourage critical thinking, whether about chapter concepts, quantitative tools, or figures.
Achieve for Ecology: The Economy of Nature connects the interactive features and real-world examples in the book to rich digital resources that foster further understanding and application of ecology.
Features of the text include:
- Chapter-Opening Case Studies foreshadow the concepts of each chapter while also conveying the dynamic nature of ecology as a modern science in which discoveries continue to be made today.
- Ecology Today: Applying the Concepts boxes provide examples of applied ecology that bring together the major concepts of the chapter and present questions to demonstrate their practical importance in a variety of arenas, including human health, conservation, and managing our environment.
- Working with Ecological Data boxes teach statistical and data analysis tools that ecologists use every day; “Your turn” questions require students to practice using the tools they’ve learned.
- Graphing the Data Activities, Found at the end of each chapter, give students additional practice with quantitative skills, particularly with creating and interpreting graphs.
- Global Change icons point to discussions of global scale topics, critical to a modern approach to ecology. This brings to the forefront how real ecological issues impact students’ daily lives.
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Rick Relyea | Tenth Edition | ©2025 | ISBN:9781319524920
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MPS Order Search Tool (MOST) is a web-based purchase order tracking program that allows customers to view and track their purchases. No registration or special codes needed! Just enter your BILL-TO ACCT # and your ZIP CODE to track orders.
Canadian Stores: Please use only the first five digits/letters in your zip code on MOST.
Visit MOST, our online ordering system for booksellers: https://tracking.mpsvirginia.com/Login.aspx
Learn more about our Bookstore programs here: https://www.macmillanlearning.com/college/us/contact-us/booksellers
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Our courses currently integrate with Canvas, Blackboard (Learn and Ultra), Brightspace, D2L, and Moodle. Click on the support documentation below to find out more details about the integration with each LMS.
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Integrate Macmillan courses with Canvas
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If you’re a verified instructor, you can request a free sample of our courseware, e-book, or print textbook to consider for use in your courses. Only registered and verified instructors can receive free print and digital samples, and they should not be sold to bookstores or book resellers. If you don't yet have an existing account with Macmillan Learning, it can take up to two business days to verify your status as an instructor. You can request a free sample from the right side of this product page by clicking on the "Request Instructor Sample" button or by contacting your rep. Learn more.
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Sometimes also referred to as a spiral-bound or binder-ready textbook, loose-leaf textbooks are available to purchase. This three-hole punched, unbound version of the book costs less than a hardcover or paperback book.
-
-
-
Achieve (full course) includes our complete e-book, as well as online quizzing tools, multimedia assets, and iClicker active classroom manager.
Most Achieve Essentials courses do not include our e-books and adaptive quizzing.
Visit our comparison table for details: https://www.macmillanlearning.com/college/us/digital/achieve/compare
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Achieve (full course) includes our complete e-book, as well as online quizzing tools, multimedia assets, and iClicker active classroom manager.
Achieve Read & Practice only includes our e-book and adaptive quizzing, and does not include instructor resources and assignable assessments. Read & Practice does integrate with LMS.
Visit our comparison table for details: https://www.macmillanlearning.com/college/us/digital/achieve/compare
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We can help! Contact your representative to discuss your specific needs for your course. If our off-the-shelf course materials don’t quite hit the mark, we also offer custom solutions made to fit your needs.
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Ecology: The Economy of Nature
Ecology: The Economy of Nature takes students through all of the key concepts of an ecology course. It challenges them along the way with questions that encourage critical thinking, whether about chapter concepts, quantitative tools, or figures.
Achieve for Ecology: The Economy of Nature connects the interactive features and real-world examples in the book to rich digital resources that foster further understanding and application of ecology.
Features of the text include:
- Chapter-Opening Case Studies foreshadow the concepts of each chapter while also conveying the dynamic nature of ecology as a modern science in which discoveries continue to be made today.
- Ecology Today: Applying the Concepts boxes provide examples of applied ecology that bring together the major concepts of the chapter and present questions to demonstrate their practical importance in a variety of arenas, including human health, conservation, and managing our environment.
- Working with Ecological Data boxes teach statistical and data analysis tools that ecologists use every day; “Your turn” questions require students to practice using the tools they’ve learned.
- Graphing the Data Activities, Found at the end of each chapter, give students additional practice with quantitative skills, particularly with creating and interpreting graphs.
- Global Change icons point to discussions of global scale topics, critical to a modern approach to ecology. This brings to the forefront how real ecological issues impact students’ daily lives.
Select a demo to view:
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