For several years there has been a growing interest in understanding the dynamics of parasites in ecosystems, as well as the diversity of ways in which they influence ecosystem functioning through their effects on host populations and communities. Ecologists, epidemiologists, evolutionary biologists, and other scientists are increasingly coming to realise that parasites must be taken into account when studying ecosystems. Parasitism and Ecosystems summarizes current knowledge on this topic, providing a comprehensive overview for researchers and students. It represents the first synthesis of...

Is it possible to omit parasites when studying free-living organisms? The answer is clearly no Parasites have evolved independently in numerous animal lineages, and now make up a considerable proportion of the biodiversity of life. Ecologists, epidemiologists, conservationists and evolutionary biologists are increasingly aware of the universal significance of parasites to the study of ecology and evolution where they have become a powerful model system. This book provides a summary of the issues involved as well as an overview of the possibilities offered by this research topic including the...

In this book, an easily understandable account of modelling methods with artificial neuronal networks for practical applications in ecology and evolution is provided. Special features include examples of applications using both supervised and unsupervised training, comparative analysis of artificial neural networks and conventional statistical methods, and proposals to deal with poor datasets. Extensive references and a large range of topics make this book a useful guide for ecologists, evolutionary ecologists and population geneticists.