(Part 2) Best products from r/ecology

My two favorites, for understanding the general ideas of ecology without memorizing the nitrogen cycle, are Reading the Forested Landscape and Tracking and the Art of Seeing. Those are the books that convinced me that I wanted to study ecology in graduate school.

FWIW, I also enjoy memorizing the nitrogen cycle.

There are promising bio-control agents being tested in NJ, with expected first release 2019 or 2020. We've had success treating by cutting to just above the lowest leaf and spraying that leaf, though I don't remember the chemicals or concentrations we used. Additionally, I just went to a conference where a Japanese woman was speaking about how her family eradicated about 1 acre in 5ish years by manually removing the seed source and actually using the plant as a vegetable without disturbing the rhizome. Apparently it is seen as a delicious veggie in Japan and she collects a lot of invasive plants and sells them to restaurants in NYC and Philly. She said it can be substituted for anything with rhubarb.

Edit: This is the woman who I am speaking about https://www.amazon.com/Foraged-Flavor-Fabulous-Ingredients-Backyard/dp/030795661X

>Do you know of any literature or fiction that helps understanding Ecological ideas?

Required reading:

Aldo Leopold - A Sand County Almanac

Edward Abbey - Desert Solitaire

You'll want to look for nature writing specific to your own geographic locale also. I'm in FL and if by some strange coincidence you are too, or if you happen to be interested in our ecology, I'll also recommend:

Marjorie Stoneman Douglas - Everglades: River of Grass

Patrick D. Smith - A Land Remembered

(edit: formatting)

(2^nd edit: adding another book)

John Michael Greer -The Ecotechnic Future

i have the theoretical biologist's toolbox, modelling the dynamics of life and A Biologist's Guide to Mathematical Modeling in Ecology and Evolution. i'd gladly sell you all three for $75+shipping. to be fair, i found the last as a pdf online. i'm sure peddling books is against the rules, but i really am trying to help a huckleberry out.

The bible of linear algebra applied to ecology is Hal Caswell's Matrix Population Models. Definitely check this out.

If you want to understand the fundamental concepts of linear algebra (linear functions, vectors, matrices, eigenvalues and eigenvectors), I'm going to indulge in some shameless self-promotion and recommend Chapter 6 of Modeling Life. Go slow (we take about 4 weeks to cover most of that chapter) and do the problems. If you want, you can skip the more technical material on diagonalization, but eigenstuff is important. And if you're at a place that subscribes to SpringerLink, you can download the book free.

For insights into global biodiversity and the challenges facing it in the 21st century try E.O. Wilson - The Diversity of Life,

Also Try Ring of Bright Water by Gavin Maxwell. It's an inspirational semi-biographic account of nature's necessity in man's well-being.

>the guy that wants to sing kumbaya with the trees and whales

Good one.

>So yeah, how can I not let their comments get to me?

Try with this and this.

Have you read The Lives of a Cell by Lewis Thomas? Might be right up your alley considering this project. It’s a quick read but elegantly written.

Link

I'm recommending a book that my horticulture teacher told me to read when I asked a similar question: Invasion Biology - Mark A. Davis Maybe you'll find some inspiration here?

I keep a copy of Botanical Latin on the shelf. It is pretty useful.

What I really prefer tho is floras that include name meanings. It used to be more common, but some new floras still have them too.

Hey, I'm in SE CO.

This website is really helpful and has a wide variety of our flora: http://www.easterncoloradowildflowers.com/

Also, I use this field guide, but for prarie flowers there are some it doesn't have. (That's not to disparage it though, it does have most things you'll likely come across).

Between those two though I've been able to identify most everything I've come across here.

Borror's Dictionary of Word Roots and Combining Forms

It got me through my undergrad, even helped me get a better understanding of the interconnectedness of it all

This might be a comprehensive enough textbook for a start: The Princeton Guide to Ecology. It was edited by Simon Levin, who is a giant in the field.

Daniel Botkin's Discordant Harmonies offers an incredibly readable critique of oldschool ecological thinking including the idea of succession being a linear process towards a climax state.

This book

Maybe this? Ive only glanced through it, but it might be pertinent.

I can't, but this is a great resource: https://www.amazon.com/Naked-Statistics-Stripping-Dread-Data/dp/039334777X/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1497463745&sr=8-2&keywords=statistics

Uhh it's kind of a mish-mash. I used wikipedia sources a lot, and a lot of scientific articles. But the bulk of the data for most of the series comes from my college textbooks, primarily Biological Sciences 5th edition by Freeman.

Volia! https://www.amazon.ca/dp/1930665334/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=F4V1MW8F6NDV&coliid=I3DFC5NFUJ510J