Population Systems A General Introduction
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POPULATION ECOLOGY: Theory and Application Series Editor: Alan A. Berryman Washington State University Pullman, Washington
POPULATION SYSTEMS: A General Introduction Alan A. Berryman
POPULATION SYSTEMS A Generallntroduction
Alan A. Berryman Washington State University Pullman, Washington
SPRINGER SCIENCE+ BUSINESS MEDIA, LLC
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Berryman, Alan Andrew, 1937Population systems. Includes bibliographical references and indexes. 1. Population biology. I. Title. QH352.B47 574.5'248 80-26167 ISBN 978-1-4899-7327-6
ISBN 978-1-4899-7325-2 (eBook)
DOI 10.1007/978-1-4899-7325-2 Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 1981
First Printing-April 1981
Second Printing-May 1985
COVER PICTURE The cover picture of a black-billed cuckoo feeding on gypsy moth larvae was painted by Wayne Trimm and appeared in The Gypsy Moth and its Natural Enemies by R. W. Campbell (U. S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Agriculture Information Bulletin No. 381, 1975).
© 1981 A1an A. Berryman
All righ ts reserved No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, microfilming, recording, or otherwise, without written permission from the Publisher
To Rachael and Ashley rny delightful contributions and in rnernory of Thornas Malthus who saw the problern
PREFACE
I had taught courses in applied ecology, population dynamics, and population management for 10 years and, like many of my colleagues, had grown accustomed to the blank stares of my students as we wove our way through the confused semantics and intricate concepts of traditional ecology and wrestled with elaborate mathematical arguments. I searched in vain for a central unifying concept on which to organize a theory of population ecology until, 5 years ago, I read a small book of essays edited by John Milsum of McGill University entitled Positive Feedback-A General Systems Approach to Positive/Negative Feedback and Mutual Causality. Stimulated by the articles in this book, particularly those written by Milsum, M. Maruyama, and A. Rapoport, I began to structure my lectures around the central ideas of general systems theory. I first used this approach in my graduate courses in population dynamics and population management and then, encouraged by the results, in my undergraduate course in forest entomology and to teach population dynamics to practicing foresters. Almost without exception, my students found the general systems approach intuitively reasonable and easier to understand than traditional teaching methods. Even undergraduates seem to grasp the fundamental principles quite rapidly and, more important, to realize that a general understanding of population systems is an essential part of their education. These reactions by my students, and their continued encouragement, led me to write this book. This book is concemed with the general principles and theories of population ecology. I have attempted to derive these f
