01631cam a22001934a 4500020001500000020001800015020001800033020001500051040000800066082002600074100002600100245009100126300004500217490003300262520069900295520041400994650001401408650001501422  a0521810612  a9780521810616  a9780521148368  a0521148367  cDLC00a591 INT 2005 C151 Or.1 aOwen-Smith, R. Norman10aAdaptive herbivore ecology :bfrom resources to populations in variable environments /  axvi, 374 pages :billustrations ;c24 cm1 aCambridge studies in ecology1 a"The adaptation of herbivore behaviour to seasonal and locational variations in vegetation quantity and quality is inadequately modelled by conventional methods. Norman Owen-Smith innovatively links the principles of adaptive behaviour to their consequences for population dynamics and community ecology, through the application of a metaphysiological modelling approach. The main focus is on large mammalian herbivores occupying seasonally variable environments such as those characterised by African savannas, but applications to temperate zone ungulates are also included. Issues of habitat suitability, species coexistence, and population stability or instability are similarly investigated8 aThe modelling 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. This text highlights the crucial importance of adaptive consumer responses to environmental variability and is aimed particularly at academic researchers and graduate students in the field of ecology."--Jacket 0aUngulates 0aHerbivores