Ecology: Biology of Interaction. Appendix III. Recommended Literature
A list of recommended literature for the ecology course with download links.
Appendix III. Recommended Literature
Ecology is an unusual science. When beginning, say, a zoology course, there is no need to warn students which textbooks they should not use. Unfortunately, in the case of ecology such a warning is appropriate. Students may go to a bookshop, buy 10 ecology textbooks, and find that not one of them is suitable for our course. The reason is that the name ‘ecology’ is applied to a very wide range of activities (see section 1.1 for details).
The main textbook for this course is: D. Shabanov, M. Kravchenko. Ecology: Biology of Interaction. Its current version is available on the authors’ website and is continuously being corrected and edited; in 2009 a previous version of this textbook was printed.
One of the authors of this textbook was part of the authoring team (acting as an editor who tried to harmonise the various parts) of this publication: Bobylev V. P., Brigadyrenko V. V., Bulakhov V. L., Haichenko V. A., Gasso V. Ya., Didukh Ya. P., Ivashov A. V., Kucheryavyi V. P., Maliovany M. S., Mytsyk L. P., Pakhomov O. Ye., Tsaryk Y. V., Shabanov D. A. Ecology: a basic textbook for students of higher educational institutions. — Kharkiv: Folio, 2014. — 666 p. This book contains a great deal of material, but unfortunately tends to consist of a series of separate parts. As a textbook for the ecology (or bioecology) course at the Faculty of Biology of Karazin University, this book will not be convenient. Among publications in Ukrainian, one can recommend a textbook prepared and used at Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv: Handzyura V. P. Ecology. — Kyiv: TOV "Stal’", 2012 — 390 p. (a file with editorial corrections available online is linked here).
To go beyond the materials available in Ukrainian, one should turn to textbooks prepared and published in English. Among them there are a number of outstanding publications. First of all:
Begon M., Howard R.W., Townsend C.R. Essentials of Ecology. John Wiley & Sons, 2014.
Begon M., Townsend R. Ecology. From Individuals to Ecosystems. John Wiley & Sons, 2021.
Very useful may be the latest available editions of textbooks devoted to ecology and environmental science:
Cunningham W.P. ea. Environmental Science. A Global Concern. McGraw Hill LLC, 2023.
Sher A.A., Molles M.C. Ecology. Concepts & Applications. McGraw Hill LLC, 2022.
Bowman W.D., Hacker S.D. Ecology. Oxford University Press, 2021.
Miller G.T., Spoolman S.E. Living in the Environment. Cengage Learning, 2018.
Hassenzahl D.M., Hager M.C., Gift N.Y., Berg L.R., Raven P.R. Environment. John Wiley & Sons, 2018.
Smith T. M. Smith R. L. Elements of ecology. – Pearson Education, 2015.
Stiling P. Ecology. Global Insights & Investigations. McGraw-Hill, 2012.
Interesting may also be popular English-language publications:
Ghazoul J. Ecology: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford University Press, 2020.
Juniper T. (foreword) et al. The Ecology Book. Big Ideas Simply Explained. Dorling Kindersley Limited, 2019.
Britannica Illustrated Science Library: Ecology. – Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 2010 – 102 p.
Pollock S. Eyewitness: Ecology. – Dorling Kindersley Limited, 2011. – 72 p.
Another way of organising material that can be used for learning is the encyclopaedic approach. The following four-volume encyclopaedia (all volumes in one file) can be recommended:
Fath B.D., Jørgensen S.E. Encyclopedia of ecology. 2nd edition. Elsevier, 2019. 2780 p.
Volume 1. Aquatic Ecology, Behavioral Ecology, Conservation Ecology, Ecological Complexity.
Volume 2. Ecological Data Analysis and Modeling, Ecological Processes, Ecosystems.
Volume 3. Evolutionary Ecology, General Ecology.
Volume 4. Global Change Ecology, Human Ecology and Sustainability, Terrestrial and Landscape Ecology.
For students in biotechnology, this six-volume publication (all volumes in one file) may be useful:
Fath B.D., Jørgensen S.E. Environmental Management Handbook. CRC Press. 2021.
Volume 1. Managing Global Resources and Universal Processes.
Volume 2. Managing Biological and Ecological Systems.
Volume 3. Managing Soils and Terrestrial Systems.
Volume 4. Managing Water Resources and Hydrological Systems.
Volume 5. Managing Air Quality and Energy Systems.
Volume 6. Managing Human and Social Systems.
A few more publications devoted to particular sections of general ecology, environmental science, and human ecology:
Sobti R.C., Malhotra S.K., Jaiswal K., Puri S. (editors). Environmental Studies and Climate Change. CRC Press, 2023.
Price T. Ecology of a Changed World. Oxford University Press, 2022
Hutchings J.A. A Primer of Life Histories: Ecology, Evolution, and Application. Oxford University Press, 2021.
Murray D.L., Sandercock B.T. (editors). Population Ecology in Practice. John Wiley & Sons Ltd, 2020.