Background
Tilman, George David was born on July 22, 1949 in Aurora, Illinois, United States. Son of George Robert and Lauretta May (Frost) Titman.
( Although ecologists have long considered morphology and...)
Although ecologists have long considered morphology and life history to be important determinants of the distribution, abundance, and dynamics of plants in nature, this book contains the first theory to predict explicitly both the evolution of plant traits and the effects of these traits on plant community structure and dynamics. David Tilman focuses on the universal requirement of terrestrial plants for both below-ground and above-ground resources. The physical separation of these resources means that plants face an unavoidable tradeoff. To obtain a higher proportion of one resource, a plant must allocate more of its growth to the structures involved in its acquisition, and thus necessarily obtain a lower proportion of another resource. Professor Tilman presents a simple theory that includes this constraint and tradeoff, and uses the theory to explore the evolution of plant life histories and morphologies along productivity and disturbance gradients. The book shows that relative growth rate, which is predicted to be strongly influenced by a plant's proportional allocation to leaves, is a major determinant of the transient dynamics of competition. These dynamics may explain the differences between successions on poor versus rich soils and suggest that most field experiments performed to date have been of too short a duration to allow unambiguous interpretation of their results.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0691084890/?tag=2022091-20
( One of the central questions of ecology is why there ar...)
One of the central questions of ecology is why there are so many different kinds of plants and animals. Here David Tilman presents a theory of how organisms compete for resources and the way their competition promotes diversity. Developing Hutchinson's suggestion that the main cause of diversity is the feeding relations of species, this book builds a mechanistic, resource-based explanation of the structure and functioning of ecological communities. In a detailed analysis of the Park Grass Experiments at the Rothamsted Experimental Station in England, the author demonstrates that the dramatic results of these 120 years of experimentation are consistent with his theory, as are observations in many other natural communities. The consumer-resource approach of this book is applicable to both animal and plant communities, but the majority of Professor Tilman's discussion concentrates on the structure of plant communities. All theoretical arguments are developed graphically, and formal mathematics is kept to a minimum. The final chapters of the book provide some testable speculations about resources and animal communities and explore such problems as the evolution of "super species," the differences between plant and animal community diversity patterns, and the cause of plant succession.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0691083029/?tag=2022091-20
Tilman, George David was born on July 22, 1949 in Aurora, Illinois, United States. Son of George Robert and Lauretta May (Frost) Titman.
Bachelor of Science, University of Michigan, 1971; Doctor of Philosophy, University of Michigan, 1976.
Teaching fellow, then lecturer ecology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, 1971-1974; assistant professor, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, 1976-1980; associate professor, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, 1980-1984; professor, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, since 1984. Director Cedar Creek Natural History Area, St. Paul. Member ecology panel National Science Foundation, Washington, 1989-1993.
( Although ecologists have long considered morphology and...)
( One of the central questions of ecology is why there ar...)
Member Drug Awareness Committee City of St. Louis Park, 1989-1990. Co-founder Roosevelt Lake Association, Outing, Minnesota. Fellow American Association for the Advancement of Science.
Member American Society Limnology and Oceanography (editor 1978-1981), Ecological Society American (editor 1982-1984, W.S. Cooper award 1989), Lund (Sweden) Ecological Society, British Ecological Society.
Married Catherine E. Baxter, September 11, 1971. Children: Elizabeth, Sarah, Margaret, Andrew.