| Preface | p. ix |
| Introduction: A New Ecology is Needed | p. 1 |
| Environmental management has changed | p. 1 |
| Ecology is changing | p. 2 |
| Book outline | p. 3 |
| Ecosystems have Openness (Thermodynamic) | p. 7 |
| Why must ecosystems be open? | p. 7 |
| An isolated system would die (maximum entropy) | p. 8 |
| Physical openness | p. 13 |
| The second law of thermodynamics interpreted for open systems | p. 18 |
| Dissipative structure | p. 20 |
| Quantification of openness and allometric principles | p. 22 |
| The cell | p. 30 |
| What about the environment? | p. 31 |
| Conclusion | p. 32 |
| Ecosystems have Ontic Openness | p. 35 |
| Introduction | p. 35 |
| Why is ontic openness so obscure? | p. 36 |
| Ontic openness and the physical world | p. 39 |
| Ontic openness and relative stability | p. 49 |
| The macroscopic openness: Connections to thermodynamics | p. 50 |
| Ontic openness and emergence | p. 53 |
| Ontic openness and hierarchies | p. 55 |
| Consequences of ontic openness: a tentative conclusion | p. 56 |
| Ecosystems have Directionality | p. 59 |
| Since the beginnings of ecology | p. 59 |
| The challenge from thermodynamics | p. 60 |
| Deconstructing directionality? | p. 62 |
| Agencies imparting directionality | p. 63 |
| Origins of evolutionary drive | p. 66 |
| Quantifying directionality in ecosystems | p. 68 |
| Demystifying Darwin | p. 74 |
| Directionality in evolution? | p. 76 |
| Summary | p. 77 |
| Ecosystems have Connectivity | p. 79 |
| Introduction | p. 79 |
| Ecosystems as networks | p. 80 |
| Food webs | p. 82 |
| Systems analysis | p. 84 |
| Ecosystem connectivity and ecological network analysis | p. 86 |
| Network environ analysis primer | p. 86 |
| Summary of the major insights cardinal hypotheses (CH) from network environ analysis | p. 92 |
| Conclusions | p. 101 |
| Ecosystems have Complex Dynamics (Growth and Development) | p. 103 |
| Variability in life conditions | p. 103 |
| Ecosystem development | p. 105 |
| Orientors and succession theories | p. 112 |
| The maximum power principle | p. 115 |
| Exergy, ascendency, gradients, and ecosystem development | p. 120 |
| Support for the presented hypotheses | p. 125 |
| Toward a consistent ecosystem theory | p. 133 |
| Exergy balances for the utilization of solar radiation | p. 139 |
| Summary and conclusions | p. 141 |
| Ecosystems have Complex Dynamics - Disturbance and Decay | p. 143 |
| The normality of disturbance | p. 143 |
| The risk of orientor optimization | p. 151 |
| The characteristics of disturbance | p. 152 |
| Adaptability as a key function of ecosystem dynamics | p. 156 |
| Adaptive cycles on multiple scales | p. 160 |
| A case study: Human disturbance and retrogressive dynamics | p. 164 |
| Summary and conclusions | p. 166 |
| Ecosystem Principles have Broad Explanatory Power in Ecology | p. 167 |
| Introduction | p. 167 |
| Do ecological principles encompass other proposed ecological theories?: Evolutionary theory | p. 168 |
| Do ecological principles encompass other proposed ecological theories?: Island biogeography | p. 176 |
| Do ecological principles encompass other proposed ecological theories?: Latitudinal gradients in biodiversity | p. 180 |
| Do ecological principles encompass other proposed ecological theories?: Optimal foraging theory | p. 184 |
| Do ecological principles encompass other proposed ecological theories?: Niche theory | p. 187 |
| Do ecological principles encompass other proposed ecological theories?: Liebig's law of the minimum | p. 191 |
| Do ecological principles encompass other proposed ecological theories?: The river continuum concept (RCC) | p. 194 |
| Do ecological principles encompass other proposed ecological theories?: Hysteresis in nature | p. 196 |
| Conclusions | p. 198 |
| Ecosystem Principles have Applications | p. 199 |
| Introduction | p. 199 |
| Entropy production as an indicator of ecosystem trophic state | p. 200 |
| The use of ecological network analysis (ENA) for the simulation of the interaction of the american black bear and its environment | p. 206 |
| Applications of network analysis and ascendency to South Florida ecosystems | p. 210 |
| The application of eco-exergy as ecological indicator for assessment of ecosystem health | p. 218 |
| Emergy as ecological indicator to assess ecosystem health | p. 221 |
| The eco-exergy to empower ratio and the efficiency of ecosystems | p. 228 |
| Application of eco-exergy and ascendency as ecological indicator to the Mondego Estuary (Portugal) | p. 231 |
| Conclusions | p. 241 |
| Conclusions and Final Remarks | p. 243 |
| Are basic ecological properties needed to explain our observations? | p. 243 |
| Previous attempts to present an ecosystem theory | p. 243 |
| Recapitulation of the ecosystem theory | p. 245 |
| Are there basic ecosystem principles? | p. 246 |
| Conclusion | p. 248 |
| References | p. 251 |
| Index | p. 273 |
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