12 INTRODUCTION
THE STORY
OF EVOLUTION
20 Time is insignificant
and never a difficulty
for nature
Early theories of evolution22 A world previous to ours,
destroyed by catastrophe
Extinction and change23 No vestige of a beginning
—no prospect of an end
Uniformitarianism24 The struggle for existence
Evolution by natural selection32 Human beings are
ultimately nothing
but carriers for genes
The rules of heredity34 We’ve discovered
the secret of life
The role of DNA38 Genes are selfish
molecules
The selfish geneECOLOGICAL
PROCESSES
44 Lessons from
mathematical theory
on the struggle
for life
Predator–prey equations50 Existence is determined
by a slender thread
of circumstances
Ecological niches52 Complete competitors
cannot coexist
Competitive exclusion
principle54 Poor field experiments
can be worse than
useless
Field experiments56 More nectar means
more ants and more
ants mean more nectar
Mutualisms60 Whelks are like
little wolves in
slow motion
Keystone speciesCONTENTS
66 The fitness of a foraging
animal depends on
its efficiency
Optimal foraging theory68 Parasites and pathogens
control populations
like predators
Ecological epidemiology72 Why don’t penguins’
feet freeze?
Ecophysiology74 All life is chemical
Ecological stoichiometry76 Fear itself is powerful
Nonconsumptive effects
of predators on their preyORDERING THE
NATURAL WORLD
82 In all things of nature
there is something of
the marvelous
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