How much do we know about the living world? Enough to predict its future? First Ecology introduces the science of ecology and our species' place in the natural world. Beginning with natural selection, it describes our own evolution and expansion across the globe. Our understanding of the interactions between species, the communities they form, and their role in ecosystem processes provides a global perspective on the scale of environmental change. First Ecology shows how the main concepts in ecology underpin our efforts to manage and conserve natural systems. We see how population models, community organisation, and ecosystem processes are the basis of fisheries management, pest control and habitat restoration. It also provides an introduction to large-scale ecology and the scientific background to climate change and the rapid rate of species extinction. Understanding the science of ecology will be crucial to the environmental decisions our species face at the start of the twenty-first century. Online Resource Centre includes web links, illustrations, answers to problems as well as additional problems with answers.