Ecology of Protozoa [electronic resource] : The Biology of Free-living Phagotrophic Protists /

This book is written for ecologists and protozoologists. Ecologists who study environments and biotic communities in which protozoa are im­ portant should find this book especially useful. During the last decade it has become clear that protozoa play important roles in natural eco­ systems, but few ecologists have a feeling for the functional properties and the diversity of these organisms. Protozoa pose or exemplify many general problems of population and community ecology, and of evo­ lutionary biology. In most respects the general ecological properties of protozoa are not fundamentally different from those of larger organisms; yet, due to their small size, short generation times, and ubiquitous oc­ currence they often present ecological phenomena in a new and dif­ ferent light. To this should be added that protozoa are well-suited for experimental work. Despite these advantages, the study of protozoa has played a relatively modest role in the development of ecology and ev­ olutionary biology, primarily, I believe, because most ecologists are unfamiliar with these organisms. I hope this book will attract more attention to these favorable characteristics of protozoa. I also hope that this book may make protozoologists aware of new aspects of their pet organisms. For a long time (that is, until the fun­ damental distinction between prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells was rec­ ognized) protozoa were believed to represent the simplest form of life. They were therefore extensively used for the experimental study of basic questions of cell biology.

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Fenchel, Tom. author., SpringerLink (Online service)
Format: Texto biblioteca
Language:eng
Published: Berlin, Heidelberg : Springer Berlin Heidelberg : Imprint: Springer, 1987
Subjects:Life sciences., Ecology., Microbiology., Life Sciences.,
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-06817-5
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:This book is written for ecologists and protozoologists. Ecologists who study environments and biotic communities in which protozoa are im­ portant should find this book especially useful. During the last decade it has become clear that protozoa play important roles in natural eco­ systems, but few ecologists have a feeling for the functional properties and the diversity of these organisms. Protozoa pose or exemplify many general problems of population and community ecology, and of evo­ lutionary biology. In most respects the general ecological properties of protozoa are not fundamentally different from those of larger organisms; yet, due to their small size, short generation times, and ubiquitous oc­ currence they often present ecological phenomena in a new and dif­ ferent light. To this should be added that protozoa are well-suited for experimental work. Despite these advantages, the study of protozoa has played a relatively modest role in the development of ecology and ev­ olutionary biology, primarily, I believe, because most ecologists are unfamiliar with these organisms. I hope this book will attract more attention to these favorable characteristics of protozoa. I also hope that this book may make protozoologists aware of new aspects of their pet organisms. For a long time (that is, until the fun­ damental distinction between prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells was rec­ ognized) protozoa were believed to represent the simplest form of life. They were therefore extensively used for the experimental study of basic questions of cell biology.