BIOL 313 - Principles of Ecology
Books, Book Chapters, and Reference Works (Dictionaries and Encyclopedias)
Need a general overview of your topic? A book is a better place to start than an article, since articles tend to be about narrow, specific things. No time to read a whole book? No worries! Our library web site allows you to focus your search to book chapters too! And we also have a lot of reference works (dictionaries, encyclopdias) that can give you definitions or topic summaries.
To search for books or book chapters, simply enter topic keywords into the main library website search box. On the results page, you can limit to Books or Book Chapters on the filter menu at the left. Here's a video demo of how to filter for books and book chapters.
Reference works, such as dictionaries and encyclopedias, are a useful sources of authoritative definitions and quick background information. While some of this can be found on Wikipedia, the benefit of consulting a specialized dictionary or encyclopedia is that these are written by experts in the field, and are more authoritative. These are good to consult if you need a reference or some factual information that you can cite. Here's a video demo of how to find this type of information.
Looking for a book we don't have? Submit an interlibrary loan request (under Services on the library home page), and we'll borrow it from another library.
Pro tip: if you only need a chapter from a book, request the chapter instead of the book. Copyright laws allow other libraries to scan and send a single chapter, so you'll get it sooner. If you need the whole book, factor in time for it to be mailed to us.
Consult the books below if you are looking for definitions (dictionaries) or brief overviews of concepts in ecology.
A Dictionary of Ecology by ISBN: 0199567662Publication Date: 2010-07-15This is the fourth edition of the most comprehensive and authoritative dictionary of ecology available. Written in a clear, accessible style, it contains over 6,000 entries on all aspects of ecology and related environmental scientific disciplines such as biogeography, genetics, soil science,geomorphology, atmospheric science, and oceanography. Coverage is wide-ranging and includes plant and animal physiology, animal behaviour, pollution, conservation, habitat management, population, evolution, environmental pollution, climatology and meteorology. It also includes many line drawings anduseful appendices including estimations of population parameters, the geologic time-scale, SI units, and - new to this edition - a web linked appendix of relevant organizations including both governmental agencies and conservation societies.Fully revised, updated, and expanded, with over 100 new entries, this new edition also contains new web links for dozens of entries - which are accessed and kept up to date via the Dictionary of Ecology companion website. The dictionary will be invaluable to students of ecology, biology,conservation studies, environmental sciences, and professionals in related areas, as well as the general reader with an interest in the natural world.
A Dictionary of Plant Sciences by ISBN: 0199600570Publication Date: 2012-05-26Broad coverage of all aspects related to the field of plant sciences including biochemistry, plant physiology, cytology, ecology, genetics, evolution, biogeography, earth history, and earthsciences.
Gale Encyclopedia of Science, 5th ed. by ISBN: 1414498586Publication Date: 2014A good general reference book on a wide variety of science topics.
Encyclopedia of Biological Invasions by ISBN: 0520948432Publication Date: 2011-01-02This pioneering encyclopedia illuminates a topic at the forefront of global ecology--biological invasions, or organisms that come to live in the wrong place. Written by leading scientists from around the world, Encyclopedia of Biological Invasions addresses all aspects of this subject at a global level--including invasions by animals, plants, fungi, and bacteria--in succinct, alphabetically arranged articles.
The CABI Encyclopedia of Forest TreesISBN: 1780643586The CABI Encyclopedia of Forest Trees provides an extensive overview of 300 of the world's most important forest trees. Tropical, subtropical, temperate and boreal trees of major economic importance are included, covering tree species used in agroforestry practices around the world.
Google Books goes deeper than the library web site, and searches the actual full text of the books. Useful for finding relevant content inside books. Copyright prevents the entire book from being displayed, but you can see "snippets" that help you decide whether you want to search the UofC Library for the book.