Infodoc : Sciences, Techniques et Culture

We live a well engineered universe. This engineering is present in every system and organism in existence, including the actions and interactions of plants and animals. In fact, one could say that the function and movement of plants and animals is just as much a part of their makeup as chlorophyll and fiber or bone and blood. Consequently, if we want to understand the ecology of animals and plants, especially in an integrated ecosystem, it follows that great insight can be gained by taking an approach that studies function and integration of parts rather than the individual parts themselves. Ecology and biomechanics :l a mechanical approach to the ecology of animals and plants offers a collection of state of the art papers that ingeniously demonstrates how biomechanics can provide nov[...]

We live a well engineered universe. This engineering is present in every system and organism in existence, including the actions and interactions of plants and animals. In fact, one could say that the function and movement of plants and animals is just as much a part of their makeup as chlorophyll and fiber or bone and blood. Consequently, if we want to understand the ecology of animals and plants, especially in an integrated ecosystem, it follows that great insight can be gained by taking an approach that studies function and integration of parts rather than the individual parts themselves. Ecology and biomechanics :l a mechanical approach to the ecology of animals and plants offers a collection of state of the art papers that ingeniously demonstrates how biomechanics can provide novel insights into long standing ecological and evolutionary questions. combining approaches from various disciplines, this volume covers subjects that encompass theoretical
concepts and practical approaches involving research on both plants and animals, as well as interactions between the two. Althrougt most of the examples emphasize distinct organism environment relationships, the book also includes a few examples that span larger temporal and spatial scales, achieving wider application across entire ecosystems. Designed to serve as a reference for students and researchers, ecology and biomechanics :a mechanical approach to the ecology of animals and plants paves the way for further research by demonstrating how we can achieve a paradigm shift in our perception of living organisms when two seemingly disparate subdisciplines within the field of biology are creatively combined.