Table of Contents

Part I IN SEARCH FOR A FUNCTIONAL EXPLANATION.- 1 Introduction: contemporary biology struggles to explain the great diversity of genotypes and species.- 2 Methodological excursion: an apology for theoretical synthesis, simplicity, deductive method and conceptual modelling.- 3 Species do not just ‘struggle.- 4 Species diversity as trophic specialisation.- 5 Producer diversity as reflection of variation in the abiotic environment.- 6 Do consumers maintain diversity of their food sources.- 7 Species diversity ensures higher total biomass and helps to stabilise it.- 8 Conspecifics do not just ‘struggle’ either.- 9 Genotype diversity as even more delicate specialisation.- 10 Environmental fluctuations and the daily role of selection.- 11 Summing-up: Biodiversity and plasticity of life (General Adaptation Theory).- 12 So, is nature a battlefield or a cooperative arena?.- Part II IN SEARCH FOR A SYNTHETIC EXPLANATION.- 13 Why an evolutionary biologist should start with ecological succession.- 14 Primary succession and self-organisation of biodiversity.- 15 Colonisation of the Hawaiian Islands, or how evolution complements succession.- 16 Self-assembly of ecosystems in the Paleozoic: Overview of the latest sources.- 17 Self-assembly of ecosystems in the Paleozoic: Interpretation and summary.- 18 The origin of life, and self-assembly of modern nutrient cycles.- 19 Appearance of modern ecological pyramids. Summing-up.- 20 Supercompetitors. Homo sapiens as a consumer of biodiversity.- 21 Has Darwin’s theory really become obsole.- AFTERWORD.- INDEX.

About the Author

Edmundas Lekevičius is a theoretical biologist. He graduated from Alytus Secondary School No. 1, studied biology at Vilnius University, and continued his studies at the Institute of General Genetics in Moscow. After returning to Lithuania, he worked at the Institutes of Botany and Ecology, where he conducted genetic, ecological and evolutionary research. He taught general ecology and related disciplines at Vilnius University. His research focuses on ecology and theoretical biology.