is an accessible and up-to-date textbook covering all aspects of population ecology. Using botanical and zoological examples from the tropics to the tundra, this text discusses field and laboratory data to illustrate the fundamental laws of population ecology. Each chapter provides an overview of how population theory has developed, exploring single-species population growth and self-limitation, metapopulations, and a broad range of interspecific interactions including parasite–host, predator–prey, and plant–herbivore. Throughout, the mathematics is kept as simple as possible, using a careful step-by-step approach, and including graphs and other visual aids to help understanding. Sample simulations can be found at www.blackwellpublishing.com/rockwood This text is an essential introduction to population ecology for undergraduate and graduate students taking courses in population ecology, including those with little mathematical experience.