Ecological niches [electronic resource] : linking classical and contemporary approaches / Jonathan M. Chase and Mathew A. Leibold.

1. Introduction : history, context, and purpose
2. Revising the niche concept : definitions and mechanistic models
3. Comparing classical and contemporary niche theory
4. Designs and limitations of empirical approaches to the niche
5. Incorporating biological complexities
6. Environmental variability in time and space
7. Species sorting in communities
8. Community succession, assembly, and biodiversity
9. Niche relations within ecosystems
10. The evolutionary niche
11. Conclusions.