Comparative Ecology of Microorganisms and Macroorganisms

1 Introduction: Prospects for a Conceptual Synthesis1.1. Organizing Life1.2. Microorganisms and Macroorganisms: Differences and Similarities1.3 The Centrality of Natural Selection1.4 Analogies, Homologies, and Homoplasies1.5 A Framework for Comparisons1.6 What is an Individual?1.7 Summary1.8 Suggested Additional Reading
2 Genetic Variation2.1 Introduction2.2 Mechanisms2.3 Sex and Meiotic Recombination 2.4 The Asexual Lifestyle2.5 Somatic Variation, Heritable Variation, and the Concept of the Genet2.6 Summary2.7 Suggested Additional Reading
3 Nutritional Mode3.1 Introduction3.2 Carbon and Energy Resources3.3 Resource Acquisition3.4 Nutritional Versatility3.5 Generalists and Specialists3.6 Summary3.7 Suggested Additional Reading
4 Size4.1 Introduction4.2 Changes in Size and Development of Life on Earth4.3 On Seeing the World as an Elephant or a Mycoplasma4.4 Some Correlates of Size4.5 Some Ecological Consequences of Size4.6 Size and Life History Theory4.7 Summary4.8 Suggested Additional Reading
5 Growth and Growth Form5.1 Introduction5.2 Unitary and Modular Organisms: An Overview5.3 Fungi as Modular Organisms5.4 Bacteria as Modular Organisms 5.5 Life Histories of Modular vs. Unitary Organisms5.6 Summary5.7 Suggested Additional Reading
6 The Life Cycle6.1 Introduction6.2 Origins and General Considerations6.3 Complex Life Cycles6.4 Senescence6.5 Summary6.6 Suggested Additional Reading<
7 The Environment7.1 Introduction7.2 The Environment and Organism are Tightly Coupled7.3 How Organisms Experience Environments7.4 Organism Size and Environmental Variation7.5 Genotypic and Phenotypic Variation7.6 The Environment and Life Cycle Changes 7.7 Habitable Sites and the Evolution of Dispersal 7.8 Summary.- 7.9 Suggested Additional Reading
8 Conclusion: Commonalities and Differences in Life Histories 8.1 Levels of Comparison8.2 On Being a Macroorganism or a Microorganism8.3 Natural Selection as the Common Denominator8.4 Recapitulation of Some

John Andrews was born in Montreal, Canada and did his undergraduate education in agriculture at McGill University. He received graduate degrees from the University of Maine and the University of California, Davis, followed by postdoctoral work at Cambridge University and the University of British Columbia. He was recruited to the faculty at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he served for 35 years teaching and doing research in the areas of microbial ecology, plant pathology, and integrated pest management, among several others. He retired in 2010.