Ecology: Home
Home
Welcome
New to research? Explore the Library's Assignment Toolkit to learn all about the research process.
Start here
Search the library's print and online resources to find books, ebooks, articles, recordings and more.
Here is a short guide to help you get started: Multisearch: A Quick Overview
The library catalogue lists physical items and ebooks purchased by the library.
Use Multisearch to search the library catalogue and online collections at the same time.
Google Scholar can be a useful search tool when starting your research, but it should not be the only tool you use. However, while you know you can rely on MTU library resources, it is up to you to make sure content you find on Google Scholar is safe to use for your assignments and research.
Did you know you can link Google Scholar to MTU Kerry library so it always tells you when the full text of an article is available in the library?
Here is our Link MTU Kerry Library to Google Scholar guide.
Use the A-Z of Online Journals to find a specific journal or journals on a specific subject.
Searching the library's online resources is a bit different to searching Google. Here are some tips to get you started:
- List keywords for each of the main concepts or ideas in your research question
- What is the impact of global warming on Adelie penguins on the Antartic continent
- Enter keywords not sentences into the search box
- Join keywords using AND
- global warming AND penguins
- Use OR between words with similar meanings and put OR'd words in brackets
- Adelie penguins AND (global warming OR climate change)
- Use quotation marks to look for phrases
- Adelie penguings AND "global warming"
- Try searching with different combinations of keywords and see what works best.
- Use your search results to find new keywords
Things to think about when making your list of keywords
- Synonyms (words that mean the same thing)
- drug abuse, drug addction or substance abuse
- Acronyms (abbreviations)
- GP or General Practitioner, HSE or Health and Safety Executive
- Specialist language
- narcotics vs drugs
- Word endings
- addict* will find addict, addicts, addicted, addiction, but child will not find children.
- Phrases (looks for words together and in order)
- "controlled substance"
- UK vs American Spelling
- colour vs color, analyse vs analyze, centre vs centre
For more search help, check out out the Effective Searching Module of the Assignment Toolkit. and our Top Tips for Smarter Searching guide for more search hints
Information Sources for (Subject)
Use these databases to do a more focused search for journal articles that relate to your music topic. Click on the "i" icon to see a description for each database.
-
JSTOR – Life Sciences Collection This link opens in a new window JSTOR Life Sciences Collection provides provides full-text and peer-reviewed articles in the Biological Sciences, Health and General Science fields. Content includes high quality, full-text, peer-reviewed journal articles. Coverage includes: Botany, Conservation, Ecology, General Science, Health Science, Ornithology, Plant Sciences and Zoology. Search all JSTOR collections subscribed to by the library from the home page or click Browse, then Subject to limit your search to a specific Subject
-
Oxford Academic Journals Online This link opens in a new window Full-text access to journals published by Oxford University Press and covering a diverse range of disciplines such as: Arts, Humanities, Law, Mathematics, Medicine, Physics, Science, Social Sciences and Technical Sciences.
-
ScienceDirect This link opens in a new window ScienceDirect provides abstract and full text access to scholarly research in the Physical Sciences and Engineering, Life Sciences, Health Sciences and Social Sciences and Humanity. Subject coverage is broad and includes topics such as business, management, accounting, finance, economics, early childhood, education and tourism.
-
Springer Nature Link This link opens in a new window Springer provides access to a comprehensive collection of quality controlled scientific and scholarly journals. Subjects: Biological Sciences, Business and Management, Chemistry, Computer Science, Earth and Environmental Sciences, Health Sciences, Humanities and Social Sciences, Materials Science, Mathematics, Physics and Astronomy, Statistics, Technology and Engineering.
-
Wiley Online Library This link opens in a new window Access to full-text journal articles across all key academic research areas. Subjects covered include: business, chemistry, computer science, engineering, law, life sciences, mathematic, physics, psychology and social sciences.
Use Multisearch to find books and ebooks. Here is a selection of print and electronic books available through the library.
-
Essentials of Ecology
by
Essentials of Ecology, 4th Edition presents introductory ecology in an accessible, state-of-the-art format designed to cultivate the novice student's understanding of and fascination with the natural world. In a concise, engaging style, this text outlines the essential principles of ecology from the theoretical fundamentals to their practical applications. Full color artwork, simple pedagogical features and a wide range of carefully-chosen examples make this book an ideal introduction to ecology for students at all levels.
Call Number: 577 TOWISBN: 9780470909133Publication Date: 2014 -
Introduction to Systems Ecology
by
Possibly the first textbook to present a practically applicable ecosystems theory, Introduction to Systems Ecology helps readers understand how ecosystems work and how they react to disturbances. It demonstrates-with many examples and illustrations-how to apply the theory to explain observations and to make quantitative calculations and predictions
Call Number: eBookISBN: 9781439855201Publication Date: 2016 -
Practical Field Ecology
by
Offers a comprehensive, accessible introduction to experimental design, field monitoring skills for plants and animals, data analysis, interpretation and reporting This user-friendly book presents field monitoring skills for both plants and animals, within the context of a research project. This text provides a single resource to take the reader all the way through from the planning stage, into the field, guiding through sampling, organism identification, computer-based data analysis and interpretation, and finally how to present the results to maximise the impact of the work. Logically structured throughout, and revised extensively in the second edition, the book concentrates on the techniques required to design a field-based ecological survey and shows how to execute an appropriate sampling regime. It evaluates appropriate sampling and analytical methods, identifying potential problems associated with various techniques and how to mitigate these. The second edition of this popular text has updated reference material and weblinks, increased the number of case studies by 50% to illustrate the use of specific techniques in the field, added over 20% more figures (including 8 colour plates), and made more extensive use of footnotes to provide extra details. Extensions to topics covered in the first edition include additional discussion of: ethical issues; statistical methods (sample size estimation, use of the statistical package R, mixed models); bioindicators, especially for freshwater pollution; seeds, fecundity and population dynamics including static and dynamic life tables; forestry techniques including tree coring and tree mortality calculations; the use of data repositories; writing for a journal and producing poster and oral presentations. In addition, the use of new and emerging technologies has been a particular focus, including mobile apps for environmental monitoring and identification; land cover and GIS; the use of drones including legal frameworks and codes of practice; molecular field techniques including DNA analysis in the field (including eDNA); photo-matching for identifying individuals; camera trapping; modern techniques for detecting and analysing bat echolocation calls; and data storage using the cloud. Divided into six distinct chapters, Practical Field Ecology, 2nd Edition begins at project inception with a chapter on planning--covering health and safety, along with guidance on how to ensure that the sampling and experimental design is suitable for subsequent statistical analysis. Following a chapter dealing with site characterisation and general aspects of species identification, subsequent chapters describe the techniques used to survey and census particular groups of organisms. The final chapters cover analysing, interpreting and presenting data, and writing up the research. Offers a readable and approachable integrated guide devoted to field-based research projects Takes students from the planning stage, into the field, and clearly guides them through organism identification in the laboratory and computer-based data analysis, interpretation and data presentation Includes a chapter on how to write project reports and present findings in a variety of formats to differing audiences Aimed at undergraduates taking courses in Ecology, Biology, Geography, and Environmental Science, Practical Field Ecology, 2nd Edition will also benefit postgraduates seeking to support their projects.
Call Number: 577.0723 WHEISBN: 9781119413226Publication Date: 2020 -
Community Ecology
by
Community ecology has undergone a transformation in recent years, from a discipline largely focused on processes occurring within a local area to a discipline encompassing a much richer domain of study, including the linkages between communities separated in space (metacommunity dynamics), niche and neutral theory, the interplay between ecology and evolution (eco-evolutionary dynamics), and the influence of historical and regional processes in shaping patterns of biodiversity. To fully understand these new developments, however, students continue to need a strong foundation in the study of species interactions and how these interactions are assembled into food webs and other ecological networks. This new edition fulfils the book's original aims, both as a much-needed up-to-date and accessible introduction to modern community ecology, and in identifying the important questions that are yet to be answered. This research-driven textbook introduces state-of-the-art community ecology to a new generation of students, adopting reasoned and balanced perspectives on as-yet-unresolved issues. Community Ecology is suitable for advanced undergraduates, graduate students, and researchers seeking a broad, up-to-date coverage of ecological concepts at the community level.
Call Number: 577.82 MITISBN: 9780198835868Publication Date: 2019 -
Marine Ecological Field Methods
by
A comprehensive, clear, and detailed guide to procedures for conducting marine ecological field studies Marine Ecological Field Methods is a comprehensive resource that offers the most relevant sampling methodologies for quantitative and qualitative studies of mesopelagic, demersal, littoral, and soft-bottom organisms, as well as relevant physical parameters. The authors describe how various sampling gears work, how to operate them, their limitations, guides on sorting and measuring collected organisms, and how to deal with subsamples of large catches. The text also explains how to use acoustic equipment for monitoring aggregations of organisms, for example fish shoals, as well as the use of sensors for registering environmental variables such as salinity, temperature, oxygen, and light. The text contains cutting-edge research techniques that are in their final stages of development for use in research surveys. Marine Ecological Field Methods is designed to help with the entire procedure for conducting a field study, including the generation of hypotheses, planning field collection of data, conducting field work, data exploration and statistical analysis with the use of R, and presentation of results in a final report. This essential resource: Covers a wide range of techniques and methods for the marine environment Includes tried and trusted methodologies and techniques from a team of noted experts in the field Contains information on sampling equipment ranging from those that are useful in the littoral zone to shallow nearshore areas, including bottles, secchi discs, and gillnets, and finally large trawls, benthic sleds, ROV and advanced technologies for remote sensing in the open ocean. Explores the step-by-step procedures for conducting a field study, from formulating hypotheses to the process of registering and reporting results Written for students and professionals in the field, this vital resource describes marine ecological sampling equipment, methods and analysis, ranging from physical parameters to fish, microalgae, zooplankton, benthos and macroalgae.
Call Number: 577.7 MARISBN: 9781119184300Publication Date: 2018
Use Multisearch to find journals and ejournals.
Here is a selection of print and ejournals available through the library. Click the "i" icon to quickly see if the journal is available in print or online
-
Basic and Applied Ecology
Basic and Applied Ecology (BAAE) is a peer-reviewed, open-access journal that publishes high-quality research that advances both the theoretical foundations and practical applications of ecology worldwide.
-
Ecological Informatics
An International Journal on Computational Ecology and Ecological Data Science
The journal Ecological Informatics is devoted to the publication of high quality, peer-reviewed articles on all aspects of computational ecology, data science, biogeography, and ecosystem analysis.
-
Journal of Animal Ecology
Journal of Animal Ecology publishes high-quality animal ecology research that advances broad ecological principles.
The journal publishes innovative and significant work and welcome papers that advance the development of ecological theory or methodologies, generate ecological insights beyond the specific study system, or address broad or pressing ecological questions. Journal of Animal Ecology is part of the prestigious British Ecological Society portfolio.
-
Journal of Plant Ecology
Journal of Plant Ecology is a well-established, fully open-access journal on plants and their interactions with biotic and abiotic environments. Find out why JPE makes the perfect home for your research.
-
Wetlands Ecology and Management Wetlands Ecology and Management is a multidisciplinary journal publishing original refereed articles on freshwater, brackish, and marine coastal wetland ecosystems.
Here are some website you may find useful. Remember to always check the quality and reliability of resources you find on websites.
-
Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland the wild plants of Britain and Ireland. Since 1836, we've been promoting the study, understanding and enjoyment of British and Irish botany.
-
Irish Environmental Network The Irish Environmental Network is a network of individual environmental Non-Government Organisations (NGOs) that work individually and, as appropriate, jointly to protect and enhance the environment, and to place environmental issues centre stage in Ireland and internationally. The IEN works to promote the interlinked principles of environmental, social and economic sustainability. In representing the environment its Members represent a common good and not self interest.
-
National Biodiversity Data Centre The National Biodiversity Data Centre works to make biodiversity data and information more freely available in order to better understand and assist the protection of Ireland’s biodiversity.
-
World Flora Online World Flora Online is the international initiative to achieve Target 1 of the Global Strategy for Plant Conservation and provides a global overview of the diversity of plant species. It is the essential tool for conservation planners, policymakers and practitioners at all levels.
Research Help
Need an idea? - Here are some suggested places to start:
- Multisearch - limit your results by subject or topic.
- Google Scholar - useful for finding existing research.
Not sure how to develop your topic?
- Watch this online tutorial from Sage Research Methods : Defining a topic.
- Read the Identifying a subject for an assignment or research area page of our Research Skills: Finding and evaluating information for essays and theses guide.
Referencing is an essential skill for academic writing. It is important to acknowledge the work of others to avoid plagiarism.
We recommend you complete the following online tutorials from the MTU Libraries Assignment Toolkit.
Here is a link to MTU Kerry Library's Guide to Referencing, Citations and Avoiding Plagiarism (MTU Kerry).
Look for a peer-review limiter on your search results page.
How do I know if a journal is peer-reviewed?
- If you are searching a library database such as CINAHL, use the peer-reviewed limiter.
- Google the journal home page; this information is almost always located on the publisher's website.
- Ask a librarian for help.
Be careful, however! Not all articles within a peer-reviewed journal are peer-reviewed articles.
TIP: Peer-reviewed articles will have an abstract and a list of references.
We recommend you complete the following online tutorials from the MTU Library Assignment Toolkit.
You can also check out the MTU Kerry's Academic Success Centre or MTU Cork's Academic Learning Centre
Contact Us
Related Guides
-
Zoology Zoology Subject Guide
-
Botany Plant Science (Botany) Subject Guide
-
Irish Wildlife Irish Wildlife Subject Guide
You Tube Video
Recent Books
