Introduction to Ecological Analysis

I'm looking for anyone who can provide a good introduction to ecology and ecological analysis. My research is on competition within the international system, and I would like to get a better understanding of how to analyze and theorize international politics as an evolving ecosystem. If anyone wants to take a shot a explaining this stuff to a social scientist please let me know.

Aaron

There a popular competitive equation used in ecology--[Competitive Lotka-Volterra equations|http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Competitive_Lotka-Volterra_equations]

I hope it is helpful. ^_^Wenyun Zuo