Ecological science, the Biosphere Books

Book SynopsisThe speciesarea relationship (SAR) describes a range of related phenomena that are fundamental to the study of biogeography, macroecology and community ecology. While the subject of ongoing debate for a century, surprisingly, no previous book has focused specifically on the SAR. This volume addresses this shortfall by providing a synthesis of the development of SAR typologies and theory, as well as empirical research and application to biodiversity conservation problems. It also includes a compilation of recent advances in SAR research, comprising novel SAR-related theories and findings from the leading authors in the field. The chapters feature specific knowledge relating to terrestrial, marine and freshwater realms, ensuring a comprehensive volume relevant to a wide range of fields, with a mix of review and novel material and with clear recommendations for further research and application.Trade Review'Each chapter of the text is a technical paper written by researchers who have been actively exploring little-known facets of the species-area relationship that have escaped the attention of mainstream ecologists. The results of this effort are frequently interesting and occasionally surprisingly insightful. Community ecologists, landscape ecologists, and conservationists will find useful information about the species-area relationship in this volume … each chapter is presented in standard, scientific communication format. Recommended.' S. R. Fegley, ChoiceTable of ContentsForeword Mark V. Lomolino; 1. The species–area relationship: both general and protean? Thomas J. Matthews, Kostas A. Triantis and Robert J. Whittaker; 2. The History of the Species–Area Relationship Even Tjørve, Thomas J. Matthews and Robert J. Whittaker; 3. The multiple forms and functions of species–area relationship Thomas Matthews, François Rigal, Konstantinos Proios, Kostas Triantis and Robert J. Whittaker; 4. The factors that underpin the shape of the SAR curve Even Tjørve, Kathleen Tjørve , Eva Šizlingová and Arnost Šizling; 5. Functional and phylogenetic diversity–area relationships: a review Florent Mazel and Wilfried Thuiller; 6. Species–area relationships in alien species: pattern and process Tim Blackburn, Phil Cassey and Petr Pysek; 7. Mathematical expressions for the species-area relationship (SAR) and (the hidden) assumptions behind the models Even Tjørve and Kathleen Tjørve; 8. Biodiversity scaling on a continuous plane: geometrical underpinnings of the nested species–area relationship David Storch and Arnost Šizling; 9. Upscaling SARs and the connection with species abundances Luis Borda-de-Agua, Saeid Alirezazadeh, Manuela Neves, Stephen P. Hubbell, Paulo Borges, Pedro Cardoso, Francisco Dionísio and Henrique M. Pereira; 10. The SAR: Is It “Produced by Laws Acting around Us”? John Harte; 11. The species–area relationships of ecological neutral theory James Rosindell and Ryan Chisholm; 12. The integration of the species–area relationship with mechanistic community ecological theory Robert Holt, Dominique Gravel, Adrian Stier and James Rosindell; 13. The identification biodiversity hotspots using the species–area relationship Simone Fattorini; 14. Using the species-area relationship to predict extinctions resulting from habitat loss Simone Fattorini, Werner Ulrich and Thomas J. Matthews; 15. Using network analysis and diversity partitioning to examine the temporal dynamics of the species–area relationship Joseph Veech and Giovanni Strona; 16. Does Geometry dominate extinction due to habitat loss? Athanasios Kallimanis and John Halley; 17. External modulators of species-area relationships Isabel Jones, Carlos Peres, Maíra Benchimol, Anderson S. Bueno, Danielle Storck-Tonon and Ana Filipa Palmeirim; 18. Applied SARs in marine systems and fisheries Karl Ugland and Alexandra Kraberg; 19. Conclusions and future Directions in SAR Research Kostas A. Triantis.

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Book SynopsisUntil now, biological invasions have been conceptualised and studied mainly as a linear process: from introduction to establishment to spread. This volume charts a new course for the field, drawing on key developments in network ecology and complexity science. It defines an agenda for Invasion Science 2.0 by providing new framings and classification of research topics and by offering tentative solutions to vexing problems. In particular, it conceptualises a transformative ecosystem as an open adaptive network with critical transitions and turnover, with resident species heuristically learning and fine-tuning their niches and roles in a multiplayer eco-evolutionary game. It erects signposts pertaining to network interactions, structures, stability, dynamics, scaling, and invasibility. It is not a recipe book or a road map, but an atlas of possibilities: a ''hitchhiker''s guide''.Table of Contents1. Invasion science 1.0; 2. Relentless evolution; 3. Network assembly; 4. Regimes and panarchy; 5. Network transitions; 6. Network scaling; 7. Rethinking invasibility.

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Book SynopsisHow we view nature transforms the world around us. People rehearse stories about nature which make sense to them. If we ask the question ''why conserve nature?'', and the answers are based on myths, then are these good myths to have? Scientific knowledge about the environment is fundamental to ideas about how nature works. It is essential to the conservation endeavour. However, any conservation motivation is nested within a society''s meanings of nature and the way society values it. Given the therapeutic and psychological significance of nature for us and our culture, this book considers the meanings derived from the poetic and emotional attachment to a sense of place, which is arguably just as important as scientific evidence. The functional significance of species is important, but so too is the therapeutic value of nature, together with the historic and spiritual meanings entwined in a human feeling for landscape and wildlife.Table of ContentsPart I. The Experience of Nature: 1. The experience of nature; 2. Climate change; Part II. Nature Imagined: 3. Nature in ecological science: explanations, emotions and motivations; 4. Nature in literature and art; Part III. Nature, Self and Place: 5. Personal meanings of nature; 6. Places for nature; Part IV. Why Conserve Nature?: 7. Possibilities.

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Book SynopsisOnly a green world, rich in plants, can sustain us and the millions of other species with which we share this planet. But, in an era of global change, nature is on the retreat. Like the communities they form, many plant species are becoming rarer, threatened even to the point of extinction. The worldwide community of almost three thousand botanic gardens are holders of the most diverse living collections of plants and have the unique potential to conserve plant diversity. Conservation biology is a fast moving and often controversial field, and, as the contributions within these pages from experts in the field demonstrate, plant conservation is multifaceted, mirroring the complexity of the biodiversity it aims to protect, and striving not just to protect threatened plants but to preserve ecosystem services and secure the integrity of the biosphere.Table of Contents1. Mounting a fundamental defence of the plant kingdom Stephen Blackmore and Sara Oldfield; 2. Using DNA sequence data to enhance understanding and conservation of plant diversity at the species level Peter M. Hollingsworth, Linda Neaves and Alex D. Twyford; 3. Conservation assessments and understanding the impacts of threats on plant biodiversity Malin Rivers; 4. The role of botanic gardens in in situ conservation Jin Chen, Richard Corlett and Charles Cannon; 5. The role of botanic gardens in ex situ conservation Paul Smith and Valerie Pence; 6. The role of botanic gardens and arboreta in restoring plants: from populations to ecosystems Kayri Havens; 7. Botanic gardens and solutions to global challenges Samuel F. Brockington and Beverley J. Glover; 8. Cultivating the power of plants to sustain and enrich life: how public gardens can realise our purpose by focusing on the basic human needs universal to diverse audiences Sophia Shaw and Jennifer Schwarz-Ballard; 9. Botanic gardens and conservation impact: options for evaluation Val Kapos and Sara Oldfield; 10. Conclusions Stephen Blackmore, Sara Oldfield and Paul Smith.

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Book SynopsisThe importance of the Arctic in many fields of human activity strongly increased over the past decades. The academic scientific research demonstrates a 3-fold increase in the number of journal articles dealing with "Arctic": from 1,400 in 2000 to 4,200 in 2018. This increase is not fortuitous but certainly stems from double importance of Arctic regions for humanity. The first importance is the role that the Arctic plays in the on-going environmental changes, mostly linked to climate warming and environmental pollution. Here, the first key issues are the Arctic Ocean, ice melt, permafrost thaw, greenhouse gases emission, and organic carbon mobilization from soils to rivers. From the other hand, highly fragile Arctic ecosystems and biota are strongly affected by environmental pollution, be it organic compounds or toxic metals and radionuclides. The rising concern of humanity to the key role of the Arctic in climate regulation on the planetary scale and the extreme fragility of its ecosystem, biota and native population to on-going environmental change can certainly explain an explosive interest of scientific researchers to the Arctic in connection with 'climate change'. The second big issue of the Arctic is its eminent role in problems of natural resources. The Artic shelf contains vast amount of hydrocarbons (gas and oil), whereas the terrestrial polar regions, now liberating from ice, may turn out to be highly important sites of future ore industry. The importance of possibly ice-free Arctic Ocean as future maritime shipping routes will further enhance the accessibility of natural resources in this region. Taken together, this can be the main driving factors of almost exponential increase in the interest to natural resources in the Arctic over past few years. The present book addresses a wide variety of environmental, social and economic issues of the Arctic, in response to rising interest to this region in academic science, sociology and business. The 14 chapters represent state-of-the art reviews written by the experts on problems of native communities, climate change, political issues, implementation of large-scale projects, natural resources and conservation, environmental monitoring and assessment of pollution issues.Table of ContentsPreface; Introduction; Learning in the Changing Arctic; Climate Change from the Arctic People's Point of View: Rhythms of Everyday Life, Infrastructures and Landscapes; Warmer Climate of Arctic Cities; A Comparative Study on the Cooperation in the Arctic Ocean and the South China Sea; Developing Environmental Research Capacity in the Yamal-Nenets Autonomous District within a Global Networking Framework; Vegetation of the Subarctic and Arctic of Siberia: Some Types and Approaches to the Study; Conservation Issues of Migratory Anseriformes in the Arctic: The Experience of the Yamal-Nenets Autonomous Okrug; Remote Research of Spatiotemporal Dynamics of Thermokarst Lakes Fields in Siberian Permafrost; Groundwater Resources of the White Sea Basin (NW Russia); Estimation of the Condition of Arctic Tundra Landscapes Soil Cover Taking into Account Previous and Current Economic Activities: An Example of the Western Coast of Moller Bay (Archipelago Novaya Zemlya); Radionuclides in Sea Ecosystems of the Western Sector of the Russian Arctic; Seismic Monitoring of the European Arctic and Adjoining Regions; Diamond Deposits of the European Arctic of Russia: Problems of the Kimberlites Exploration, Limits of Conventional Methods and New Approaches; Dispersed Sedimentary Material in the Snow and Ice Cover of the Central Arctic and Its Fluxes to the Bottom; Index.

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Book SynopsisThis book covers selected topics on research methods in modern ecology, through the lens of 8 chapters, focusing on animal ecology, landcover assessment and habitat change, human perspectives and management, and research techniques, with examples taken from the Indian subcontinent. This area has emerged as one of the pivotal zones where cutting edge applications may be tested. Topics examined include the development and management of computer software techniques and the syntheses of these into pre-existing research methods, chemical analyses, including studies of animal dietary and foraging patterns, landcover, habitat and plant ecological change and even human/animal relations, and genetic studies. Remote sensing and geographical information systems are considered as cutting-edge research methods, at small, medium and large-scale levels, including more accurate positioning systems, more sensitive tracking systems, the removal of obstacles to clearer observation and species identification, such as darkness and poor lighting, dense vegetation and coarse image resolution and more comparative studies across different local contexts and global ecosystems. The topics cover geoinformatics applications to forest management in India, the paradigm shifts in this area, and the promotion and integration of sustainable forest management (SFM) and geoinformatics within the National Working Plan Code. Another case study is of Geoinformatics, Climate Change, Habitat Dynamics and a Case of Vultures in Central India, focusing on vulture ecology and related climatic variables, assessed with geoinformatics, Species Distribution Models (SDMs) and Global Circulation Models (GCMs). Other topics concern the use of tracking technologies including drones, the use of thermal and infrared drones in the study of large mammalian carnivores, the role of remote sensing and GIS in the assessment of natural resource development, clustering around the central concept of change detection, and the monitoring of agricultural development using socio-cultural parameters. This book presents these issues as some factors among the vast number of current ecological issues.Table of ContentsPreface; Forest Management in India: A Paradigm Shift and the Use of Geoinformatics; Biogeography as an Ecological Science and Methodology; Landuse-Landcover Dynamics Analysis using Remote Sensing and GIS: A Case of Central Himalayan Terai, India; Geoinformatics, Climate Change, Habitat Dynamics and a Case of Vultures in Central India; A Symbiosis of Habitat Conservation and Eco-Tourism Development: A Case Study of the Valmiki Tiger Reserve, India; Technology in Good Governance: A Case of FRA and Geoinformatics; Similar Yet Different Rice-Farming Ecosystems: UNESCO Associated Cases of Two Culturally Rich Asian Nations; Thermal Drones and Large Mammalian Carnivores; Rehabilitation of Mine Spoils: A Review on Problems and Strategies with Cases of Indian Mines; What could be the Present and Future Habitats of Residents and Wintering Vultures for Conservation in the Indian Subcontinent; Index.

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Book SynopsisEcology is the study of the interrelationships between organisms and their environment, including the biotic and abiotic components. There are at least six kinds of ecology: ecosystem, physiological, behavioural, population, and community. Specific topics include: Acid Deposition, Acid Rain Revisited, Biodiversity, Biocomplexity, Carbon Sequestration in Soils, Coral Reefs, Ecosystem Services, Environmental Justice, Fire Ecology, Floods, Global Climate Change, Hypoxia, and Invasion. This new book presents new research on ecology from around the world.

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Book SynopsisEcology is the study of the interrelationships between organisms and their environment, including the biotic and abiotic components. There are at least six kinds of ecology: ecosystem, physiological, behavioural, population, and community. Specific topics include: Acid Deposition, Acid Rain Revisited, Biodiversity, Biocomplexity, Carbon Sequestration in Soils, Coral Reefs, Ecosystem Services, Environmental Justice, Fire Ecology, Floods, Global Climate Change, Hypoxia, and Invasion. This new book presents new research on aquatic ecosystems from around the world.

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Book SynopsisEcology is the study of the interrelationships between organisms and their environment, including the biotic and abiotic components. There are at least six kinds of ecology: ecosystem, physiological, behavioural, population, and community. specific topics include: Acid Deposition, Acid Rain Revisited, Biodiversity, Biocomplexity, Carbon Sequestration in Soils, Coral Reefs, Ecosystem Services, , Environmental Justice, Fire Ecology , Floods, Global Climate Change, Hypoxia, and Invasion. This book presents new research on ecology from around the world.

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Book SynopsisWetlands are lands where saturation with water is the dominant factor determining the nature of soil development and the types of plant and animal communities living in the soil and on its surface. Wetlands vary widely because of regional and local differences in soils, topography, climate, hydrology, water chemistry, vegetation, and other factors, including human disturbance. Indeed, wetlands are found from the tundra to the tropics and on every continent except Antarctica. This book brings together the latest research in field.

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Book SynopsisThe Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) is home to the spot cheddar cheese market, which impacts the prices of virtually all cheese traded in the United States, producer milk prices, and milk futures contracts. The spot cheese market, formerly the National Cheese Exchange (NCE) in Wisconsin, has been and continues to be the subject of concerns about price manipulation. The author was asked to examine (1) the market''s structure and ongoing concerns about price manipulation; (2) market oversight and efforts to address potential manipulation; and (3) how the market impacts federal milk pricing. In response, the author compared the markets at NCE and CME, analysed trading data, collected information about the Commodity Futures Trading Commission''s (CFTC) oversight, and met with industry participants, academics, and agency officials.

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Book SynopsisWritten by seventeen experts in the field of rangeland management, this compilation of essays brings to light the latent issues concerning this subject to readers all over the globe. Though technical approaches can address some issues, social processes ultimately prevent the balancing of these matters. Socio-economic and political institutions are often a stumbling block for improving rangeland management. Human intervention (such as burning and grazing) have been used as rehabilitation efforts to address reverse land degradation problems. It is also hoped that these methods will bring about ecological restoration for more than 30 percent of the world''s land mass and provide living conditions for 1 billion people across every inhabited continent. Multiple-use has become an important factor in the last few decades, especially when discussing global climate change. The extensive bibliography we provide will give researchers, members of academia and policy makers'' contemplative subject matter; they may access multi-lingual literature that give insight into the issues concerning rangeland situations.

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Book SynopsisRiparian ecosystems occur in semi-terrestrial areas adjacent to water bodies and are influenced by freshwater. Riparian wetlands are defined as land areas adjacent to perennial, intermittent, and ephemeral streams, lakes or rivers. As a result, these areas have high water tables and periodic flooding. They support a wide range of wetland vegetation including emergent macrophytes, grasses and trees. Riparian zones and wetlands are among the most vulnerable natural ecosystems to both climate change and human impact, and they are likely to represent important hot spots for climate change adaptation. The riparian ecosystems, located at the interface between water and land, are extremely dynamic environments in terms of structure, function, diversity and strength of abiotic-biotic feedbacks. Nowadays, the riparian wetlands are strongly affected by both global climate change and human activity. For these reasons, there is a steady and even abrupt increase of scientific publications linked to riparian problems. A web search of "riparian" as a topic yielded more than 16,000 papers published between 1950 and 2015, with 7,000 of them have been published over the past five years and 10,500 produced over the preceding sixty years. This rise of scientific interest is, however, strongly biased geographically. A search of "riparian" in the titles of 4,773 scientific publications (1950-2015) yields high geographical bias with papers studying all aspects of riparian zones in the United States, Brazil, China, Canada, Africa and Europe, respectively, and only one in Russia. This book is intended to partially fill this gap by presenting nine chapters describing the studies of riparian and flood plain zones of Russia. The fourteen chapters of the book, written by the experts in the field of landscape geography, biogeochemistry, GIS techniques and biology cover two of the most important riparian zones of the world: the Amazon varzea and the Ob/Irtysh floodplains. A multidisciplinary approach across wide geographical scales and various techniques presented in this book will be interesting for a large community of scholars, students, and researchers from academic and private organisations.

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Book Synopsis“Windburned, eyes closed, this: beneath the keening of bergs, a deeper thresh of glaciers calving, creaking with sun. Sound of earth, her bones, wide russet bowl of hips splaying open. From these sere flanks, her desiccating body, what a sea change is born.” From the endangered Canadian boreal forest to the environmentally threatened Svalbard archipelago off the coast of Norway, Jenna Butler takes us on a sea voyage that connects continents and traces the impacts of climate change on northern lands. With a conservationist, female gaze, she questions explorer narratives and the mythic draw of the polar North. As a woman who cannot have children, she writes out the internal friction of travelling in Svalbard during the fertile height of the Arctic summer. Blending travelogue and poetic meditation on place, Jenna Butler draws readers to the beauty and power of threatened landscapes, asking why some stories in recorded history are privileged while others speak only from beneath the surface.Trade Review# 7 on Edmonton Non-Fiction Bestsellers list, August 16, 2018"Magnetic North is a beautiful little book, full of moments of intense vision, but it’s also another ecological warning, couched in a poet’s deep understanding of what she has seen & recorded in our now changing north. Wholly engaging both emotionally & intellectually, it’s one of those books that truly adds to our understanding of the world we live in & continue to wound." [Full review at https://eclecticruckus.wordpress.com/2018/09/28/jenna-butlers-visionary-voyage-into-the-arctic/] -- Douglas Barbour * Eclectic Ruckus *"The remote island of Spitsbergen, on Norway’s northern Svalbard archipelago, provides the setting for Butler’s evocative ruminations on the harsh beauty at the edge of the world.... Butler’s book is not a standard travel narrative; rather, she wields poetic prose to describe a place that most humans will never visit. The result is highly recommended for lovers of poetry and nature writing." * Publishers Weekly, starred review *# 3 on Edmonton Non-Fiction Bestsellers list, December 01, 2018# 1 on Edmonton Non-Fiction Bestsellers list, January 13, 2019 * Edmonton Non-Fiction Bestsellers *"[Jenna Butler is an] acute observer and a precise and cogent writer... [Hers] is a journey motivated by curiosity about the north, and a longing for sights to be seen before they disappear forever. Her descriptions of settlements scattered between mainland Norway and the Arctic Circle are evocative: her prose is poetic, and her poems (interspersed in the text) are visual and concrete." [Full review at http://canlit.ca/article/voyages-of-desire/] -- Hilary Turner * Canadian Literature *“…an alternate view of the grandeur of Arctic nature, the paradox of Russian mining settlements in an area under Norwegian sovereignty, the critically endangered nature of the islands, how people respond to the extreme environment and living conditions in the Arctic, and a deep personal reflection on traveling to this part of the globe…” Ingo Heidbrink, The Northern Mariner/Le marin du nord, Vol. XXVIII, No. 4 [Full review at https://www.cnrs-scrn.org/northern_mariner/vol28/tnm_28_br_385-438.pdf] -- Ingo Heidbrink"Magnetic North is a delight, perfect for amateur botanists, naturalists or simply admirers of Butler's astonishing gifts as a poet." -- Shirley RoburnThis is a beautiful series of portraits of place and time and captures ecological shifts, women who work in the places they're anchored and her own body’s experience of being on boat, dinghy and icy land. -- Yvonne Blomer, 49th Shelf, March 28, 2022Table of Contentsxi The Journey 1 Lines Toward Ice 7 Pyramiden 13 Ornithomancy 19 Night 23 Bone 29 The Men at the Edge of the World 35 She Becomes the Ocean 41 Arctic by Air 47 Afloat 53 Barentsburg 59 Cusp 65 Postcard from Svalbard 71 At the Face 77 Threads 83 Leaving Days 89 Song to the Boreal

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Book SynopsisOver the past half century, slash-and-burn rice farming on Madagascar has slowly expanded from the coastal lowlands into the dense tropical forests of the island's central plateau - many of which are officially protected reserves. This rapid assessment focuses on the Reserve Naturelle Integrale of d'Ankarafantsika, in the northern portion of the island. The area is filled with diverse endemic species but is increasingly threatened by local agricultural methods, and this assessment is critical to the process of evaluating risks and developing sound conservation policies for the future.

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Book SynopsisThe global resources situation and the climate crisis are amongst the biggest challenges faced by mankind today. In the years to come, these issues will no doubt have an influence on societal evolution, on urban and rural land development, and how we define our cultural identities. These and related issues will be reflected in the world of architecture. In recent years many countries with high energy consumption have made the energy-related requirements for buildings more stringent; the new rules apply to the resources used for construction as well as to those used in the operation of buildings. In the future, these new requirements will have a major impact on the design of buildings. It will not be sufficient merely to increase the insulation thickness or to make the building envelope more airtight. Solutions of this type have an adverse impact on the architectural design, on the construction practices, on the indoor environment and on options for making buildings flexible so that they can be adapted for diverse uses over time. Equally important in terms of its impact on architectural quality is the challenge posed by the continuous growth of industrialisation. The move from craft-based construction methods to computer-controlled production processes now used in industrialised manufacturing has resulted in strict standards, established at design level, being imposed on the process as it takes place on the building site, creating an "assembly architecture" that no longer depends on the locally available materials, on local cultural traditions or on the specific physical context. In this book, ideas, design principles and practices that relate to tectonics in architecture are explored, and a series of themes are discussed in relation to various concepts of ecology. Ecology is, in this case, defined in its widest sense, which includes the cycling of resources, systems of social organisation and the environmental context. Tectonics a concept with a long tradition in architecture and architectural theory is comparable to ecology. It relates to the de-sign and assembly of structural elements, and implies a holistic approach to materials, to construction technology and to the design of structures. It is more than merely an instrumental strategy: it extends into the poetic, which elevates it to the status of a cultural practice. This book is part of a research project conducted by leading academics associated with the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts School of Architecture, the Aarhus School of Architecture and the Danish Building Research Institute. With contributions from a wider network of academic experts and from practicing architects, it provides the first comprehensive representation of contemporary tectonic thought and practices in architecture.

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Book SynopsisHumans explore Earth's origins, evolution, and current challenges caused by human actions. Urges care for the planet for future generations.

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Book SynopsisCovers the different aspects and areas of ecology. Covers the different aspects and areas of ecology.

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a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.

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a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.

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a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.

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Book SynopsisWilson, author of Anthill and The Future of LifeBiologist Rob Dunn reveals the crucial influence that other species have upon our health, our well being, and our world in The Wild Life of Our Bodies—a fascinating tour through the hidden truths of nature and codependence.Trade Review"A pleasure to read. He is not a biologist moonlighting as a writer; he is both. Dunn also does a wonderful job interspersing history, research, and speculation with real-life human beings. He has a natural flair for drama and tension ... a highly readable, informative mashing of ideas and disciplines." -- Boston Globe "Grabbing the reader from the start ... Dunn moves through the answer to these and other questions with a sure use of language, scientific research, and humor-all of which combined keep the reader highly engaged... Mr. Dunn is a thorough and talented writer." -- New York Journal of Books "An extraordinary book about a previously little explored subject. With clarity and charm the author takes the reader into the overlap of medicine, ecology, and evolutionary biology to reveal an important domain of the human condition." -- Edward O. Wilson, University Research Professor Emeritus, Harvard University "[Dunn is] a master at applying the principle of administering a spoonful of sugar (i.e., humor) to make the "medicine" of complicated scientific information not merely interesting but gripping. Nothing less than an every-person's handbook for understanding life, great and small, on planet Earth." -- Booklist (starred review) "Adding touches of humor along the way, Dunn deftly explains complex biological systems for the general reader. [...] Highly recommended for nature aficionados, this book should inspire many lively discussions." -- Library Journal

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Book SynopsisTrade Review“Carlsen sees a world of wonder hiding in plain sight…he may just change how you look at the world around you.” — TODAY Show "No neighborhood walk will ever be the same after Spike Carlsen reveals to you the extraordinary origins of your ordinary surroundings. His grand storytelling style will make you wonder why you’ve always taken for granted alleyways, asphalt, and manhole covers, and how your ancestors could ever have lived without them." — Rebecca Martin, technical editor, Mother Earth News and Grit "Writing in the mode of Edward Humes, David Owen, and Mary Roach, Carlsen offers an eye-opening and exuberantly informative walk-around-the-block tour that is made-to-order for this time of necessary at-homeness." — Booklist (starred review) "Carlsen takes 'mundane' objects and illuminates their importance to society, creating a unique book that will have readers looking at everyday objects in different ways." — Library Journal “An entertaining and informative read” — Physics Today “A Walk Around the Block succeeds in making the mundane fascinating, opening our minds (and front doors) to an everyday world easily taken for granted.” — Bookpage (starred review) “This book is going to make you observe your world differently, which will lessen your stuck-at-home boredom.” — Philadelphia Tribune

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a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.

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Book SynopsisThis comprehensive introduction to the biology of bats offers a summary of the large body of information about bats that the scientific community has amassed over the years. Gerhard Neuweiler, a leading, internationally recognized expert in the field, assesses the most current information available about physiological systems, ecology, and phylogeny of bats, as well as the biology of mammals in general. The book also features a thorough discussion of echolocation, a topic currently under intense scrutiny. The broad physiological perspective will allow the book to accompany regionally specific studies of bats. With examples taken from European and neotropical species, as well as North American species, this useful volume documents what is currently known about this highly successful and fascinating order of mammals.Trade Review"First published in German, this fine translation makes a wealth of information more readily available to biologists. Reviews functional anatomy, circulatory and respiratory systems, diet and digestion, aerodynamics, central nervous system, echolocation, vision, olfaction, reproduction and development, ecology, phylogeny, systematics, and more. Unusually comprehensive in its presentation of information. Suggested references listed at the end of each chapter. Well-suited as a textbook." -- Northeastern Naturalist, 2000 "First published in German, this fine translation makes a wealth of information more readily available to biologists. Reviews functional anatomy, circulatory and respiratory systems, diet and digestion, aerodynamics, central nervous system, echolocation, vision, olfaction, reproduction and development, ecology, phylogeny, systematics, and more. Unusually comprehensive in its presentation of information. Suggested references listed at the end of each chapter. Well-suited as a textbook." -- Northeastern Naturalist, 2000Table of Contents1. Functional anatomy and locomotion ; 2. The circulatory and respiratory systems ; 3. Heat and water balance ; 4. Diet, digestion, and energy balance ; 5. Central nervous system ; 6. Echolocation ; 7. Vision, olfaction, and taste ; 8. Reproduction and development ; 9. Ecology ; 10. Phylogeny and systematics

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Book SynopsisIn Aldo Leopold and an Ecological Conscience ecologists, wildlife biologists, and other professional conservationists explore the ecological legacy of Aldo Leopold and his A Sand Country Almanac and his contributions to the environmental movement, the philosophy of science, and natural resource management. Twelve personal essays describe the enormous impact he has had on each author, from influencing the daily operations of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the creation of a land-use ethics guide for Forest Service personnel, to much needed inspiration for continuing on in today''s large, complex and often problematic world of science. Here is Aldo Leopold as a mentor, friend, and companion and an affirmation of his hope that science will continue to be practiced in the cause of conservation.Trade Review... this attractive book is wonderfully put together. It would serve either as a helpful introduction to those who might not be familiar with Leopold's work or as enjoyable reading for those who already know the delights of the world of Aldo Leopold. * Environmental Conservation *Table of ContentsTHE EVOLUTION OF A CLASSIC ; A SENSE OF PLACE, A SENSE OF TIME ; THE COHESIVE VISION ; A LAND ETHIC IN PRACTICE

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Book SynopsisThe Boreal forest is the northern-most forest in the world, whose organisms and dynamics are shaped by low temperature and high latitude. The Alaskan Boreal forest is now warming as rapidly as any place on earth, providing an unprecedented opportunity to examine a biome as it adjusts to change.Table of ContentsPART I: Alaska's Past and Present Environment 1: The Conceptual Basis of LTER Studies in the Alaskan Boreal Forest 2: Regional Overview of Interior Alaska 3: State Factor Control of Soil Formation in Interior Alaska 4: Climate and Permafrost Dynamics of the Alaskan Boreal Forest 5: Holocene Development of the Alaskan Boreal Forest PART II: Forest Dynamics 6: Floristic Diversity and Distribution in the Alaskan Boreal Forest 7: Successional Processes in the Alaskan Boreal Forest 8: Mammalian Herbivore Population Dynamics in the Alaskan Boreal Forest 9: Dynamics of Phytophagous Insects and Their Pathogens in Alaskan Boreal Forests 10: Running Waters of the Alaskan Boreal Forest PART III: Ecosystem Dynamics 11: Controls over Forest Production in Interior Alaska 12: The Role of Fine Roots in the Functioning of Alaskan Boreal Forests 13: Mammalian Herbivory, Ecosystem Engineering and Ecological Cascades in Alaskan Boreal Forests 14: Microbial Processes in the Alaskan Boreal Forest 15: Patterns of Biogeochemistry in Alaskan Boreal Forests PART IV: Changing Regional Processes 16: Watershed Hydrology and Chemistry in the Alaskan Boreal Forest: The Central Role of Permafrost 17: Fire Trends in the Alaskan Boreal Forest 18: Timber Harvest in Interior Alaska 19: Climate Feedbacks in the Alaskan Boreal Forest 20: Communication of Alaskan Boreal Science with Broader Communities 21: Summary and Synthesis: Past and Future Changes in the Alaskan Boreal Forest

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Book SynopsisAs humanity presses down inexorably on the natural world, people debate the extent to which we can save the Earth''s millions of different species without sacrificing human economic welfare. But is this argument wise? Must the human and natural worlds be adversaries? In this book, ecologist Michael Rosenzweig finds that ecological science actually rejects such polarization. Instead it suggests that, to be successful, conservation must discover how we can blend a rich natural world into the world of economic activity. This revolutionary, common ground between development and conservation is called reconciliation ecology: creating and maintaining species-friendly habitats in the very places where people live, work, or play. The book offers many inspiring examples of the good results already achieved. The Nature Conservancy, for instance, has a cooperative agreement with the Department of Defense, with more than 200 conservation projects taking place on more than 170 bases in 41 states. ITrade ReviewThis book seeks common ground between responsible forces for development, and conservationists, and gives a number of inspiring and empowering examples of what good ends can and have been achieved. * Ethology Ecology & Evolution *... a thoughtful discussion of how we can increase species diversity but using our settlements more effectively ... the easy writing style makes ideas accessible to a wide audience. * TEG News *This book is a stimulating 'wake-up' call to all of us. Read it but don't just weep, join in the crusade! * The International Journal of Sustainable Development and World Ecology *

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Book SynopsisAdaptive radiation is the evolution of diversity within a rapidly multiplying lineage. It can cause a single ancestral species to differentiate into an impressively vast array of species inhabiting a variety of environments. Much of life''s diversity has arisen during adaptive radiations. Some of the most famous recent examples include the East African cichlid fishes, the Hawaiian silverswords, and of course, Darwin''s Galápagos finches,. This book evaluates the causes of adaptive radiation. It focuses on the ''ecological'' theory of adaptive radiation, a body of ideas that began with Darwin and was developed through the early part of the 20th Century. This theory proposes that phenotypic divergence and speciation in adaptive radiation are caused ultimately by divergent natural selection arising from differences in environment and competition between species. In The Ecology of Adaptive Radiation the author re-evaluates the ecological theory, along with its most significant extensions aTrade Review[Schluter's] book is an ideal basis for graduate student seminar courses, and can both educate and spark spirited discussion ... finely crafted, deeply thoughtful. * Evolution *... a scholarly work of great clarity and force of argument. It is essential reading for all students of evolution ... a book that will take its place near the ones by Dobzhansky, Lack, Mayr and Simpson that inspired it. * Peter R. Grant, Quarterly Review of Biology *... in each decade, one book stands out in terms of its influence on the field of evolutionary biology ... Although only one-year old, this decade might have already produced its member of this pantheon: Dolph Schluter" The Ecology of Adaptive Radiation ... it will lead to new avenues of research and new ways of thinking about adaptive radiation. * Jonathan B. Losos, Trends in Ecology and Evolution *... presents and impressively thorough evaluation of the empirical evidence that has accumulated since Simpson's snythesis ... an absolute "must read" for all graduate students in the fields of ecology and evolution and for anyone interested in evolutionary diversity. It will become a classic. * Axel Meyer, Science *... should be read and regularly consulted by anybody interested in adaptive radiation, in natural selection, and in speciation. * Konrad Bachmann, Plant Systematics and Evolution *Table of Contents1. The origins of ecological diversity ; 2. Detecting adaptive radiation ; 3. The progress of adaptive radiation ; 4. The ecological theory of adaptive radiation ; 5. Divergent natural selection between environments ; 6. Divergence and species interactions ; 7. Ecological opportunity ; 8. The ecological basis of speciation ; 9. Divergence along genetic lines of least resistance ; 10. The ecology of adaptive radiation

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Book SynopsisIslands with large colonies of seabirds are found throughout the globe. Seabird islands provide nesting and roosting sites for birds that forage at sea, deposit marine nutrients on land, and physically alter these islands. Habitats for numerous endemic and endangered animal and plant species, seabird islands are therefore biodiversity hotspots with high priority for conservation.Successful campaigns to eradicate predators (e.g., rats and cats) from seabird islands have been conducted worldwide. However, removal of predators will not necessarily lead to natural recovery of seabirds or other native species. Restoration of island ecosystems requires social acceptance of eradications, knowledge of how island food webs function, and a long-term commitment to measuring and assisting the recovery process. This book, written collaboratively by and for ecologists and resource managers, provides the first large-scale cross-system compilation, comparison, and synthesis of the ecology of seabird iTable of ContentsPREFACE; ACKNOWLEDGMENTS; PART I: NATURAL HISTORY OF SEABIRD ISLANDS; W.B. ANDERSON AND C.P.H. MULDER; J.L. SMITH, C.P.H. MULDER, AND J.C. ELLIS; D.R. TOWNS, G.V. BYRD, H.P. JONES, M.J. RAUZON, J.C. RUSSELL, AND C. WILCOX; D.R. DRAKE, T.W. BODEY, J.C. RUSSELL, D.R. TOWNS, M. NOGALES, AND L. RUFFINO; PART II: CROSS-SYSTEM COMPARISONS OF ISLAND ECOSYSTEMS; C.P.H. MULDER, H. JONES, K. KAMEDA, C. PALMBORG, S. SCHMIDT, J.C. ELLIS, J L. ORROCK, D.A. WAIT, D.A. WARDLE, L. YANG, H. YOUNG, D.A. CROLL, AND E. VIDAL; J.C. ELLIS, P.J. BELLINGHAM, E.K. CAMERON, D.A. CROLL, G.S. KOLB, C. KUEFFER, G.H. MITTELHAUSER, S. SCHMIDT, E. VIDAL, AND D.A. WAIT; G.S. KOLB, H.S. YOUNG, AND W.B. ANDERSON; H.S. YOUNG, L. HURREY, AND G.S. KOLB; J.C. RUSSELL; PART III: RESTORATION OF SEABIRD ISLANDS; P. DUNLEVY, S.E. EBBERT, J.C. RUSSELL, AND D.R. TOWNS; H. JONES, D.R. TOWNS, T. BODEY, C. MISKELLY, J.C. ELLIS, M. RAUZON, S. KRESS, AND M. MCKOWN; D.R. TOWNS, A. AGUIRRE MUNOZ, S.W. KRESS, P.J. HODUM, A.A. BURBIDGE, AND A. SAUNDERS; M.S. DURRETT AND C.P.H. MULDER; APPENDIX A: DESCRIPTIONS OF FOCAL ISLAND SYSTEMS; APPENDIX B: SEABIRD SPECIES; APPENDIX C: SEABIRD PREDATORS; GLOSSARY; INDEX

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Book SynopsisThis Columbian exchange, between the Old World and the New, changed the history of our planet drastically and forever.The book The Columbian Exchange changed the field of history drastically and forever as well.Trade ReviewCrosby put ecological history on the map. His pioneering text has awakened, inspired, and challenged a generation of readers. It will, undoubtedly, become more relevant as the pace of global exchange increases. * The Sixteenth Century Journal *The Columbian Exchange is a seminal, educational, and uniquely insightful contribution to Native American, Medical History, and World History Studies reference collections and reading lists. * Library Bookwatch *Table of ContentsList of Illustrations Foreword (2002) Preface (2002) Foreword (1972) Preface (1972) The Contrasts Conquistador y Pestilencia Old World Plants and Animals in the New World The Early History of Syphilis: A Reappraisal New World Foods and Old World Demography The Columbian Exchange Continues Bibliography (1972) Bibliography (2002) Index

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