This book describes the natural processes that must be understood in order to manage and protect the Earth's biological diversity. The author begins with a clear definition of biological diversity and a summary of the types of diversity patterns found on Earth. Next he lays out a scientific framework for understanding the complex array of diversity patterns, including the distribution of rare species to landscape patterns visible from space. Many fascinating case studies of coral reefs, fire-maintained shrublands, prairies, and tropical rain forests illustrate the theories and models described in this book, including such fundamental issues as endemism, invasions, and extinction in temperate, tropical, and marine ecosystems.
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Editorial Reviews
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"...should be read by anyone interested in learning more about patterns of diversity of organisms that share the Earth with humans, and by everyone concerned with their rapid disappearance...Huston begins a discussion that could lead to informed policies for balancing preservation of diversity with human needs." Aaron Ellison, Plant Science Bulletin
"...one of the most satisfactory and certainly one of the most readable books to emerge on the scene...it is a single-author work, so it has a higher degree of internal consistency and structure. This makes it far more effective as an undergraduate text..." Peter Moore, New Scientist
"...a bold attempt to find a common link, a grand unifying theory, underpinning many of the major patterns in the way in which organisms assemble themselves into communities on the face of the planet...a feature and strength of the text is the huge amount of literature, much of it published decades ago, synthesized and summarized within 25 chapters...full of interesting, untested ideas..." John H. Lawton, Nature
"...a book of remarkable scope...actually a massive review of factor and processes that might conceivably impact upon the species that occur in any given area...Huston has produced something more akin to a text of ecology, with diversity as a leitmotif. In fact, it might be interesting to organize an introductory ecology course around exactly that theme, and use this book as the text...There is lots of food for thought here...and it's a bargain." David Currie, Ecoscience
"...should be required reading for graduate-level courses in ecology and would greatly enhance the knowledge of those working in the conservation of biodiversity. An essential acquisition for academic libraries." Choice
"...one of the most satisfactory and certainly one of the most readable books to emerge on the scene...it is a single-author work, so it has a higher degree of internal consistency and structure. This makes it far more effective as an undergraduate text..." Peter Moore, New Scientist
"...a bold attempt to find a common link, a grand unifying theory, underpinning many of the major patterns in the way in which organisms assemble themselves into communities on the face of the planet...a feature and strength of the text is the huge amount of literature, much of it published decades ago, synthesized and summarized within 25 chapters...full of interesting, untested ideas..." John H. Lawton, Nature
"...a book of remarkable scope...actually a massive review of factor and processes that might conceivably impact upon the species that occur in any given area...Huston has produced something more akin to a text of ecology, with diversity as a leitmotif. In fact, it might be interesting to organize an introductory ecology course around exactly that theme, and use this book as the text...There is lots of food for thought here...and it's a bargain." David Currie, Ecoscience
"...should be required reading for graduate-level courses in ecology and would greatly enhance the knowledge of those working in the conservation of biodiversity. An essential acquisition for academic libraries." Choice
Book Description
After defining biological diversity and summarizing the type of diversity patterns found on earth, this text outlines a scientific framework for understanding the complex array, using many case studies to illustrate the theories and models described.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Highly Recommend,
By Julie Korb (Bayfield, CO United States) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Biological Diversity: The Coexistence of Species (Paperback)
I highly recommend this book for anyone who is interested in understanding better the complexity of diversity and successional patterns on the landscape. This book offers a wonderful overview to the history of many commonly accepted theories in plant ecology and also presents new ideas and theories with examples from case studies. This book is a refreshing alternative to normal scientific textbooks and provokes the evaluation of many commonly held beliefs in the field of plant ecology. I also thoroughly enjoyed reading the update from the author regarding new experimental studies that support the dynamic equilibrium model and look forward to his 2nd edition.
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Inside This Book
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First Sentence:
The extinctions resulting from human activities throughout the world have caused great concern in the scientific community and among the general public. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
different dynamic equilibria, regulator gradients, high resource conditions, regulating species diversity, site moisture conditions, size bimodality, many different functional types, particular dynamic equilibrium, effective heterogeneity, coral species diversity, high animal diversity, dynamic equilibrium hypothesis, low disturbance frequencies, dynamic equilibrium model, local species diversity, particular disturbance regime, size evenness, low resource conditions, physiological optima, structural organisms, influence species diversity, interstitial organisms, tree species diversity, foliage height diversity, competitive displacement Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
North America, New World, Costa Rica, South Africa, Discovery Bay, Old World, South America, Pacific Northwest, United States, Cocha Cashu, New England, Central American, Degrees North, Manu National Park, Alaska Coastal Water, North Pacific Central Gyre, Red Sea, World Resources, Central Amazonia, Competition Intensity, Global Sanders, North Pacific Ocean, United Nations, Zonation Caused, Four Neotropical Rain Forests New!
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Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
The extinctions resulting from human activities throughout the world have caused great concern in the scientific community and among the general public. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
different dynamic equilibria, regulator gradients, high resource conditions, regulating species diversity, site moisture conditions, size bimodality, many different functional types, particular dynamic equilibrium, effective heterogeneity, coral species diversity, high animal diversity, dynamic equilibrium hypothesis, low disturbance frequencies, dynamic equilibrium model, local species diversity, particular disturbance regime, size evenness, low resource conditions, physiological optima, structural organisms, influence species diversity, interstitial organisms, tree species diversity, foliage height diversity, competitive displacement Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
North America, New World, Costa Rica, South Africa, Discovery Bay, Old World, South America, Pacific Northwest, United States, Cocha Cashu, New England, Central American, Degrees North, Manu National Park, Alaska Coastal Water, North Pacific Central Gyre, Red Sea, World Resources, Central Amazonia, Competition Intensity, Global Sanders, North Pacific Ocean, United Nations, Zonation Caused, Four Neotropical Rain Forests New!
Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Citations (learn more)
This book cites 52
books:
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34
books
cite this book:
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- The Ecology of Natural Disturbance and Patch Dynamics by Steward T.A. Pickett on 9 pages
- Ecology of Biological Invasions of North America and Hawaii (Ecological Studies) by Harold A. Mooney on 9 pages
- The Tropical Rain Forest: An Ecological Study by P. W. Richards on 8 pages
- Fire in the Tropical Biota: Ecosystem Processes and Global Challenges (Ecological Studies) by Symposium on Fire Ecology 1989 (Freiburg University) on 6 pages
- Forest Succession: Concepts and Application (Springer Advanced Texts in Life Sciences) by D. C. West on 6 pages
See all 52 books this book cites
- Biodiversity in Drylands: Toward a Unified Framework (Long-Term Ecological Research Network Series) by Moshe Shachak on page 27, page 218, and page 228
- Biodiversity: An Introduction by Kevin J. Gaston in Front Matter, page 17, and Back Matter
- Fortress Conservation: The Preservation of the Mkomazi Game Reserve, by Dan D. Brockington in Back Matter
- The Communications Toolkit: How to Build and Regulate Any Communications Business by P.H. Longstaff in Back Matter
- Ecology: Achievement and Challenge: 41st Symposium of the British Ecological Society (Symposia of the British Ecological Society) by Malcolm C. Press on page 205
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