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Author: David Seaborg Publisher: CRC Press ISBN: 0429802102 Category : Nature Languages : en Pages : 292
Book Description
This book argues that organisms and their interactions create and maximize biodiversity. The evidence for this autocatalytic hypothesis has been collated and integrated into this provocative argument. Natural selection favors the increase of biodiversity. Organisms can be causative agents contributing to major macroevolutionary transitions. Species tend to have a net positive effect on biodiversity. All species are ecosystem engineers. Mutualism and commensalism are common and fundamental, and these coevolved interspecific interactions frequently generate enormous increases in biodiversity. Competition generally does not decrease biodiversity, and often leads to evolutionary innovation. Plants are ecosystem engineers that have made Earth more favorable to life and increased diversity in many ways. Herbivores and predators increase the diversity of the species they consume, and are necessary for ecosystem stability. Decomposers are essential to ecosystem health. All these examples illustrate the focus of this book – that organisms and their interactions stimulate biodiversity, and ecosystems maximize it. Key Features • Describes a hypothesis that life itself generates higher biodiversity • Suggests a highly modified version of the established paradigm in population biology and evolution • Asserts that all species are ecosystem engineers with a net positive effect on biodiversity and their ecosystems • Suggests that mutualism and commensalism are the rule • Presents a novel view likely to elicit deeper discussions of biodiversity Related Titles Dewdney, A. K. Stochastic Communities: A Mathematical Theory of Biodiversity (ISBN 978-1-138-19702-2) Curry, G. B. and C. J. Humphries, eds. Biodiversity Databases: Techniques, Politics, and Applications (ISBN 978-0-367-38916-1) Pullaiah, T, ed. Global Biodiversity. 4 Volume Set (ISBN 978-1-77188-751-9)
Author: David Seaborg Publisher: CRC Press ISBN: 0429802102 Category : Nature Languages : en Pages : 292
Book Description
This book argues that organisms and their interactions create and maximize biodiversity. The evidence for this autocatalytic hypothesis has been collated and integrated into this provocative argument. Natural selection favors the increase of biodiversity. Organisms can be causative agents contributing to major macroevolutionary transitions. Species tend to have a net positive effect on biodiversity. All species are ecosystem engineers. Mutualism and commensalism are common and fundamental, and these coevolved interspecific interactions frequently generate enormous increases in biodiversity. Competition generally does not decrease biodiversity, and often leads to evolutionary innovation. Plants are ecosystem engineers that have made Earth more favorable to life and increased diversity in many ways. Herbivores and predators increase the diversity of the species they consume, and are necessary for ecosystem stability. Decomposers are essential to ecosystem health. All these examples illustrate the focus of this book – that organisms and their interactions stimulate biodiversity, and ecosystems maximize it. Key Features • Describes a hypothesis that life itself generates higher biodiversity • Suggests a highly modified version of the established paradigm in population biology and evolution • Asserts that all species are ecosystem engineers with a net positive effect on biodiversity and their ecosystems • Suggests that mutualism and commensalism are the rule • Presents a novel view likely to elicit deeper discussions of biodiversity Related Titles Dewdney, A. K. Stochastic Communities: A Mathematical Theory of Biodiversity (ISBN 978-1-138-19702-2) Curry, G. B. and C. J. Humphries, eds. Biodiversity Databases: Techniques, Politics, and Applications (ISBN 978-0-367-38916-1) Pullaiah, T, ed. Global Biodiversity. 4 Volume Set (ISBN 978-1-77188-751-9)
Author: David Seaborg Publisher: CRC Press ISBN: 1000826384 Category : Science Languages : en Pages : 557
Book Description
This book presents a hypothesis and evidence that organisms promote and ecosystems maximize biodiversity. All species have a net positive effect on their environment, other species, and diversity. The sun is 30% hotter than when life began, but the temperature has been kept moderate by life. Life created high oxygen, the ozone layer, and fertile soil, a diverse, living system. No species evolves in isolation, and most evolution is coevolution. The nature and number of links between species are as important as species number. Eukaryotes coevolve with complex ecosystems of microbes with which they exchange genes. Genomes and intraspecific interactions both act to promote evolution and diversification. Viruses increase diversity of their hosts and cause macroevolutionary transitions. Key Features Life alters the Earth in ways that increase biodiversity All species make their environment better for other species and promote diversity Life created the life-friendly atmosphere, temperature, and soil of today
Author: Thomas E. Lovejoy Publisher: The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) ISBN: 9788179930847 Category : Business & Economics Languages : en Pages : 448
Book Description
climate changes have had dramatic repercussions, including large numbers of extinctions and extensive shifts in species ranges
Author: Thomas E. Lovejoy Publisher: Yale University Press ISBN: 0300206119 Category : Biodiversity Languages : en Pages : 414
Book Description
An essential, up-to-date look at the critical interactions between biological diversity and climate change that will serve as an immediate call to action The physical and biological impacts of climate change are dramatic and broad-ranging. People who care about the planet and manage natural resources urgently need a synthesis of our rapidly growing understanding of these issues. In this all-new sequel to the 2005 volume Climate Change and Biodiversity, leading experts in the field summarize observed changes, assess what the future holds, and offer suggested responses. From extinction risk to ocean acidification, from the future of the Amazon to changes in ecosystem services, and from geoengineering to the power of ecosystem restoration, this book captures the sweep of climate change transformation of the biosphere.
Author: Richard Pearson Publisher: Union Square + ORM ISBN: 1402788738 Category : Science Languages : en Pages : 240
Book Description
“A primer on one of the most contentious topics in modern ecology . . . an effective counter to misinformation elsewhere.” —Frontiers of Biogeography Could more than a million species disappear in the twenty-first century? Written by a leading scientist in the field, Driven to Extinction draws upon fascinating case studies from around the world, providing balanced and well-reasoned insight into the potential impacts of climate change on the diversity of life. Richard Pearson focuses on the science of the issue, revealing what has happened––as well as what is likely to happen––to some of the world’s weirdest and most wonderful species as global temperatures continue to rise. “A nuanced and fascinating book about the interrelationship of two of the greatest challenges humanity will face in this century—holding climate change within manageable bounds and preserving biodiversity in the face of rapidly changing habitat and a changing climate.” —John Topping, President of the Climate Institute “The ideal resource for citizens concerned about the dangers of climate change and the future of biodiversity.” —Spirituality & Practice “A carefully crafted and highly readable analysis . . . devoid of jargon and excessive technical terminology, Pearson’s work is highly recommended to anyone with interest in nature conservation or broader climate change issues.” —Biological Conservation “A wonderfully written revelation of how nature is stirring in response to climate change—and a wake-up call to what could happen to our fellow inhabitants on the living planet. Required reading for every citizen.” —Thomas E. Lovejoy, Biodiversity Chair, the Heinz Center, and Senior Advisor to the United Nations Foundation
Author: Eric Chivian Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA ISBN: Category : Medical Languages : en Pages : 576
Book Description
Edited and written by Harvard Medical School physicians Eric Chivian and Aaron Bernstein, Sustaining Life presents a comprehensive--and sobering--view of how human medicines, biomedical research, the emergence and spread of infectious diseases, and the production of food, both on land and in the oceans, depend on on the earth's disappearaing biodiversity. With a foreword by E.O. Wilson and a prologue by Kofi Annan, and more than 200 poignant color illustrations, Sustaining Life contributes essential perspective to the debate over how humans affect biodiversity and a compelling demonstration of the human health costs.
Author: Samantha Fowler Publisher: ISBN: 9789888407453 Category : Science Languages : en Pages : 618
Book Description
Concepts of Biology is designed for the single-semester introduction to biology course for non-science majors, which for many students is their only college-level science course. As such, this course represents an important opportunity for students to develop the necessary knowledge, tools, and skills to make informed decisions as they continue with their lives. Rather than being mired down with facts and vocabulary, the typical non-science major student needs information presented in a way that is easy to read and understand. Even more importantly, the content should be meaningful. Students do much better when they understand why biology is relevant to their everyday lives. For these reasons, Concepts of Biology is grounded on an evolutionary basis and includes exciting features that highlight careers in the biological sciences and everyday applications of the concepts at hand.We also strive to show the interconnectedness of topics within this extremely broad discipline. In order to meet the needs of today's instructors and students, we maintain the overall organization and coverage found in most syllabi for this course. A strength of Concepts of Biology is that instructors can customize the book, adapting it to the approach that works best in their classroom. Concepts of Biology also includes an innovative art program that incorporates critical thinking and clicker questions to help students understand--and apply--key concepts.
Author: Edward O. Wilson Publisher: Harvard University Press ISBN: 9780674212985 Category : Nature Languages : en Pages : 458
Book Description
View a collection of videos on Professor Wilson entitled "On the Relation of Science and the Humanities" "In the Amazon Basin the greatest violence sometimes begins as a flicker of light beyond the horizon. There in the perfect bowl of the night sky, untouched by light from any human source, a thunderstorm sends its premonitory signal and begins a slow journey to the observer, who thinks: the world is about to change." Watching from the edge of the Brazilian rain forest, witness to the sort of violence nature visits upon its creatures, Edward O. Wilson reflects on the crucible of evolution, and so begins his remarkable account of how the living world became diverse and how humans are destroying that diversity. Wilson, internationally regarded as the dean of biodiversity studies, conducts us on a tour through time, traces the processes that create new species in bursts of adaptive radiation, and points out the cataclysmic events that have disrupted evolution and diminished global diversity over the past 600 million years. The five enormous natural blows to the planet (such as meteorite strikes and climatic changes) required 10 to 100 million years of evolutionary repair. The sixth great spasm of extinction on earth--caused this time entirely by humans--may be the one that breaks the crucible of life. Wilson identifies this crisis in countless ecosystems around the globe: coral reefs, grasslands, rain forests, and other natural habitats. Drawing on a variety of examples such as the decline of bird populations in the United States, the extinction of many species of freshwater fish in Africa and Asia, and the rapid disappearance of flora and fauna as the rain forests are cut down, he poignantly describes the death throes of the living world's diversity--projected to decline as much as 20 percent by the year 2020. All evidence marshaled here resonates through Wilson's tightly reasoned call for a spirit of stewardship over the world's biological wealth. He makes a plea for specific actions that will enhance rather than diminish not just diversity but the quality of life on earth. Cutting through the tangle of environmental issues that often obscure the real concern, Wilson maintains that the era of confrontation between forces for the preservation of nature and those for economic development is over; he convincingly drives home the point that both aims can, and must, be integrated. Unparalleled in its range and depth, Wilson's masterwork is essential reading for those who care about preserving the world biological variety and ensuring our planet's health.
Author: Pascal Neige Publisher: Elsevier ISBN: 0081004745 Category : Nature Languages : en Pages : 147
Book Description
The fossil record offers a surprising image: that of evolutionary radiations characterized by intense increases in cash or by the sudden diversification of a single species group, while others stagnate or die out. In a modern world, science carries an often pessimistic message, surrounded by studies of global warming and its effects, extinction crisis, emerging diseases and invasive species. This book fuels frequent "optimism" of the sudden increase in biodiversity by exploring this natural phenomenon. Events of Increased Biodiversity: Evolutionary Radiations in the Fossil Record explores this natural phenomenon of adaptive radiation including its effect on the increase in biodiversity events, their contribution to the changes and limitations in the fossil record, and examines the links between ecology and paleontology’s study of radiation. Details examples of evolutionary radiations Explicitly addresses the effect of adaptation driven by ecological opportunity Examines the link between ecology and paleontology’s study of adaptive radiation
Author: David Seaborg Publisher: CRC Press ISBN: 1000826376 Category : Science Languages : en Pages : 255
Book Description
This book presents a hypothesis and evidence that organisms promote and ecosystems maximize biodiversity. All species have a net positive effect on their environment, other species, and diversity. The sun is 30% hotter than when life began, but the temperature has been kept moderate by life. Life created high oxygen, the ozone layer, and fertile soil, a diverse, living system. No species evolves in isolation, and most evolution is coevolution. The nature and number of links between species are as important as species number. Eukaryotes coevolve with complex ecosystems of microbes with which they exchange genes. Genomes and intraspecific interactions both act to promote evolution and diversification. Viruses increase diversity of their hosts and cause macroevolutionary transitions. Key Features Life alters the Earth in ways that increase biodiversity All species make their environment better for other species and promote diversity Life created the life-friendly atmosphere, temperature, and soil of today
Author: David Seaborg
Author: David Seaborg
Author: David Seaborg
Author: Thomas E. Lovejoy
Author: Thomas E. Lovejoy
Author: Richard Pearson
Author: Eric Chivian
Author: Samantha Fowler
Author: Edward O. Wilson
Author: Pascal Neige
Author: David Seaborg