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The collision of the Indian and Eurasian plates around fifty
million years ago profoundly altered earth's geography and regional
climates. The rise of the Himalaya led to intensification of the
monsoon, the birth of massive glaciers and turbulent rivers, and an
efflorescence of ecosystems along the most extreme elevational
gradient on Earth. When the Ice Age ended, humans became part of
this mix, and today nearly one quarter of the world's population
inhabits its river basins, from Afghanistan to Myanmar. Life in the
Himalaya examines the region's geophysical and biological systems
and explores the past and future of human sustainability in the
mountain's shadow. Maharaj Pandit divides the Himalaya's history
into four phases. During the first, the mountain and its ecosystems
formed. In the second, humans altered the landscape, beginning with
nomadic pastoralism, continuing to commercial deforestation, and
culminating in pockets of resistance to forest exploitation. The
third phase saw a human population explosion, accompanied by road
and dam building and other large-scale infrastructure that degraded
ecosystems and caused species extinctions. Pandit outlines a future
networking phase which holds the promise of sustainable living
within the mountain's carrying capacity. Today, the Himalaya is
threatened by recurrent natural disasters and is at risk of
catastrophic loss of life. If humans are to have a sustainable
future there, Pandit argues, they will need to better understand
the region's geological vulnerability, ecological fragility, and
sociocultural sensitivity. Life in the Himalaya outlines the
mountain's past in order to map a way forward.
Long acclaimed as the definitive introductory botany text, Raven
Biology of Plants stands as the most significant revision in the
book's history. Every topic was updated with information obtained
from the most recent primary literature, making the book valuable
for both students and professionals. This textbook is available
with LaunchPad. LaunchPad combines an interactive ebook with
high-quality multimedia content and ready-made assessment options,
including LearningCurve adaptive quizzing. See `Instructor
Resources' and `Student Resources' for further information.
A modern approach to understanding the evolution and
diversification of land plants, one of the most exciting areas of
plant systematics. It consists of three sections - origin and
diversification of primitive land plants; origin and
diversification of angiosperms; speciation and mechanisms of
diversification - each section corresponding to a major area in
plant evolution. In each case, data from molecular, morphological,
and paleontological approaches are presented, backed by recent
progress and new findings, together with proposals for future
research. A guide to the latest in plant systematics, heightening
awareness of prospective future problems.
This book presents modern approaches for understanding the evolution and diversification of land plants, one of the most exciting areas of plant systematics. It consists of three sections: origin and diversification of primitive land plants; origin and diversification of angiosperms; speciation and mechanisms of diversification. These sections correspond to the three major areas in the evolution of plants. In each section, data from molecular, morphological, and paleontological approaches are presented. Each author introduces recent progress and new findings, and proposes future research. For example, the morphological evolution of reproductive organs, or flowers in angiosperms, is now being clarified from the molecular genetic point of view through the study of regulatory genes such as MADS gene family. With this book, readers can readily understand the state-of-the-art in plant systematics and become aware of prospective future problems.
This timely collection of 15 original essays written by expert
scientists the world over addresses the relationships between human
population growth, the need to increase food supplies to feed the
world population, and the chances for avoiding the extinction of a
major proportion of the world's plant and animal species that
collectively makes our survival on earth possible. These
relationships are highly intertwined, and changes in each of them
are increasingly decreasing humankind's chances to achieve
environmental stability on our fragile planet. The world population
is projected to be nine to ten billion by 2050, signaling the need
to increase world food production by more than 70 percent on the
same amount of land currently under production-and this without
further damaging our fragile environment. The essays in this
collection, written by experts for laypersons, presents the
problems we face with clarity and assess our prospects for solving
them, calling for action but holding out viable solutions.
How can environmental degradation be stopped? How can it be
reversed? And how can the damage already done be repaired? The
authors of this volume argue that a two-pronged approach is needed:
reducing demand for ecosystem goods and services and better
management of them, coupled with an increase in supply through
environmental restoration."Restoring Natural Capital" brings
together economists and ecologists, theoreticians, practitioners,
policy makers, and scientists from the developed and developing
worlds to consider the costs and benefits of repairing ecosystem
goods and services in natural and socioecological systems. It
examines the business and practice of restoring natural capital,
and seeks to establish common ground between economists and
ecologists with respect to the restoration of degraded ecosystems
and landscapes and the still broader task of restoring natural
capital. The book focuses on developing strategies that can achieve
the best outcomes in the shortest amount of time as it: considers
conceptual and theoretical issues from both an economic and
ecological perspective examines specific strategies to foster the
restoration of natural capital and offers a synthesis and a vision
of the way forwardNineteen case studies from around the world
illustrate challenges and achievements in setting targets, refining
approaches to finding and implementing restoration projects, and
using restoration of natural capital as an economic opportunity.
Throughout, contributors make the case that the restoration of
natural capital requires close collaboration among scientists from
across disciplines as well as local people, and when successfully
executed represents a practical, realistic, and essential tool for
achieving lasting sustainable development."
Faced with widespread and devastating loss of biodiversity in wild
habitats, scientists have developed innovative strategies for
studying and protecting targeted plant and animal species in
"off-site" facilities such as botanic gardens and zoos. Such ex
situ work is an increasingly important component of conservation
and restoration efforts.
Ex Situ Plant Conservation, edited by Edward O. Guerrant Jr.,
Kayri Havens, and Mike Maunder, is the first book to address
integrated plant conservation strategies and to examine the
scientific, technical, and strategic bases of the ex situ approach.
The book examines where and how ex situ investment can best support
in situ conservation. Ex Situ Plant Conservation outlines the role,
value, and limits of ex situ conservation as well as updating best
management practices for the field, and is an invaluable resource
for plant conservation practitioners at botanic gardens, zoos, and
other conservation organizations; students and faculty in
conservation biology and related fields; managers of protected
areas and other public and private lands; and policymakers and
members of the international community concerned with species
conservation.
It has long been recognized that plants and animals profoundly
affect one another's characteristics during the course of
evolution. However, the importance of coevolution as a dynamic
process involving such diverse factors as chemical communication,
population structure and dynamics, energetics, and the evolution,
structure, and functioning of ecosystems has been widely recognized
for a comparatively short time. Coevolution represents a point of
view about the structure of nature that only began to be fully
explored in the late twentieth century. The papers presented here
herald its emergence as an important and promising field of
biological research. Coevolution of Animals and Plants is the first
book to focus on the dynamic aspects of animal-plant coevolution.
It covers, as broadly as possible, all the ways in which plants
interact with animals. Thus, it includes discussions of
leaf-feeding animals and their impact on plant evolution as well as
of predator-prey relationships involving the seeds of angiosperms.
Several papers deal with the most familiar aspect of mutualistic
plant-animal interactions-pollination relationships. The
interactions of orchids and bees, ants and plants, and butterflies
and plants are discussed. One article provides a fascinating
example of more indirect relationships centered around the role of
carotenoids, which are produced by plants but play a fundamental
part in the visual systems of both plants and animals. Coevolution
of Animals and Plants provides a general conceptual framework for
studies on animal-plant interaction. The papers are written from a
theoretical, rather than a speculative, standpoint, stressing
patterns that can be applied in a broader sense to relationships
within ecosystems. Contributors to the volume include Paul Feeny,
Miriam Rothschild, Christopher Smith, Brian Hocking, Lawrence
Gilbert, Calaway Dodson, Herbert Baker, Bernd Heinrich, Doyle
McKey, and Gordon Frankie.
From earliest times, human beings have noticed patterns in nature:
night and day, tides and lunar cycles, the changing seasons, plant
succession, and animal migration. While recognizing patterns
conferred great survival advantage, we are now in danger from our
own success in multiplying our numbers and altering those patterns
for our own purposes. It is imperative that we engage again with
the patterns of nature, but this time, with awareness of our impact
as a species. How will burgeoning human populations affect the
health of ecosystems? Is loss of species simply a regrettable
byproduct of human expansion? Or is the planet passing into a new
epoch in just a few human generations? Nature and Human Society
presents a wide-ranging exploration of these and other fundamental
questions about our relationship with the environment. This book
features findings, insights, and informed speculations from key
figures in the field: E.O. Wilson, Thomas Lovejoy, Peter H. Raven,
Gretchen Daily, David Suzuki, Norman Myers, Paul Erlich, Michael
Bean, and many others. This volume explores the accelerated
extinction of species and what we stand to lose?medicines, energy
sources, crop pollination and pest control, the ability of water
and soil to renew itself through biological processes, aesthetic
and recreational benefits?and how these losses may be felt locally
and acutely. What are the specific threats to biodiversity? The
book explores human population growth, the homogenization of biota
as a result in tourism and trade, and other factors, including the
social influences of law, religious belief, and public education.
Do we have the tools to protect biodiversity? The book looks at
molecular genetics, satellite data, tools borrowed from medicine,
and other scientific techniques to firm up our grasp of important
processes in biology and earth science, including the "new" science
of conservation biology. Nature and Human Society helps us renew
our understanding and appreciation for natural patterns, with
surprising details about microorganisms, nematodes, and other
overlooked forms of life: their numbers, pervasiveness, and
importance to the health of the soil, water, and air and to a host
of human endeavors. This book will be of value to anyone who
believes that the world's gross natural product is as important as
the world's gross national product. Table of Contents Front Matter
Introduction Part 1 Defining Biodiversity Barriers to Perception:
From a World of Interconnection to Fragmentation The Creation of
Biodiversity The Dimensions of Life on Earth The Sixth Extinction:
How Large, Where, and When? The Meaning of Biodiversity Loss The
Loss of Population Diversity and Why It Matters Keeping a Finger on
the Pulse of Marine Biodiversity: How Healthy Is It? Countryside
Biogeography and the Provision of Ecosystem Services Part 2 Less
Well-Known Individual Forms of Life Microbial Diversity and the
Biosphere Biodiversity, Classification, and Numbers of Species of
Protists Estimating the Extent of Fungal Diversity in the Tropics
Nematodes: Pervading the Earth and Linking All Life Global
Diversity of Mites Biodiversity of Terrestrial Invertebrates in
Tropical Africa: Assessing the Needs and Plan of Action Global
Diversity of Insects: The Problems of Estimating Numbers Part 3 The
Role of the Group in Biodiversity The World Beneath Our Feet: Soil
Biodiversity and Ecosystem Functioning Natural Investment in
Diversity: The Role of Biological Communities in Soil Part 4 Means
to Measure Biodiversity Conservation Biology and the Preservation
of Biodiversity: An Assessment Conservation Genetics: Applying
Molecular Methods to Maximize the Conservation of Taxonomic and
Genetic Diversity Application of Geospatial Information for
Identifying Priority Areas for Biodiversity Conservation Hawaii
Biological Survey: Museum Resources in Support of Conservation
Building the Next-Generation Biological-Information Infrastructure
Part 5 Threats to Sustainability Nature Displaced: Human Population
Trends and Projections and Their Meanings Population Growth,
Sustainable Development, and the Environment Nonindigenous Species
- A Global Threat to Biodiversity and Stability Part 6
Infrastructure for Sustaining Biodiversity - Science Science and
the Public Trust in a Full World: Function and Dysfunction in
Science and the Biosphere The Response of the International
Scientific Community to the Challenge of Biodiversity The
Millennium Seed Bank at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew Charting the
Biosphere: Building Global Capacity for Systematics Science Science
and Technology in the Convention on Biological Diversity Ecology
and the Knowledge Revolution Part 7 Infrastructure for Sustaining
Biodiversity - Society Biodiversity: A World Bank Perspective
Creating Cultural Diversity: Tropical Forests Transformed
Endangered Plants, Vanishing Cultures: Ethnobotany and Conservation
Religion and Sustainability Reaching the Public: The Challenge of
Communicating Biodiversity Center for Environmental Research and
Conservation (CERC): A New Multi-Institutional Partnership to
Prepare the Next Generation of Environmental Leaders Natural
Capitalism Part 8 Infrastructure for Sustaining Biodiversity -
Policy Liking Science and Policy: A Research Agenda for Colombian
Biodiversity Sustainability and the Law: An Assessment of the
Endangered Species Act Government Policy and Sustainability of
Biodiversity in Costa Rica National Security, National Interest,
and Sustainability Biodiversity and Organizing for Sustainability
in the United States Government Part 9 Examples of Sustainability
How to Grow a Wildland: The Gardenification of Nature Measures to
Conserve Biodiversity in Sustainable Forestry: The Ro Cndor Project
Chemical Prospecting: The New Natural History Conservation
Medicine: An Emerging Field How Countries with Limited Resources
are Dealing with Biodiversity Problems Biodiversity and Sustainable
Human Development: The Costa Rican Agenda The National Biodiversity
Information System of Mexico Community Involvement and
Sustainability: The Malpai Borderlands Effort Index
More than eighty years ago, before we knew much about the
structure of cells, Russian botanist Boris Kozo-Polyansky
brilliantly outlined the concept of symbiogenesis, the symbiotic
origin of cells with nuclei. It was a half-century later, only when
experimental approaches that Kozo-Polyansky lacked were applied to
his hypotheses, that scientists began to accept his view that
symbiogenesis could be united with Darwin's concept of natural
selection to explain the evolution of life. After decades of
neglect, ridicule, and intellectual abuse, Kozo-Polyansky's ideas
are now endorsed by virtually all biologists.
Kozo-Polyansky's seminal work is presented here for the first
time in an outstanding annotated translation, updated with
commentaries, references, and modern micrographs of symbiotic
phenomena.
What is the origin of the universe? How did life appear on Earth
and why was much of that life destroyed at various times in Earth's
history? In this book four noted scientists-physicist Alan H. Guth,
astronomer George Wetherill, biologist Lynn Margulis, and
paeleobiologist David Raup- propose answers to these questions,
discussing the newest developments in some exciting areas of
current research. "Comprises four excellent essays. . . . The
authors of this book seek to elucidate the remote, unusual events
that most influenced the history of the cosmos and the earth. They
describe alternative models and the evidence on which these models
are based."-Laurie R. Godfrey, Science Books and Films "For a
scientist who specializes in cosmology and earth history, this book
is a worthwhile documentation of the opinions of four very
different scientists."-G. Ledyard Stebbins, BioScience "Beginning
with a tracing of the universe back to its beginnings, this
fascinating little book presents the current state of knowledge and
recent theories relating to the origins of the universe, our earth
and life on earth. The last chapter explores extinction in our
geologic past. Written by distinguished scientists, all papers
attempt to establish patterns that may characterize other planets
as well as our own."-New Technical Books
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