Download or read book Biodiversity in Time and Space written by Roberto Cazzolla Gatti and published by . This book was released on 2018 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The study of biodiversity is essential for the understanding of the complex phenomena upon which biological sciences are based. This book aims to be an updated and advanced source of the theoretical and practical aspects related to biological diversity suitable for graduated and Ph.D. students. This text seeks to open the doors to the study of biodiversity and its interconnections with ecology, evolution, economy and anthropogenic impacts starting from students to university teachers and researchers. The approach adopted embraces a comprehensive vision of biodiversity and introduces theoretical and practical information that can help to conduct rigorous studies, without omitting the space-temporal component in the analysis of a subject that merges ecological and evolutionary sciences. The novelty of the ideas presented in this book is underlined by the McArthur Fellowship winner and renowned complex systems biologist, Stuart A. Kauffman, who gifted the foreword of this publication by his scientific story. During the academic semesters of Biology, Natural Sciences, Forestry and Environmental Sciences, the discussions related to the evolutionary patterns and the analysis of biodiversity is based upon complex arguments with a few and often quite old reference textbooks. This book provides the most updated review of the literature concerning both the theoretical and practical study of biodiversity and offers new ideas for a better understanding of the proposed concepts. The degrees theses and scientific papers on this subject are increasing, but literature research is often conducted referring to outdated texts whose explanations of sometimes complex topics such as the evolution of ecological niches, the speciation and extinction patterns, the calculation of diversity indices, the estimation of accumulation and rarefaction curves, etc. are even more complicated. This book provides different empirical approaches to the study of biodiversity and applied examples to better link and understand the theoretical background. Moreover, it is accompanied by graphical schematizations, figures and insights that can easily simplify most of the difficult issues related to this developing science. This book, along with presenting an updated overview of the most useful and rigorous indices, measures, plots and graphical representations to monitor, analyse, and calculate biodiversity, provides an extended theoretical background. The parallel theoretical and practical approach of this proposed book can be useful at any user level: for graduate students to better understand complex concepts with concrete examples and graphics; for teachers to supply their students with updated and concrete notions that can be linked to a more theoretical basis; for researchers to use the data and information gathered by the application of the methods described in the book and to analyse and discuss the results obtained on the basis of the hypotheses furnished in the wide literature review, with the final aim of writing scientific reports about biodiversity research.
Download or read book Species Diversity in Space and Time written by Michael L. Rosenzweig and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 1995-05-04 with total page 462 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Biodiversity.
Download or read book Deep sea Biodiversity written by Michael A. Rex and published by Harvard University Press. This book was released on 2010 with total page 388 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Rex and Etter present the first synthesis of patterns and causes of biodiversity in organisms that dwell in the vast sediment ecosystem of ocean floor. They offer a new understanding of marine biodiversity that will be of general interest to ecologists and is crucial to responsible exploitation of natural resources at the deep-sea floor.
Download or read book Conserving Biodiversity written by National Research Council and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 1992-02-01 with total page 138 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The loss of the earth's biological diversity is widely recognized as a critical environmental problem. That loss is most severe in developing countries, where the conditions of human existence are most difficult. Conserving Biodiversity presents an agenda for research that can provide information to formulate policy and design conservation programs in the Third World. The book includes discussions of research needs in the biological sciences as well as economics and anthropology, areas of critical importance to conservation and sustainable development. Although specifically directed toward development agencies, non-governmental organizations, and decisionmakers in developing nations, this volume should be of interest to all who are involved in the conservation of biological diversity.
Download or read book Mapping Species Distributions written by Janet Franklin and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2010-01-07 with total page 538 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Maps of species' distributions or habitat suitability are required for many aspects of environmental research, resource management and conservation planning. These include biodiversity assessment, reserve design, habitat management and restoration, species and habitat conservation plans and predicting the effects of environmental change on species and ecosystems. The proliferation of methods and uncertainty regarding their effectiveness can be daunting to researchers, resource managers and conservation planners alike. Franklin summarises the methods used in species distribution modeling (also called niche modeling) and presents a framework for spatial prediction of species distributions based on the attributes (space, time, scale) of the data and questions being asked. The framework links theoretical ecological models of species distributions to spatial data on species and environment, and statistical models used for spatial prediction. Providing practical guidelines to students, researchers and practitioners in a broad range of environmental sciences including ecology, geography, conservation biology, and natural resources management.
Download or read book Marine Biodiversity Climatic Variability and Global Change written by Grégory Beaugrand and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2014-11-28 with total page 519 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Biodiversity loss in terrestrial environments associated with human activities has been appreciated as a major issue for some years now. What is less well documented is the effect of such activities, including climate change, on marine biodiversity. This pioneering book is the first to address this important but neglected topic, which is likely to be the key challenge for marine scientists in the near future. Using a multidisciplinary and a holistic approach, the book reveals how climatic variability controls biodiversity at time scales ranging from synoptic meteorological events to millions of years and at spatial scales ranging from local sites to the whole ocean. It shows how global change, including anthropogenic climate change, ocean acidification and more direct human influences such as exploitation, pollution and eutrophication may alter biodiversity, ecosystem functioning and regulating and provisioning services. The author proposes a theory termed the 'macroecological theory on the arrangement of life', which explains how biodiversity is organized and how it responds to climatic variability and anthropogenic climate change. The book concludes with recommendations for further research and theoretical development to identify oceanic areas in need of observation and gaps in current scientific knowledge. Many references and comparisons with the terrestrial realm are included in all chapters to better understand the universality of the relationships between biodiversity, climate and the environment. The book will serve as a textbook for all students and researchers of marine science and environmental change, but will also be accessible to the more general reader.
Download or read book YOUMARES 9 the Oceans Our Research Our Future written by Simon Jungblut and published by Springer Nature. This book was released on 2020-01-01 with total page 378 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This open access book summarizes peer-reviewed articles and the abstracts of oral and poster presentations given during the YOUMARES 9 conference which took place in Oldenburg, Germany, in September 2018. The aims of this book are to summarize state-of-the-art knowledge in marine sciences and to inspire scientists of all career stages in the development of further research. These conferences are organized by and for young marine researchers. Qualified early-career researchers, who moderated topical sessions during the conference, contributed literature reviews on specific topics within their research field. .
Download or read book Biodiversity Dynamics written by Michael L. McKinney and published by Columbia University Press. This book was released on 2001-04-12 with total page 556 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: How will patterns of human interaction with the earth's eco-system impact on biodiversity loss over the long term--not in the next ten or even fifty years, but on the vast temporal scale be dealt with by earth scientists? This volume brings together data from population biology, community ecology, comparative biology, and paleontology to answer this question.
Download or read book Urban Biodiversity written by Alessandro Ossola and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2017-11-28 with total page 471 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Urban biodiversity is an increasingly popular topic among researchers. Worldwide, thousands of research projects are unravelling how urbanisation impacts the biodiversity of cities and towns, as well as its benefits for people and the environment through ecosystem services. Exciting scientific discoveries are made on a daily basis. However, researchers often lack time and opportunity to communicate these findings to the community and those in charge of managing, planning and designing for urban biodiversity. On the other hand, urban practitioners frequently ask researchers for more comprehensible information and actionable tools to guide their actions. This book is designed to fill this cultural and communicative gap by discussing a selection of topics related to urban biodiversity, as well as its benefits for people and the urban environment. It provides an interdisciplinary overview of scientifically grounded knowledge vital for current and future practitioners in charge of urban biodiversity management, its conservation and integration into urban planning. Topics covered include pests and invasive species, rewilding habitats, the contribution of a diverse urban agriculture to food production, implications for human well-being, and how to engage the public with urban conservation strategies. For the first time, world-leading researchers from five continents convene to offer a global interdisciplinary perspective on urban biodiversity narrated with a simple but rigorous language. This book synthesizes research at a level suitable for both students and professionals working in nature conservation and urban planning and management.
Download or read book Mountains Climate and Biodiversity written by Carina Hoorn and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2018-02-22 with total page 595 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Mountains, Climate and Biodiversity: A comprehensive and up-to-date synthesis for students and researchers Mountains are topographically complex formations that play a fundamental role in regional and continental-scale climates. They are also cradles to all major river systems and home to unique, and often highly biodiverse and threatened, ecosystems. But how do all these processes tie together to form the patterns of diversity we see today? Written by leading researchers in the fields of geology, biology, climate, and geography, this book explores the relationship between mountain building and climate change, and how these processes shape biodiversity through time and space. In the first two sections, you will learn about the processes, theory, and methods connecting mountain building and biodiversity In the third section, you will read compelling examples from around the world exploring the links between mountains, climate and biodiversity Throughout the 31 peer-reviewed chapters, a non-technical style and synthetic illustrations make this book accessible to a wide audience A comprehensive glossary summarises the main concepts and terminology Readership: Mountains, Climate and Biodiversity is intended for students and researchers in geosciences, biology and geography. It is specifically compiled for those who are interested in historical biogeography, biodiversity and conservation.
Download or read book Biology and Wildlife of the Mediterranean Region written by Jacques Blondel and published by Oxford University Press, USA. This book was released on 1999 with total page 352 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Mediterranean is an outstanding 'hot-spot' of biological diversity. It is exceptional not only for this, but also because of its long history of interactions between its human inhabitants and the other fauna and flora of the region. The cradle of many civilizations, the Mediterranean region has been host to humans for thousands of years. This book is the first to synthesise our current understanding of the ecology, biology, and geology of Mediterranean animals, birds, and plants, and their habitats. The authors focus on the unique historical determinants and spatial patterns of Mediterranean biodiversity. In particular, the dramatic impacts of long-term human activities on the region's landscapes, flora, and fauna, are considered. This fascinating story will be of interest to researchers and students in ecology, biology, conservation, and geography, as well as to naturalists, and ecotourists visiting this popular holiday region.
Download or read book Biodiversity and Health in the Face of Climate Change written by Melissa R. Marselle and published by Springer. This book was released on 2019-06-11 with total page 494 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This open access book identifies and discusses biodiversity’s contribution to physical, mental and spiritual health and wellbeing. Furthermore, the book identifies the implications of this relationship for nature conservation, public health, landscape architecture and urban planning – and considers the opportunities of nature-based solutions for climate change adaptation. This transdisciplinary book will attract a wide audience interested in biodiversity, ecology, resource management, public health, psychology, urban planning, and landscape architecture. The emphasis is on multiple human health benefits from biodiversity - in particular with respect to the increasing challenge of climate change. This makes the book unique to other books that focus either on biodiversity and physical health or natural environments and mental wellbeing. The book is written as a definitive ‘go-to’ book for those who are new to the field of biodiversity and health.
Download or read book Understanding Marine Biodiversity written by National Research Council and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 1995-02-24 with total page 129 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The diversity of marine life is being affected dramatically by fishery operations, chemical pollution and eutrophication, alteration of physical habitat, exotic species invasion, and effects of other human activities. Effective solutions will require an expanded understanding of the patterns and processes that control the diversity of life in the sea. Understanding Marine Biodiversity outlines the current state of our knowledge, and propose research agenda on marine biological diversity. This agenda represents a fundamental change in studying the oceanâ€"emphasizing regional research across a range of space and time scales, enhancing the interface between taxonomy and ecology, and linking oceanographic and ecological approaches. Highlighted with examples and brief case studies, this volume illustrates the depth and breadth of undescribed marine biodiversity, explores critical environmental issues, advocates the use of regionally defined model systems, and identifies a series of key biodiversity research questions. The authors examine the utility of various research approachesâ€"theory and modeling, retrospective analysis, integration of biotic and oceanographic surveysâ€"and review recent advances in molecular genetics, instrumentation, and sampling techniques applicable to the research agenda. Throughout the book the critical role of taxonomy is emphasized. Informative to the scientist and accessible to the policymaker, Understanding Marine Biodiversity will be of specific interest to marine biologists, ecologists, oceanographers, and research administrators, and to government agencies responsible for utilizing, managing, and protecting the oceans.
Download or read book Measuring Biological Diversity written by Anne E. Magurran and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2013-04-18 with total page 274 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This accessible and timely book provides a comprehensive overview of how to measure biodiversity. The book highlights new developments, including innovative approaches to measuring taxonomic distinctness and estimating species richness, and evaluates these alongside traditional methods such as species abundance distributions, and diversity and evenness statistics. Helps the reader quantify and interpret patterns of ecological diversity, focusing on the measurement and estimation of species richness and abundance. Explores the concept of ecological diversity, bringing new perspectives to a field beset by contradictory views and advice. Discussion spans issues such as the meaning of community in the context of ecological diversity, scales of diversity and distribution of diversity among taxa Highlights advances in measurement paying particular attention to new techniques such as species richness estimation, application of measures of diversity to conservation and environmental management and addressing sampling issues Includes worked examples of key methods in helping people to understand the techniques and use available computer packages more effectively
Download or read book What Is Biodiversity written by James Maclaurin and published by University of Chicago Press. This book was released on 2008-11-15 with total page 231 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the life sciences, there is wide-ranging debate about biodiversity. While nearly everyone is in favor of biodiversity and its conservation, methods for its assessment vary enormously. So what exactly is biodiversity? Most theoretical work on the subject assumes it has something to do with species richness—with the number of species in a particular region—but in reality, it is much more than that. Arguing that we cannot make rational decisions about what it is to be protected without knowing what biodiversity is, James Maclaurin and Kim Sterelny offer in What Is Biodiversity? a theoretical and conceptual exploration of the biological world and how diversity is valued. Here, Maclaurin and Sterelny explore not only the origins of the concept of biodiversity, but also how that concept has been shaped by ecology and more recently by conservation biology. They explain the different types of biodiversity important in evolutionary theory, developmental biology, ecology, morphology and taxonomy and conclude that biological heritage is rich in not just one biodiversity but many. Maclaurin and Sterelny also explore the case for the conservation of these biodiversities using option value theory, a tool borrowed from economics. An erudite, provocative, timely, and creative attempt to answer a fundamental question, What Is Biodiversity? will become a foundational text in the life sciences and studies thereof.
Download or read book Perspectives on Biodiversity written by National Research Council and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 1999-10-01 with total page 166 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Resource-management decisions, especially in the area of protecting and maintaining biodiversity, are usually incremental, limited in time by the ability to forecast conditions and human needs, and the result of tradeoffs between conservation and other management goals. The individual decisions may not have a major effect but can have a cumulative major effect. Perspectives on Biodiversity reviews current understanding of the value of biodiversity and the methods that are useful in assessing that value in particular circumstances. It recommends and details a list of components-including diversity of species, genetic variability within and among species, distribution of species across the ecosystem, the aesthetic satisfaction derived from diversity, and the duty to preserve and protect biodiversity. The book also recommends that more information about the role of biodiversity in sustaining natural resources be gathered and summarized in ways useful to managers. Acknowledging that decisions about biodiversity are necessarily qualitative and change over time because of the nonmarket nature of so many of the values, the committee recommends periodic reviews of management decisions.
Download or read book A World in One Cubic Foot written by David Liittschwager and published by University of Chicago Press. This book was released on 2012-11-21 with total page 205 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Twelve inches by twelve inches by twelve inches, the cubic foot is a relatively tiny unit of measure compared to the whole world. With every step, we disturb and move through cubic foot after cubic foot. But behold the cubic foot in nature—from coral reefs to cloud forests to tidal pools—even in that finite space you can see the multitude of creatures that make up a vibrant ecosystem. For A World in One Cubic Foot, esteemed nature photographer David Liittschwager took a bright green metal cube—measuring precisely one cubic foot—and set it in various ecosystems around the world, from Costa Rica to Central Park. Working with local scientists, he measured what moved through that small space in a period of twenty-four hours. He then photographed the cube’s setting and the plant, animal, and insect life inside it—anything visible to the naked eye. The result is a stunning portrait of the amazing diversity that can be found in ecosystems around the globe. Many organisms captured in Liittschwager’s photographs have rarely, if ever, been presented in their full splendor to the general reader, and the singular beauty of these images evocatively conveys the richness of life around us and the essential need for its conservation. The breathtaking images are accompanied by equally engaging essays that speak to both the landscapes and the worlds contained within them, from distinguished contributors such as Elizabeth Kolbert and Alan Huffman, in addition to an introduction by E. O. Wilson. After encountering this book, you will never look at the tiniest sliver of your own backyard or neighborhood park the same way; instead, you will be stunned by the unexpected variety of species found in an area so small. A World in One Cubic Foot puts the world accessibly in our hands and allows us to behold the magic of an ecosystem in miniature. Liittschwager’s awe-inspiring photographs take us to places both familiar and exotic and instill new awareness of the life that abounds all around.
