Download or read book Biogeography A Very Short Introduction written by Mark V. Lomolino and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2020-07-23 with total page 177 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Biogeography is the study of geographic variation in all characteristics of life - ranging from genetic, morphological and behavioural variation among regional populations of a species, to geographic trends in diversity of entire communities across our planet's sufrace. From the ancient hunters and gatherers to the earliest naturalists, Charles Darwin, Alfred Russel Wallace, and scientists today, the search for patterns in life has provided insights that proved invaluable for understanding the natural world. And many, if not most, of the compelling kaleidoscope of patterns in biological diversity make little sense unless placed in an explicit geographic context. The Very Short Introduction explains the historical development of the field of biogeography, its fundamental tenets, principles and tools, and the invaluable insights it provides for understanding the diversity of life in the natural world. As Mark Lomolino shows, key questions such as where species occur, how they vary from place to place, where their ancestors occurred, and how they spread across the globe, are essential for us to develop effective strategies for conserving the great menagerie of life across our planet. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.
Download or read book Conservation Biogeography written by Richard J. Ladle and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2011-01-11 with total page 379 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: CONSERVATION BIOGEOGRAPHY The Earth’s ecosystems are in the midst of an unprecedented period of change as a result of human action. Many habitats have been completely destroyed or divided into tiny fragments, others have been transformed through the introduction of new species, or the extinction of native plants and animals, while anthropogenic climate change now threatens to completely redraw the geographic map of life on this planet. The urgent need to understand and prescribe solutions to this complicated and interlinked set of pressing conservation issues has lead to the transformation of the venerable academic discipline of biogeography – the study of the geographic distribution of animals and plants. The newly emerged sub-discipline of conservation biogeography uses the conceptual tools and methods of biogeography to address real world conservation problems and to provide predictions about the fate of key species and ecosystems over the next century. This book provides the first comprehensive review of the field in a series of closely interlinked chapters addressing the central issues within this exciting and important subject.
Download or read book Oxford Bibliographies written by and published by . This book was released on with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Predicting Species Occurrences written by J. Michael Scott and published by Island Press. This book was released on 2002-02 with total page 940 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Predictions about where different species are, where they are not, and how they move across a landscape or respond to human activities -- if timber is harvested, for instance, or stream flow altered -- are important aspects of the work of wildlife biologists, land managers, and the agencies and policymakers that govern natural resources. Despite the increased use and importance of model predictions, these predictions are seldom tested and have unknown levels of accuracy.Predicting Species Occurrences addresses those concerns, highlighting for managers and researchers the strengths and weaknesses of current approaches, as well as the magnitude of the research required to improve or test predictions of currently used models. The book is an outgrowth of an international symposium held in October 1999 that brought together scientists and researchers at the forefront of efforts to process information about species at different spatial and temporal scales. It is a comprehensive reference that offers an exhaustive treatment of the subject, with 65 chapters by leading experts from around the world that: review the history of the theory and practice of modeling and present a standard terminology examine temporal and spatial scales in terms of their influence on patterns and processes of species distribution offer detailed discussions of state-of-the-art modeling tools and descriptions of methods for assessing model accuracy discuss how to predict species presence and abundance present examples of how spatially explicit data on demographics can provide important information for managers An introductory chapter by Michael A. Huston examines the ecological context in which predictions of species occurrences are made, and a concluding chapter by John A. Wiens offers an insightful review and synthesis of the topics examined along with guidance for future directions and cautions regarding misuse of models. Other contributors include Michael P. Austin, Barry R. Noon, Alan H. Fielding, Michael Goodchild, Brian A. Maurer, John T. Rotenberry, Paul Angermeier, Pierre R. Vernier, and more than a hundred others.Predicting Species Occurrences offers important new information about many of the topics raised in the seminal volume Wildlife 2000 (University of Wisconsin Press, 1986) and will be the standard reference on this subject for years to come. Its state-of-the-art assessment will play a key role in guiding the continued development and application of tools for making accurate predictions and is an indispensable volume for anyone engaged in species management or conservation.
Download or read book Applied Geography written by Michael Pacione and published by Psychology Press. This book was released on 1999 with total page 682 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Applied Geography offers an invaluable introduction to useful research in physical, environmental and human geography and provides a new focus and reference point for investigating and understanding problem-orientated research. Forty-nine leading experts in the field introduce and explore research which crosses the traditional boundary between physical and human geography. A wide range of key issues and contemporary debates are within the books main sections, which cover: natural and environmental hazards environmental change and management challenges of the human environment techniques of spatial analysis Applied geography is the application of geographic knowledge and skills to identify the nature and causes of social, economic and environmental problems and inform policies which lead to their resolution.
Download or read book Encyclopedia of Biodiversity written by and published by Academic Press. This book was released on 2013-02-05 with total page 5485 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The 7-volume Encyclopedia of Biodiversity, Second Edition maintains the reputation of the highly regarded original, presenting the most current information available in this globally crucial area of research and study. It brings together the dimensions of biodiversity and examines both the services it provides and the measures to protect it. Major themes of the work include the evolution of biodiversity, systems for classifying and defining biodiversity, ecological patterns and theories of biodiversity, and an assessment of contemporary patterns and trends in biodiversity. The science of biodiversity has become the science of our future. It is an interdisciplinary field spanning areas of both physical and life sciences. Our awareness of the loss of biodiversity has brought a long overdue appreciation of the magnitude of this loss and a determination to develop the tools to protect our future. Second edition includes over 100 new articles and 226 updated articles covering this multidisciplinary field— from evolution to habits to economics, in 7 volumes The editors of this edition are all well respected, instantly recognizable academics operating at the top of their respective fields in biodiversity research; readers can be assured that they are reading material that has been meticulously checked and reviewed by experts Approximately 1,800 figures and 350 tables complement the text, and more than 3,000 glossary entries explain key terms
Download or read book Protist Diversity and Geographical Distribution written by W. Foissner and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2009-07-24 with total page 213 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Conservation and biodiversity of protists The conservation of biodiversity is not just an issue of plants and vertebrates. It is the scarcely visible invertebrates and myriads of other microscopic organisms that are crucial to the maintenance of ecological processes on which all larger organisms and the composition of the atmosphere ultimately depend. Biodiversity and Conservation endeavours to take an holistic view of biodiversity, and when the opportunity arises to issue collections of papers dealing with too-often neglected groups of organisms. The protists, essentially eukaryotes that cannot be classi?ed in the kingdoms of animals, fungi, or plants, include some of the lea- known groups of organisms on earth. They are generally treated as a separate kingdom, commonly named Protista (or Protoctista) in textbooks, but in reality they are a mixture of organisms with disparate a?nities. Some authors have hypothesized that the numbers of protists are not especially large, and that many have extraordinarily wide distributions. However, the p- ture that unfolds from the latest studies discussed in this issue is di?erent. There are many species with wide ranges, and proportionately more cosmopolitan species than in macroorganism groups, as a result of their long evolutionary histories, but there are also de?nite patterns and geographical restrictions to be found. Further, some protists are linked to host organisms as mutualists or parasites and necessarily con?ned to the distributions of their hosts.
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 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 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 Regional Data to Support Biodiversity Assessments written by and published by . This book was released on 2005 with total page 48 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Neotropical Diversification Patterns and Processes written by Valentí Rull and published by Springer Nature. This book was released on 2020-03-30 with total page 816 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book provides a comprehensive overview of the patterns of biodiversity in various neotropical ecosystems, as well as a discussion on their historical biogeographies and underlying diversification processes. All chapters were written by prominent researchers in the fields of tropical biology, molecular ecology, climatology, paleoecology, and geography, producing an outstanding collection of essays, synthetic analyses, and novel investigations that describe and improve our understanding of the biodiversity of this unique region. With chapters on the Amazon and Caribbean forests, the Atlantic rainforests, the Andes, the Cerrado savannahs, the Caatinga drylands, the Chaco, and Mesoamerica – along with broad taxonomic coverage – this book summarizes a wide range of hypotheses, views, and methods concerning the processes and mechanisms of neotropical diversification. The range of perspectives presented makes the book a truly comprehensive, state-of-the-art publication on the topic, which will fascinate both scientists and general readers alike.
Download or read book Scientific and Standard English Names of Amphibians and Reptiles of North America North of Mexico written by Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles. Committee on Standard English and Scientific Names and published by . This book was released on 2001 with total page 104 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Remote Sensing and Geographical Information Systems in Epidemiology written by S.I. Hay and published by Elsevier. This book was released on 2000-08-29 with total page 414 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Global problems require global information, which satellites can now provide. With ever more sophisticated control methods being developed for infectious diseases, our ability to map spatial and temporal variation in risk is more important than ever. Only then may we plan control campaigns and deliver novel interventions and remedies where the need is greatest, and sustainable success is most likely. This book presents a comprehensive guide to using the very latest methods of surveillance from satellites, including analysing spatial data within geographical information systems, interpreting complex biological patterns, and predicting risk both today and as it may change in the future. Of all infectious disease systems, those that involve free-living invertebrate vectors or intermediate hosts are most susceptible to changing environmental conditions, and have hitherto received most attention from the marriage of analytical biology with this new space technology. Accordingly, this volume presents detailed case studies on malaria, African trypanosomiasis (sleeping sickness), tick-borne infections and helminths (worms). For those who are unfamiliar with this science, and unsure how to start, the book ends with a chapter of practical advice on where to seek hands-on instruction. The lessons to be learned from these studies are applicable to many other epidemiological and ecological problems that face us today, most significantly the preservation of the world's biodiversity. Only book to provide a synthesis of complex biology, quantitative analysis, space technology and practical applications, focused on solving real epidemiological problems on a global scale Broad scope, with methods relevant to subjects ranging from biodiversity to public health Practical advice on relevant courses 24 pages of colour plates
Download or read book Ecosystem Geography written by Robert G. Bailey and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2013-12-12 with total page 210 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The analysis and management of ecosystems rely increasingly on sound geographical knowledge. Ecosystem Geography is a landmark contribution which brings the geographer's tools - maps, scales, boundaries, and units - to the study of ecosystems. The author, a senior geographer and program manager with the U.S. Forest Service, has distilled more than two decades of research on ecosystem mapping and classification. His work has had a growing influence on how government and academic scientists are using ecological data to monitor biodiversity, manage land holdings, and interpret the results of climatic change. Ecosystem Geography features spectacular graphics, including diagrams, photographs, and abundant maps. It will be welcomed by ecologists, geographers, land and resource specialists, and anyone involved in the study of ecosystems.
Download or read book Global Soil Biodiversity Atlas written by European Commission. Joint Research Centre and published by . This book was released on 2016 with total page 192 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "The Atlas describes soil as habitat for the diversity of organisms that live under our feet. At the same time, it draws attention to the threats to soil biodiversity, such as invasive species, pollution, intensive land use practices or climate change. The Atlas provides current solutions for a sustainable management of soils. It was coordinated by the JRC and the Global Soil Biodiversity Initiative (www.globalsoilbiodiversity.org) with more than 70 contributing organisations and several hundred individual contributions. It illustrates the diversity of soil organisms, explains their geographical and temporal distribution, the ecosystem functions and services provided by soil biota. Most importantly, it draws attention to the myriad of threats to soil biodiversity. These include inappropriate land management practices (e.g. deforestation, land take for infrastructure development), agricultural systems, over-grazing, forest fires and poor water management (both irrigation and drainage). Other practices such as land conversion from grassland or forest to cropped land result in rapid loss of soil carbon, which indirectly enhances global warming. The Atlas shows that mismanaging soils could exacerbate the effects of climate change, jeopardise agricultural production, compromise the quality of ground water and worsen pollution. It also proposes solutions to safeguard soil biodiversity through the development of policies that directly or indirectly target soil health, leading to a more sustainable use."--
Download or read book The Atlas of Global Conservation written by Jonathan M. Hoekstra and published by Univ of California Press. This book was released on 2010 with total page 256 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Atlas of Global Conservation is a premier resource for everyone concerned about the natural world. Top scientists at The Nature Conservancy have joined forces to create this guide to the state of the planet today. With over 80 full-color maps and other graphics contextualized with clear, informative discussion, this book offers an unprecedented view of trends across the world's terrestrial, marine, and freshwater environments. Interspersed throughout, essays by noted international authorities point the way forward in confronting some of our greatest conservation challenges.--Publisher information.
