Download or read book Biodiversity written by John I. Spicer and published by The Rosen Publishing Group, Inc. This book was released on 2009-01-15 with total page 194 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Discusses the many different life forms that have existed on Earth, their importance, and how they have changed over time.
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 Concepts of Biology written by Samantha Fowler and published by . This book was released on 2018-01-07 with total page 618 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 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.
Download or read book Biodiversity Finance and the Economic and Business Case for Action written by OECD and published by OECD Publishing. This book was released on 2019-12-06 with total page 125 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This report sets the economic and business case for urgent and ambitious action on biodiversity. It presents a preliminary assessment of current biodiversity-related finance flows, and discusses the key data and indicator gaps that need to be addressed to underpin effective monitoring of both the pressures on biodiversity and the actions (i.e. responses) being implemented. The report concludes with ten priority areas where G7 and other countries can prioritise their efforts.
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 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 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 Biodiversity written by Christian Lévêque and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2004-04-21 with total page 296 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The title provides an overview of the current knowledge about the diversity of the living world and the various problems associated with its conservation and sustainable use. Covering both the fundamentals of the subject, along with the latest research, Biodiversity presents key conservation issues within a framework of global case studies. Starting with a summary of the concept of biodiversity, the text then explores such subjects as species richness, ecological systems, the consequences of human activities, diversity and human health, genetic resources, biotechnology and conservation. Comprehensive introduction to key issues surrounding the study of biodiversity. Extensive bibliography and references to numerous relevant websites. Introduces current research in the field within a framework of useful case studies.
Download or read book Nature and Human Society written by Peter H. Raven and published by National Academies. This book was released on 2000-03-07 with total page 648 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 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.
Download or read book Biodiversity written by Kevin J. Gaston and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2013-04-22 with total page 194 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This concise introductory text provides a complete overview of biodiversity - what it is, how it arose, its distribution, why it is important, human impact upon it, and what should be done to maintain it. Timely overview of the serious attempts made to quantify and describe biodiversity in a scientific way Acts as an easy entry point into the primary literature Provides real-world examples of key issues, including illustrations of major temporal and spatial patterns in biodiversity Designed primarily with undergraduate students and course lecturers in mind, it will also be of interest to anyone who requires an overview of, and entry to, the vast literature on these topics. All the figures included in the book are downloadable from the Blackwell Publishing website
Download or read book Global Biodiversity in a Changing Environment written by Osvaldo E. Sala and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2001-08-24 with total page 414 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Climatic change, conservation biology
Download or read book Air Pollution Effects on Biodiversity written by J.R. Barker and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2012-12-06 with total page 340 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Biodiversity is the delicate ecological balance within biological systems such as species and populations. Evidence suggests air pollution disrupts and impoverishes ecosysytems processes, and genetic and population diversity. Based on a symposium conducted by the EPA's Environmental Research Laboratory, this book pulls together current knowledge on the subject, assesses its relevance, and offers a framework for future research on the impact of air pollution on biodiversity through all levels of biological organization. This text is particularly timely due to acid rain and other toxic problems. The text also discusses the best available control technology, management practices, alternative chemicals, and legislative ways to reduce the impact of air pollution on biodiversity.
Download or read book What s So Good About Biodiversity written by Donald S. Maier and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2012-05-23 with total page 572 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: There has been a deluge of material on biodiversity, starting from a trickle back in the mid-1980's. However, this book is entirely unique in its treatment of the topic. It is unique in its meticulously crafted, scientifically informed, philosophical examination of the norms and values that are at the heart of discussions about biodiversity. And it is unique in its point of view, which is the first to comprehensively challenge prevailing views about biodiversity and its value. According to those dominant views, biodiversity is an extremely good thing – so good that it has become the emblem of natural value. The book's broader purpose is to use biodiversity as a lens through which to view the nature of natural value. It first examines, on their own terms, the arguments for why biodiversity is supposed to be a good thing. This discussion cuts a very broad and detailed swath through the scientific, economic, and environmental literature. It finds all these arguments to be seriously wanting. Worse, these arguments appear to have consequences that should dismay and perplex most environmentalists. The book then turns to a deeper analysis of these failures and suggests that they result from posing value questions from within a framework that is inappropriate for nature's value. It concludes with a novel suggestion for framing natural value. This new proposal avoids the pitfalls of the ones that prevail in the promotion of biodiversity. And it exposes the goals of conservation biology, restoration biology, and the world's largest conservation organizations as badly ill-conceived.
Download or read book Conservation Biology for All written by Navjot S. Sodhi and published by OUP Oxford. This book was released on 2010-01-08 with total page 368 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Conservation Biology for All provides cutting-edge but basic conservation science to a global readership. A series of authoritative chapters have been written by the top names in conservation biology with the principal aim of disseminating cutting-edge conservation knowledge as widely as possible. Important topics such as balancing conversion and human needs, climate change, conservation planning, designing and analyzing conservation research, ecosystem services, endangered species management, extinctions, fire, habitat loss, and invasive species are covered. Numerous textboxes describing additional relevant material or case studies are also included. The global biodiversity crisis is now unstoppable; what can be saved in the developing world will require an educated constituency in both the developing and developed world. Habitat loss is particularly acute in developing countries, which is of special concern because it tends to be these locations where the greatest species diversity and richest centres of endemism are to be found. Sadly, developing world conservation scientists have found it difficult to access an authoritative textbook, which is particularly ironic since it is these countries where the potential benefits of knowledge application are greatest. There is now an urgent need to educate the next generation of scientists in developing countries, so that they are in a better position to protect their natural resources.
Download or read book Imperiled The Encyclopedia of Conservation written by and published by Elsevier. This book was released on 2022-07-15 with total page 2100 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Humanity's ecological footprint is expanding at an alarming page. With climate change, increases in human population and consumption levels, and other anthropogenic factors, nearly half the known species on Earth could soon be gone. The near collapse of entire ecosystems has already occurred. We are facing a huge sustainability issue. This Encyclopedia, in 3 volumes, proposes a global synthesis detailing the world's imperiled species and ecosystems. It documents rarity and endangerment, the major drivers of loss, areas of conservation importance, and implementation strategies to save and restore imperiled species and ecosystems. It is a first of its kind coverage of Earth's imperiled species and ecosystems in one comprehensive encyclopedia. Comprehensive - First of its kind coverage of Earth's imperiled species and ecosystems in one source, including recommendations for sustainability and conservation Global appeal - Includes global and regional applications with an emphasis on the integration of biology, geography, and land-use Reader-friendly - Top notch scientific articles written in easy-to-understand language and including strong visual graphics
Download or read book Nature in Fragments written by Elizabeth A. Johnson and published by Columbia University Press. This book was released on 2005-10-05 with total page 399 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This new collection focuses on the impact of sprawl on biodiversity and the measures that can be taken to alleviate it. Leading biological and social scientists, conservationists, and land-use professionals examine how sprawl affects species and alters natural communities, ecosystems, and natural processes. The contributors integrate biodiversity issues, concerns, and needs into the growing number of anti-sprawl initiatives, including the "smart growth" and "new urbanist" movements.
Download or read book A Practitioner s Guide to Freshwater Biodiversity Conservation written by Nicole Silk and published by Island Press. This book was released on 2013-04-10 with total page 404 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A Practitioner's Guide to Freshwater Biodiversity Conservation brings together knowledge and experience from conservation practitioners and experts around the world to help readers understand the global challenge of conserving biodiversity in freshwater ecosystems. More importantly, it offers specific strategies and suggestions for managers to use in establishing new conservation initiatives or improving the effectiveness of existing initiatives. The book: offers an understanding of fundamental issues by explaining how ecosystems are structured and how they support biodiversity; provides specific information and approaches for identifying areas most in need of protection; examines promising strategies that can help reduce biodiversity loss; and describes design considerations and methods for measuring success within an adaptive management framework. The book draws on experience and knowledge gained during a five-year project of The Nature Conservancy known as the Freshwater Initiative, which brought together a range of practitioners to create a learning laboratory for testing ideas, approaches, tools, strategies, and methods. For professionals involved with land or water management-including state and federal agency staff, scientists and researchers working with conservation organizations, students and faculty involved with freshwater issues or biodiversity conservation, and policymakers concerned with environmental issues-the book represents an important new source of information, ideas, and approaches.
