Overall Score:

Target Readership	Sen Secondary					For help with criteria, click here
Presentation/Style
Content
Literature
Originality
Overall

Return to main review page

Contents:

1 - Ecology in Australia; 2 - The evolution of Australia's living biota; 3 - Climate; 4 - Soils; 5 - Carbon flow, energy transformations and productivity; 6 - Population characteristics and dynamics; 7 - Population control, regulation and extinction; 8 - Life-history strategies; 9 - Species interactions: direct effects; 10 -Species interactions: indirect effects; 11 - Ecological diversity; 12 - The niche; 13 - Succession, disturbance and flow; 14 - Classification of plant communities; 15 - The ecology of Australian deserts; 16 - Grasslands; 17 - Heaths and low open forests; 18 - Evolutionary convergence and sclerophylly in Mediterranean regions; 19 - Woodlands and open-forests of Eastern Australia; 20 - Monsoonal tropical Australia; 21 - Forests; 22 - Alpine landscapes; 23 - Lakes and rivers; 24 - The intertidal zone; 25 - Indigenous land use; 26 - Biodiversity, extinction and threats; 27 - Habitat fragmentation; 28 - Pest plants and animals; 29 - Salinity; 30 - Global climate change; 31 - El Nino; 32 - Ozone depletion in Australia and the Antarctic; 33 - Conservation policy in Australia. 34 - Sampling and experimental design.

Review:

One of the paradoxes of reviewing for the BES whilst living in Australia is that the ecology outside doesn't quite seem to match the ecology in the books so the chance of seeing an Antipodean perspective was too good to miss. One of the problems with working in Australia is that it really is completely different (at least from an environmental/ecological perspective) from Europe. It's this mismatch that has created some of the great ecological problems we have here of which salinity (described in this text) is one of the more pressing issues. Given that there is also local debate about the applicability of Eurocentric ecological concepts to Australian conditions one can se why such a publication might arouse interest.

This text covers both theoretical and applied ecological aspects. Its 34 chapters are divided into six parts each part focussing on a specific topic. The introduction (chapters one and two) describe the development of both ecology and Australian biota. The former seeks to set Australian ecological study in a timeline alongside a very brief guide to Australian geological development. The latter provides us with a brief overview of the development of the flora and fauna through geological time and the human impact in the recent past. Part two (chapters three to five) focus on the abiotic environment in terms of climate and soils and energy flow. The choice here is interesting not least because the sheer size of Australia leads to a genuine diversity across the nation. One of the net results of this is that there are few detailed introductory texts Australia-wide, preferring to keep to discrete geographical areas. The inclusion of energy and energy flow here is similar to work by the Odum's in the 1970s. Part three is the closest to the ecological texts of the UK and North America. The seven chapters cover a range of key ideas that would be familiar to ecologists everywhere. From population dynamics and life histories we move on to species interactions. This is followed by chapters on diversity, niche and succession. This last point shows again the unusual element of Australian ecology in that it deals with the topic of fire. Fire is a key element of the landscape and its effects occupy both ecologists and those who try to contain fire near urban areas. It is a highly controversial area and whereas its inclusion in such a text would be considered essential one could have hoped for a longer analysis. Part four would seem to many to be the key part of the text. Australia is a major case study but information on its key ecosystems is not always easy to find. The 11 chapters in this section cover all the major ecosystems. It starts with a chapter dealing with classification - one (that by Specht) gaining almost universal usage. Given the different classifications currently in use globally this overview provides a very useful introduction to the topic. After this we have a brief description of the main ecosystems from deserts to the intertidal zone. There is no framework that each follows so it allows the contributors to describe the ecosystem and also to show some of the key questions being asked in these areas. From this more theoretical side, the book moves to applied ecology: part five looks at conservation and management. It opens with a chapter on indigenous land use. This is another controversial area because information is difficult to gather (there are few written records) and much is tied up in the politics of land use. This is to be regretted because, in keeping with other areas of the globe with high levels of indigenous knowledge, there is much to be learnt. From this the reader moves onto modern conservation problems - loss of biodiversity and changes to the landscape. Pests are a particular concern to Australians because so often they cause damage to the fragile ecosystems and so any look at the ecology of pests is useful. This is followed by four chapters looking at ecological issues of special concern to Australia. Of these, salinity is one of the most pressing. Widespread land clearance has left areas with rising water tables which, given the nature of Australian geology and climate, results in salinity reaching levels so high as to create barren moonscapes over large areas of previously farmed country. Global warming, El Nino and ozone depletion are concerns seen elsewhere but are also taken as serious regional problems (especially ozone loss which has threatened the Southernmost parts of the nation). A final chapter in this section looks at the development of Australian conservation. Although the ecology might be different, reactions to environmental degradation are remarkably similar to those seen elsewhere and many conservation issues are known elsewhere. A final part, and chapter, look at experimental design.

This is an interesting text. For those teaching the ecology of Australia either as an overseas case study or a set of local issues it must be seen as a key text. Much of the value of the book lies in the fact that it is difficult to find such a range of specifically Australian-wide material in one place. What about those studying ecology elsewhere? Whilst it is true that the development of Australia has led to high endemicity it is also becoming clearer (at least to those of us living in Australia) that there is more than one ecology. Perhaps one of the best things this text can achieve is to highlight the differences and see where the common ground is. Reconciling global ecologies is an under-recognised field which deserves greater attention.