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Target Readership	Sen Secondary					For help with criteria, click here
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Contents:

1 - The biosphere; 2 - The diversity of organisms; 3 - Biodiversity through time; 4 - Humans, food and biodiversity; 5 - Terrestrial biodiversity; 6 - Marine biodiversity; 7 - Inland water biodiversity; 8 - Global biodiversity: responding to change.

Review:

Although the concept of biodiversity has been mainstream for over 15 years there is still the need to provide a good introductory overview of the topic. Early ideas about x species lost in y time proved useful but were ultimately self-defeating if we didn't know the total number of species to start with. Now the volume of research has reached such a level that it is possible to present the concept in a more supportable way. This means that, in educational terms, we need to make sure that the fundamental ideas are well understood and that the inevitable complexity of the subject is accepted whilst still keeping up the level of interest. This text is an attempt to do all of this whilst at the same time highlighting what is still needed to be done.

The book opens with an overview of the biosphere reminiscent of, but clearly upgraded from, the early Scientific American work of the 1970s. Biodiversity is set as part of the global carbon cycle and related to primary productivity. Chapter two provides a basic guide to phylogeny and taxonomy. The reader is given a clear indication of the main divisions of life, their chief characteristics and major groups. Also we get a brief discussion of the total number of species in the biosphere. This is often a sticking point with students especially as numbers can range from 9-110 million and a given figure of 14 million, whilst being higher than some estimates, is at least supportable by most other modern estimates. Continuing the introductory theme, chapter three looks at the change of diversity through time. Geological periods are described and the range of species outlined. Key extinctions are dealt with along with the changing rates of extinction between phyla. This aspect of biodiversity has generated considerable attention in the last three/four years and it is useful to see such an overview (it's also salutary to see which recent publications are not quoted such is the rate of change in this area!). Chapter four takes a different perspective. The first three chapters provide the introduction; this looks at the way in which people has used and changed global biodiversity. We tend to think of human action as reducing biodiversity but, as this chapter makes clear, we have also increased it through works such as agriculture. In so doing we have changed the terrestrial areas available for wildlife which puts a different kind of pressure on the biosphere. We leave this chapter aware that we are losing agricultural species at the same rate (or greater) than we are losing wild species (one has only to look at EU agriculture policy to see this). The next three chapters form a distinct part of the text by addressing directly the title. Chapter five looks at terrestrial biodiversity. Starting with the basic statistics of land cover the reader is led through variations in habitat, productivity and vegetation cover. From this, each major biome is outlined in terms of its distribution, taxa, ecology, biodiversity, role in the carbon cycle, use by humans and other ecosystem services. This permits a very general comparison between global ecosystems. The difficulty of reproducing this detail for marine ecosystems is obvious and so chapter six describes biodiversity on a spatial rather than ecological basis. Also, in contrast with the previous chapter, human impact is given more prominence especially through global fisheries and their impacts. Chapter seven continues the aquatic theme with freshwater biodiversity keeping much to the topics of the earlier chapter: distribution, human impact and fisheries. The final chapter returns to a global dimension when it looks at the way in which biodiversity can change and how we can respond to it. The older view of protecting key areas is described along with recent examinations of this concept which aim to protect specific areas due to high diversity (hotspots) or high endemism. Global efforts to protect species are habitats are outlined. A range of appendices giving key data not in the text such as phyla, key agricultural crops, extinctions etc. complete the text.

This is an excellent text. Not only is it produced to a very high standard with numerous illustrations, maps, data etc. it also comes from two key bodies in the biodiversity debate: UNEP and WCMC. Key ideas are easily accessible to lay audiences without the loss of detail that often happens in such situations. It shows the problems we face without descending into polemic. Senior students would find this a must-read text - it really should be on every library shelf.