Life in the Balance: Humanity and the Biodiversity CrisisIn Life in the Balance, Niles Eldredge argues that the Earth is confronting a disaster in the making--an ecological crisis that, if left unresolved, could ultimately lead to mass extinction on the scale of that which killed the dinosaurs sixty-five million years ago. Writing for general readers, he reviews compelling evidence for this "biodiversity crisis," showing that species are dying out at an unnaturally rapid rate. He demonstrates the importance of maintaining biodiversity, taking the reader on a journey that reveals the twin faces of biodiversity--over thirteen million living species and the ecosystems through which these species transform the sun's energy into life-sustaining matter. Throughout, Eldredge shows how our own fate is intricately linked with that of other species. |
From inside the book
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... ecosystems are disturbed and indi- vidual species are overhunted or overharvested . We need to ask ourselves , What does the living world mean to us ? Why should we care if ecosystems degrade and species are lost ? What is causing ...
... ecosystems . Each ecosystem - every lake , bog , and stream ; every alpine meadow ; every patch of prairie and stand of forest - is home to many different species , each of which plays a specific role as its own eco- logical niche ...
... ecosystems , we still need them to provide the essential " ecosystem services , " on which all living creatures — including ourselves — depend . The production of oxygen , the cycling of freshwaters , the prevention of soil erosion ...
... ecosystems that have already been lost or damaged so severely . Ten thousand years ago , when human beings first started using agri- culture and stopped living in local ecosystems , there were only about 5 million people on the planet ...
... ecosystems have been destroyed before scientists have had a chance to study what was living there . People are not ... ecosystems and species— that we use . We must take care not to overharvest , to replace and replant as we take from ...
Contents
TALES FROM THE SWAMP | xiii |
THE OKAVANGO AS PRIMORDIAL EDEN | 20 |
BIODIVERSITY EVOLUTION AND ECOLOGY | 45 |
THE TREE OF LIFE | 63 |
ECOSYSTEMPANORAMA | 109 |
BIODIVERSITYA THREATENED NATURAL TREASURE | 139 |
STRIKING A BALANCE | 173 |
Appendix i ANIMAL SPECIES EXTINCT SINCE CIRCA 1600 | 191 |
Appendix ii ESSENTIAL MICROBES FUNGI ANIMALS AND PLANTS | 202 |
BIBLIOGRAPHY OF SUGGESTED READINGS | 210 |
INDEX | 213 |