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
Results 1-5 of 83
... EVOLUTION , AND ECOLOGY p . 49 Chapter 3 THE TREE OF LIFE p . 67 Chapter 4 ECOSYSTEM PANORAMA p . 113 Chapter 5 BIODIVERSITY — A THREATENED NATURAL TREASURE p . 143 Chapter 6 STRIKING A BALANCE p . 177 Appendix I ANIMAL SPECIES EXTINCT ...
... evolved along with every other living thing . Yet all is not well with life on Earth . We are losing roughly 30,000 ... evolutionary relatives , the chimps , go- rillas , and orangutans . No one knows for sure how many species form this ...
... Evolution will replace extinct species only after whatever causes a burst of extinction disappears . Today's biodiversity crisis — the " Sixth Extinction " threatening so many of the world's species — is being caused , not by mete- ors ...
Humanity and the Biodiversity Crisis Niles Eldredge. tinct ourselves ) will evolution eventually replace the species and rebuild the ecosystems that have already been lost or damaged so severely . Ten thousand years ago , when human ...
Sorry, this page's content is restricted.
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 |