What is biodiversity? / James Maclaurin and Kim Sterelny.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Maclaurin, James.

Contributor:

Sterelny, Kim.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Biodiversity.

Ecology.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (231 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Chicago : University of Chicago Press, 2008.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

In the life sciences, there is wide-ranging debate about biodiversity. While nearly everyone is in favor of biodiversity and its conservation, methods for its assessment vary enormously. So what exactly is biodiversity? Most theoretical work on the subject assumes it has something to do with species richness-with the number of species in a particular region-but in reality, it is much more than that. Arguing that we cannot make rational decisions about what it is to be protected without knowing what biodiversity is, James Maclaurin and Kim Sterelny offer in What Is Biodiversity? a theoretical and conceptual exploration of the biological world and how diversity is valued. Here, Maclaurin and Sterelny explore not only the origins of the concept of biodiversity, but also how that concept has been shaped by ecology and more recently by conservation biology. They explain the different types of biodiversity important in evolutionary theory, developmental biology, ecology, morphology and taxonomy and conclude that biological heritage is rich in not just one biodiversity but many. Maclaurin and Sterelny also explore the case for the conservation of these biodiversities using option value theory, a tool borrowed from economics. An erudite, provocative, timely, and creative attempt to answer a fundamental question, What Is Biodiversity? will become a foundational text in the life sciences and studies thereof.

Contents:

Frontmatter

Contents

Acknowledgments

1. Taxonomy Red in Tooth and Claw

2. Species: A Modest Proposal

3. Disparity and Diversity

4. Morphology and Morphological Diversity

5. Development and Diversity

6. Explorations in Ecospace

7. Conservation Biology: The Measurement Problem

8. Conservation Biology: The Evaluation Problem

9. Concluding Remarks

Notes

References

References

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references (p. [186]-205) and index.

ISBN:

9786611965884

9781281965882

128196588X

9780226500829

0226500829

OCLC:

309340967