About the Book
First used in 1980, biodiversity often describes the abundance, variety, and genetic constitution of native animals and plants, and has been linked with politics and environmental technology. Although the 1986 National forum on biodiversity brought issues of biodiversity to the fore, the inescapable need to know more about the diversity of life on Earth continues to remain unmet. In recent years, biodiversity has influenced important scientific considerations, international agreements, conventions, conservation initiatives, political debates, and socio-economic implications. Knowledge derived from the study of biodiversity will affect the quality of life enjoyed in the future by influencing decision-making processes and aiding new discoveries. The science of biodiversity has become the science of our future. Our awareness of the loss of biodiversity has brought a long overdue appreciation of the magnitude of our loss and a determination to develop the tools to protect our future. The Encyclopedia of Biodiversity brings together, for the first time, a study of the dimensions of diversity. It examination of the services biodiversity provides, and measures to protect it.
Major themes of the work include the evolution of biodiversity, systems for classifying and defining biodiversity, ecological patterns and theories of biodiversity, and an assessment of contemporary patterns and trends in biodiversity.
About the Author :
Simon A. Levin is the Moffett Professor of Biology at Princeton University and the Director of the Center for BioComplexity in the Princeton Environmental Institute. Previously he was the Alexander Professor of Biology at Cornell University, Director of Cornell’s Center for Environmental Research, and the Princeton Environmental Institute. He has served as President of the Ecological Society of America and of the Society for Mathematical Biology. His principal research interests are in understanding how macroscopic patterns and processes are maintained at the level of ecosystems, socioeconomic systems, and the biosphere, in terms of ecological, behavioral and evolutionary mechanisms that operate primarily at the level of organisms.
Levin is a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the American Association for the Advancement of Science, a Member of the National Academy of Sciences and the American Philosophical Society, and a Foreign Member of the Istituto Veneto. He is a University Fellow of Resources for the Future, a Fellow of the Beijer Institute of Ecological Economics, and a Fellow of the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics. He has nearly 500 publications, and is the Editor of the Encyclopedia of Biodiversity and the Princeton Guide to Ecology. He serves on the Science Board of the Santa Fe Institute, which he co-chaired from 2007-2010, and was formerly Chair of the Council of the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis.
Levin’s awards include: the Heineken Prize for Environmental Sciences, Kyoto Prize in Basic Sciences, Margalef Prize for Ecology, the Ecological Society of America’s MacArthur and Eminent Ecologist Awards, and the Okubo Award of the Society for Mathematical Biology and the Japanese Society for Theoretical Biology
Review :
"Compiled by a virtual who's who in the field of conservation science, the Encyclopedia of Biodiversity highlights the critical importance of biodiversity and illustrates why all thinking people should care about stemming the loss of our natural heritage." --John Sawhill, President and CEO, The Nature Conservancy
"This encyclopedia is a worthwhile investment for anyone in need of a scholarly reference source devoted to biodiversity and related preservation issues. There are no other current encyclopedias that provide comparable in-depth coverage of this increasingly important topic. The Encyclopedia of Biodiversity is particularly recommended for special and academic libraries. For a limited period, access to an upcoming online version is included in the purchase of the print set." --American Library Association
"Five volumes contain 313 signed articles by leading international authors. From the preface: "The entries...have been arranged alphabetically, but the coverage is designed functionally. At the core is a comprehensive survey of biodiversity, across taxonomic groups and ecological regions. The emergence of biodiversity is then placed in an evolutionary perspective, as background for an understanding of current trends. Finally, a review is given of institutions and other mechanisms that exist and are needed for the preservation of biodiversity...." The "contents by subject" listing groups entries according to theme, among them: agriculture, conservation and restoration, economics, environmental conditions and effects, evolution, extinctions, genetics, geographic and global issues, habitats and ecosystems, human effects and interventions, and population issues. Each entry is carefully constructed, with an outline, a glossary, a summary, cross references, and a bibliography accompanying the main body of text. Purchase of the print version confers access to the complementary web site." --Book News, Inc., Portland, OR
"With an authoritative, wide-ranging and engaging approach to biodiversity an sustainability, the Encyclopedia does and excellent job of synthesising material of many different kinds so as to advance our understanding of ecological systems." --Murray Gell-mann, The Santa Fe Institute, New Mexico, USA
"My participation in the development of this Encyclopedia has been a very encouraging experience, particularly in providing an opportunity to see how broadly interest in biodiversity has spread. The Encyclopedia has deliberately been organised [sic] in a most inclusive way, and this will help people of all backgrounds learn more about their world and the other living things they share it with." --Sir Robert May, Chief Scientific Adviser to the UK Government
"A scholarly resource for understanding this exceptional and living planet we call home...so solid and authoritative no library should be without." --Thomas E. Lovejoy, Chief Biodiversity Advisor, The World Bank
"The viability of any twenty-first century politics will hinge on its effective grasp of the principles of biodiversity. The Encyclopedia of Biodiversity, a clarification of key concepts in five volumes, will prove to be a terrific source for scholars, activists, and decision makers." --Barry Lopez, Author of Arctic Dreams
"...There are no other current encyclopedias that provide comparable in-depth coverage of this increasingly important topic..." --Booklist
"...This unique set provides an excellent overview of many aspects of this important concept...Impressive in content and organization..." --Choice
