Biodiversity 101

(Hardback)

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Description

What should the average person know about science Because science is so central to life in the 21st century, science educators and other leaders of the scientific community believe that it is essential that everyone understand the basic concepts of the most vital and far-reaching disciplines. Biodiversity 101 does exactly that. This accessible volume provides readerswhether students new to the field or just interested members of the lay publicwith the essential ideas of the origins of humans using a minimum of jargon and mathematics. Concepts are introduced in a progressive order so that more complicated ideas build on simpler ones, and each is discussed in small, bite-sized segments so that they can be more easily understood.

Reviews

The series introduces general readers and new science students to the basics of various branches of physical science. The standard format includes simple concepts leading to more complex ones, a glossary without pronunciation, and an annotated bibliography of print and nonprint sources. Here four professionals currently or formerly with the American Museum of Natural History explain what biodiversity is, where in the world it is, why it is important, its status today, and strategies and solutions for conserving it. * SciTech Book News *
This book is an easy-to-read introduction to the science and conservation of biodiversity for general readers or nonmajor students. . . . The authors do an especially good job in such a short volume of avoiding oversimplification and actually embrace the fact that disagreements, ambiguities, and value-laden judgments are inherent within biodiversity science and conservation. . . . This is a good overview for anyone with a vague understanding of biodiversity who wants to know more. It would perhaps make an interesting textbook for a nonmajors course on conservation. * The Quarterly Review of Biology *

Author Bio

MELINA F. LAVERTY is a marine biologist, and former Senior Program Officer at the American Museum of Natural History's Center for Biodiversity and Conservation. She is currently completing her law degree at the University of Toronto. ELEANOR J. STERLING is the Director of the Center for Biodiversity and Conservation at the American Museum of Natural History, as well as the Director of Graduate Studies for the Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Environmental Biology at Columbia University. AMELIA CHILES is a former staff member of the American Museum of Natural History's Center for Biodiversity and Conservation. She now lives in Denver where she works for the Colorado chapter of the U.S. Green Building Council. GEORGINA CULLMAN works in the Center for Biodiversity and Conservation at the American Museum of Natural History.