Education & Careers Field Work New ETCC Chair index2 resources issue36 issue35 issue32 issue33 Issue 34 teg Index of Past TEG news articles by Author Contributing to TEGNews Article index List of book reviews Issue ten30 Issue ten29 Issue ten28 Issue 27 Issue 26 Issue 25 Issue 24 TEG Issue 24: Book review: 'The antidote to self spoon-feeding?' TEG Issue 24: Book review: Animal Behaviour TEG Issue 24: Book review: Biodiversity - An Introduction TEG Issue 24: Book review: Global Warming - The Complete Briefing. 2nd edition TEG Issue 24: A Week in Belarus by David Slingsby and Susan Barker TEG Issue 24: Profile: The Instituto de Investigaciones Ecologicas Chilo, by Juan J. Armesto and Ricardo Rozzi TEG Issue 24: Educating Ecologists by Malcolm McElhone TEG Issue 24: The Trouble with Ecology in 16-19 Education by Jonathan Hughes TEG Issue 24: Book review: Nature Conservation in Europe TEG Issue 24: Book review: Principles and Methods in Landscape Ecology TEG Issue 24: Book review: Environmental Science TEG Issue 24: Book review: Our Changing Planet. 2nd edition TEG Issue 24: Book review: Ecology of a Changing Planet TEG Issue 24: LifeScience 2000, University of Warwick TEG Issue 24: LifeScience 2000, University of Warwick TEG Issue 24: Book review: Understanding Environmental Pollution TEG Issue 24: Book review: The State of Food and Agriculture 1997 Issue 23 1998 1997 1989 1996 1995 1994 1992 1990 Curriculum material Ecological Project Compendium Instructions for Authors Careers information Education grants Courses for the Student Teacher Keeping in Touch with Ecology

Electronic TEG

Published in TEG news issue 24, Summer 1998, by the British Ecological Society.
Category: Book Reviews.

Book Review

by Paul Ganderton

Gaston KJ and Spicer JI. 1998. Biodiversity - An Introduction. Blackwell Science. ISBN 0 632 04953 7. pp x + 113. œ9.95.

This topic, once seen more as a buzzword than a major study has expanded greatly in the past few years. It's now on enough syllabuses to warrant an attempt at an introductory level which these authors have achieved to good effect. The five chapters cover a great deal of ground from theory to practice including a head-on approach to the many serious questions still surrounding the validity of the subject. An initial chapter deals with the definitions of biodiversity and a discussion as to how the term arose. Next there is a look at the fossil record to remind us of the fragility of the data we use and to point out that extinctions are nothing new. Since the authors regard the distribution of biodiversity as paramount the next chapter, dealing with mapping, can be seen as a useful discussion of the variables involved. Chapter four tackles the thorny issue of whether biodiversity matters, examining it from a range of perspectives. Finally there is a description of how biodiversity can be maintained focusing specifically and in detail on the Rio Conference on Biological Diversity.

To assist the reader each chapter is well laid out. Throughout the text there are "Going further" boxes - an interesting mix of questions, further reading, discussion points and arguments. There are summaries and extensive bibliographies for those who wish to follow an aspect. The first chapter even has a Net section highlighting a small but significant series of sites. Considering the complexity, the authors have done an excellent job in both showing the key concepts and tenets and allowing the debate around the subject to be aired in such a slim volume. Given the quality of text and the modest pricing it really is a must for the school/college/personal library.

Copyright 2007 British Ecological Society. All Rights Reserved