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Electronic TEG
Published in TEG news issue 24, Summer 1998, by the British Ecological Society.
Category: Book Reviews.
Book Review
by Paul Ganderton
Bush MB. 1997. Ecology of a Changing Planet. Prentice Hall. ISBN 0 13 372962 1. pp xiii +434.
This is an introductory text on basic ecological principles applied to current issues of global concern. As such it covers a considerable amount of material in its 26 chapters which are divided into five parts. The first part examines the concept of diversity. An opening chapter which looks at hypotheses, science environmentalism and history sets the scene. This is not a standard text repeating standard ideas but one which expects input from the reader. This opening is followed by more usual material on evolution, ecological principles and ecosystems. Even here, extraneous material is removed to focus on key issues. This means that one meets material not commonly seen e.g. discussion on human evolution. Part two focuses on population and community ecology covering population dynamics, predation, succession, zonation and biodiversity. Part three turns to the human dimension with an interesting initial chapter on human societal development and its impact. This is followed by chapters on the spread of disease and feeding people. The human aspect is continued in part four but with the perspective of ecological impact. Thus there is work on pollution (pesticides, fertilizers, ozone losses and global warming), development, habitat changes and biodiversity. Finally, part five concentrates on the use to which we put resources. Chapters on energy, economics and legislation have the American dimension one would expect from a text originating there but with sufficient argument to make translation to other systems easy. A final chapter looking at the future (but in terms of genetic engineering and restoration ecology only) close the text.
The structure of the book is simple, making it accessible to students. Each chapter has a bullet point overview and summary. Diagrams are plain but easy to understand. Where this book stands out is in its selection and treatment of information. This is no polemic but a text designed specifically to make the reader think. It eschews standard ecological material to put novel associations of ideas together to make a more thoughtful discussion than one is used to seeing in introductory texts. In this regard one must mention the chapter dealing with global warming. Here, the reader is presented with one of the most lucid and well balanced accounts of the science that one is likely to find currently. Not only are the basic ideas described but the arguments against and their strengths and weaknesses. It is this approach which makes the text both refreshing and one to which a wide range of students should be exposed.
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