Biodiversity Change and Human Health

by Sala, Osvaldo E.; Meyerson, Laura A.; Parmesan, Camille

• ISBN13: 9781597264976
• ISBN10: 1597264970
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2009-01-26
• Publisher: Island Pr

Summary

Biodiversity Change and Human Healthbrings together leading experts from the natural science and social science realms as well as the medical community to explore the explicit linkages between human-driven alterations of biodiversity and documented impacts of those changes on human health. The book utilizes multidisciplinary approaches to explore and address the complex interplay between natural biodiversity and human health and well-being. The five parts examine health trade-offs between competing uses of biodiversity (highlighting synergistic situations in which conservation of natural biodiversity actually promotes human health and well-being); relationships between biodiversity and quality of life that have developed over ecological and evolutionary time; the effects of changing biodiversity on provisioning of ecosystem services, and how they have affected human health; the role of biodiversity in the spread of infectious disease; native biodiversity as a resource for traditional and modern medicine. Biodiversity Change and Human Healthsynthesizes our current understanding and identifies major gaps in knowledge as it places all aspects of biodiversity and health interactions within a common framework. Contributors explore potential points of crossover among disciplines (both in ways of thinking and of specific methodologies) that could ultimately expand opportunities for humans to both live sustainably and enjoy a desirable quality of life.

Author Biography

Osvaldo E. Sala is the Sloan Lindemann Distinguished Professor of Biology and director of the Environmental Change Initiative at Brown University. Laura A. Meyerson is an assistant professor at the University of Rhode Island, where she conducts research on biological invasions. Camille Parmesan is an associate professor in integrative biology at the University of Texas, Austin.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	p. xiii
Changes in Biodiversity and Their Consequences for Human Health	p. 1
Biodiversity and Human Health: Synergisms, Trade-offs, and Road Maps for the Future
Biodiversity, Food Provision, and Human Health	p. 13
The Impact of Anthropogenic Stress at Global and Regional Scales on Biodiversity and Human Health	p. 41
Biodiversity and Human Health: The Decision-Making Process	p. 61
Sustainable Allocation of Biodiversity to Improve Human Health and Well-Being	p. 83
Biodiversity and Quality of Life: Beyond Physical Health
Biodiversity, Quality of Life, and Evolutionary Psychology	p. 99
Quality of Life, Biodiversity, and Health: Observations and Applications	p. 129
Decay of Ecosystem Services Following Biodiversity Change, and Consequent Impacts on Human Health
Consequences of Aquatic Biodiversity for Water Quality and Health	p. 143
The Global Nitrogen Cycle, Biodiversity, and Human Health	p. 159
Links between Microbial Diversity, Stressors, and Detoxification Capacity	p. 179
Biodiversity Change and the Spread of Infectious Diseases
Microbial Communities: Patterns and Processes	p. 193
Biodiversity and Health: The Place of Parasitic and Infectious Diseases	p. 211
Biodiversity and Disease	p. 229
Climate Change, Wildlife, and Human Health	p. 245
Biodiversity as a Resource for Medicine
Biodiversity and the Search for New Medicines	p. 269
Human Health, Biodiversity, and Ecosystem Services: The Interwined Challenging Future	p. 281
About the Editors	p. 286
List of Contributors	p. 287
SCOPE Series List	p. 291
SCOPE Executive Committee 2005-2008	p. 295
Index	p. 297
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