Loss of Biodiversity

by Spray, Sharon L.; McGlothlin, Karen L.; Anderson, David; Backus, David; Balch, Alan; Gibbons, J Whitfield; Haskell, David; Minteer, Ben; Press, Daniel

• ISBN13: 9780742525672
• ISBN10: 0742525678
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2003-10-22
• Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers

Summary

This book introduces readers to the important concepts for understanding the environmental challenges and consequences of the declining diversity of life on the planet. Contributions from scientists, and academics in the social sciences and humanities provide readers with an initial tool kit for understanding the concepts central to their disciplinary perspective and the multi-dimensional aspects of the loss of biodiversity.

Table of Contents

About the Contributors	vii
Preface	ix
Introduction	xiii
Sharon L. Spray and Karen L. McGlothlin
1 LIFE LINES	3	(26)
A Geoscience Perspective on Historical Losses of Biodiversity
David H. Backus
2 A CHANGING BALANCE	29	(26)
An Ecological Perspective on the Loss of Biodiversity
J. Whitfield Gibbons and Karen L. McGlothlin
3 DIMINISHING SONGBIRDS	55	(20)
A Conservation Biology Case Study of Eastern Songbirds
David G. Haskell
4 VALUING NATURE	75	(24)
Ethical Perspectives on the Loss of Biodiversity
Ben A. Minteer
5 PRICING PROTECTION	99	(20)
Understanding the Environmental Economics of Biodiversity Protection
David A. Anderson
6 THE POLITICS OF BIODIVERSITY	119	(30)
A Political Case Study of the Endangered Species Act
Alan Balch and Daniel Press
7 THE GLOBAL CHALLENGE	149	(14)
Concluding Thoughts on the Loss of Biodiversity
Sharon L. Spray and Karen L. McGlothlin
Glossary	163	(12)
Index	175