Skip to main content
Biodiversity II: Understanding and Protecting Our Biological Resources

VIEW LARGER COVER

Biodiversity II

Understanding and Protecting Our Biological Resources (1997)

"The book before you...carries the urgent warning that we are rapidly altering and destroying the environments that have fostered the diversity of life forms for more than a billion years."

With those words, Edward O. Wilson opened the landmark volume Biodiversity (National Academy Press, 1988). Despite this and other such alarms, species continue to vanish at a rapid rate, taking with them their genetic legacy and potential benefits. Many disappear before they can even be identified.

Biodiversity II is a renewed call for urgency. This volume updates readers on how much we already know and how much remains to be identified scientifically. It explores new strategies for quantifying, understanding, and protecting biodiversity, including:

  • New approaches to the integration of electronic data, including a proposal for a U.S. National Biodiversity Information Center.
  • Application of techniques developed in the human genome project to species identification and classification.
  • The Gap Analysis Program of the National Biological Survey, which uses layered satellite, climatic, and biological data to assess distribution and better manage biodiversity.
  • The significant contribution of museum collections to identifying and categorizing species, which is essential for understanding ecological function and for targeting organisms and regions at risk.

The book describes our growing understanding of how megacenters of diversity (e.g., rainforest insects, coral reefs) are formed, maintained, and lost; what can be learned from mounting bird extinctions; and how conservation efforts for neotropical primates have fared. It also explores ecosystem restoration, sustainable development, and agricultural impact.

Biodiversity II reinforces the idea that the conservation of our biological resources is within reach as long as we pool resources; better coordinate the efforts of existing institutions—museums, universities, and government agencies—already dedicated to this goal; and enhance support for research, collections, and training. This volume will be important to environmentalists, biologists, ecologists, educators, students, and concerned individuals.

Joseph Henry Press logo Contractual obligations prohibit us from offering a free PDF of this title published under the Joseph Henry Press imprint of the National Academies Press.

The views expressed in this book are solely those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Academies.

Author Bio

Marjorie L. Reaka-Kudla is Professor in the Department of Zoology at the University of Maryland.

Don E. Wilson is Director of Biodiversity Programs at the Smithsonian Institution.

Edward O. Wilson is the Frank B. Baird, Jr. Professor of Science at the Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University.

Suggested Citation

Marjorie L. Reaka-Kudla, et al. 1997. Biodiversity II: Understanding and Protecting Our Biological Resources. Washington, DC: Joseph Henry Press. https://doi.org/10.17226/4901.

Import this citation to:

Publication Info

560 pages |  6 x 9 | 

ISBNs: 
  • Paperback:  978-0-309-05584-0
  • PDF Full Book:  978-0-309-52075-1
  • Ebook:  978-0-309-17656-9
DOI: https://doi.org/10.17226/4901

Copyright Information

The National Academies Press (NAP) has partnered with Copyright Clearance Center's Marketplace service to offer you a variety of options for reusing NAP content. Through Marketplace, you may request permission to reprint NAP content in another publication, course pack, secure website, or other media. Marketplace allows you to instantly obtain permission, pay related fees, and print a license directly from the NAP website. The complete terms and conditions of your reuse license can be found in the license agreement that will be made available to you during the online order process. To request permission through Marketplace you are required to create an account by filling out a simple online form. The following list describes license reuses offered by the NAP through Marketplace:

  • Republish text, tables, figures, or images in print
  • Post on a secure Intranet/Extranet website
  • Use in a PowerPoint Presentation
  • Distribute via CD-ROM
  • Photocopy

Click here to obtain permission for the above reuses. If you have questions or comments concerning the Marketplace service, please contact:

Marketplace Support
International +1.978.646.2600
US Toll Free +1.855.239.3415
E-mail: support@copyright.com
marketplace.copyright.com

To request permission to distribute a PDF, please contact our Customer Service Department at customer_service@nap.edu.