Kategoria BISAC: Science >> Life Sciences - Biological Diversity

Armen Takhtajan is among the greatest authorities in the world on the evolution of plants. This book culminates almost sixty years of the scientist's research of the origin and classification of the flowering plants. It presents a continuation of Dr. Takhtajan s earlier publications including Systema Magnoliophytorum (1987), (in Russian), and Diversity and Classification of Flowering Plants (1997), (in English). In his latest book, the author presents a concise and significantly revised system of plant classification ( Takhtajan system ) based on the most recent studies in plant...

An enduring controversy in evolutionary biology is the genetic basis of adaptation. Darwin emphasized "many slight differences" as the ultimate source of variation to be acted upon by natural selection. In the early 1900's, this view was opposed by "Mendelian geneticists," who emphasized the importance of "macromutations" in evolution. The Modern Synthesis resolved this controversy, concluding that mutations in genes of very small effect were responsible for adaptive evolution.

A decade ago, Allen Orr and Jerry Coyne reexamined the evidence for this neo-Darwinian view and...

Landscape Research has been established as an interdisciplinary field dealing with complex environmental processes at multiple spatial and temporal scales. During the course of its history, various societal, technological and philosophical stimuli have shaped Landscape Research, e.g. the declaration of Landscape Ecology in the 1930s and contemporary global technological and societal developments.

Modern landscape research presently uses mathematics, statistics and advanced simulation techniques to combine empirical observations with known theories from ecology, physics, geography,...

In the last few decades more and more yeast habitats have been explored, spanning cold climates to tropical regions and dry deserts to rainforests. As a result, a large body of ecological data has been accumulated and the number of known yeast species has increased rapidly. This book provides an overview of the biodiversity of yeasts in different habitats. Recent advances achieved by the application of molecular biological methods in the field of yeast taxonomy and ecology are also incorporated in the book. Wherever possible, the interaction between yeasts and the surrounding environment...

The aim of this manual is to provide a comprehensive guide to the methods involved in collecting, preparing and screening plants for bioactive properties for manipulating key ruminal fermentation pathways and against gastrointestinal pathogens. The manual will better equip the reader with methodological approaches to initiate screening programmes to test for bioactivity in native plants and find natural alternatives to chemicals for manipulating ruminal fermentation and gut health. The manual provides isotopic and non-isotopic techniques to efficiently screen plants or plant parts for a...

Outside Russia very little is known about the terrestrial ecology, vegetation, biogeographical patterns, and biodiversity of the enormously extensive ecosystems of Yakutia, Siberia. These systems are very special in that they function on top of huge layers of permafrost and are exposed to very severe and extreme weather conditions, the range between winter and summer temperatures being more than 100 degrees C. The soils are generally poor, and human use of the vegetation is usually extensive. Main vegetation zones are taiga and tundra, but Yakutia also supports a special land and...

This book demonstrates an integrated perspective of trends and challenges in sustainable river science and management, as presented by experts in the fields that form its foundations - ecology, economy and sociology. Their contributions integrate current knowledge of the structure, functioning and management of living rivers . Also included are data and experiences concerning the rivers Allier, Meuse, Rhine, Sava and Tagliamento in Europe and the Illinois River in the USA."

Wild crop plants play a significant part in the elucidation and improvement of the genomes of their cultivated counterparts. The 10-volume Wild Crop Relatives: Genomic and Breeding Resources offers a comprehensive examination of wild crops as a gold mine for breeding. It details the status, origin, distribution, morphology, cytology, genetic diversity and available genetic and genomic resources of numerous wild crop relatives, as well as of their evolution and phylogenetic relationship. Further topics include their role as model plants, genetic erosion and conservation efforts, and...

This unique book provides a survey of the development and practice of butterfly conservation in south east Australia. It traces the evolution of the science, discusses case histories, and summarises much previously scattered information.