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15. An Evolutionary Perspective on the Importance of Species: Why Ecologists Care about Evolution by Kareiva, Peter; Levin, Simon A. is a scholarly article available to read on EtoBox.

What is 15. An Evolutionary Perspective on the Importance of Species: Why Ecologists Care about Evolution about?

A great many species are threatened by the expanding human population. Though the public generally favors environmental protection, conservation does not come without sacrifice and cost. Many decision makers wonder if every species is worth the trouble. Of what consequence would the extinction of, say, spotted owls or snail darters be? Are some species expendable? Given the reality of limited money for conservation efforts, there is a compelling need for scientists to help conservation practitioners set priorities and identify species most in need of urgent attention. Ecology should be capable of providing guidance that goes beyond the obvious impulse to protect economically valuable species (salmon) or aesthetically appealing ones (snow leopards). Although some recent books have considered the ecosystem services provided by biodiversity as an aggregate property, this is the first to focus on the value of particular species. It provides the scientific approaches and analyses available for asking what we can expect from losing (or gaining) species. The contributors are outstanding ecologists, theoreticians, and evolutionary biologists who gathered for a symposium honoring Robert T.

Author

Kareiva, Peter; Levin, Simon A.

Publisher

Princeton University Press

Published

2003

Language

EN

ISBN

9780691090047