Biodiversity II : understanding and protecting our biological resources / Marjorie L. Reaka-Kudla, Don E. Wilson, and Edward O. Wilson, editors.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

1. Introduction / Edward O. Wilson -- 2. Biodiversity: What Is It? / Thomas E. Lovejoy -- 3. Biodiversity: Why Is It Important? / Ruth Patrick -- 4. Biodiversity at Its Utmost: Tropical Forest Beetles / Terry L. Erwin -- 5. Measuring Global Biodiversity and Its Decline / Nigel E. Stork -- 6. Butterfly Diversity and a Preliminary Comparison with Bird and Mammal Diversity / Robert K. Robbins and Paul A. Opler -- 7. The Global Biodiversity of Coral Reefs: A Comparison with Rain Forests / Marjorie L. Reaka-Kudla -- 8. Common Measures for Studies of Biodiversity: Molecular Phylogeny in the Eukaryotic Microbial World / Mitchell L. Sogin and Gregory Hinkle -- 9. The Rich Diversity of Biodiversity Issues / Norman Myers -- 10. Human-Caused Extinction of Birds / David W. Steadman -- 11. Global Warming and Plant Species Richness: A Case Study of the Paleocene/Eocene Boundary / Scott L. Wing -- 12. Plant Response to Multiple Environmental Stresses: Implications for Climatic Change and Biodiversity / Irwin N. Forseth -- 13. Names: The Keys to Biodiversity / F. Christian Thompson -- 14. Systematics: A Keystone to Understanding Biodiversity / Ruth Patrick -- 15. Biodiversity and Systematics: Their Application to Agriculture / Douglass R. Miller and Amy Y. Rossman -- 16. Snout Moths: Unraveling the Taxonomic Diversity of a Speciose Group in the Neotropics / M. Alma Solis -- 17. Phylogeny and Historical Reconstruction: Host-Parasite Systems as Keystones in Biogeography and Ecology / Eric P. Hoberg -- 18. Comparative Behavioral and Biochemical Studies of Bowerbirds and the Evolution of Bower-Building / Gerald Borgia -- 19. Microbial Biodiversity and Biotechnology / Rita R. Colwell -- 20. The Impact of Rapid Gene Discovery Technology on Studies of Evolution and Biodiversity / Carol J. Bult, Judith A. Blake, Mark D. Adams, Owen White, Granger Sutton, Rebecca Clayton, Anthony R. Kerlavage, Chris Fields and J. Craig Venter -- 21. Initial Assessment of Character Sets from Five Nuclear Gene Sequences in Animals / Timothy P. Friedlander, Jerome C. Regier and Charles Mitter -- 22. Gap Analysis for Biodiversity Survey and Maintenance / J. Michael Scott and Blair Csuti -- 23. Conservation of Biodiversity in Neotropical Primates / James M. Dietz -- 24. Using Marine Invertebrates to Establish Research and Conservation Priorities / James D. Thomas -- 25. Ecological Restoration and the Conservation of Biodiversity / William R. Jordan III -- 26. Tropical Sustainable Development and Biodiversity / Patrick Kangas -- 27. Wildland Biodiversity Management in the Tropics / Daniel H. Janzen -- 28. Taxonomic Preparedness: Are We Ready to Meet the Biodiversity Challenge? / Quentin D. Wheeler and Joel Cracraft -- 29. Museums, Research Collections, and the Biodiversity Challenge / Leslie J. Mehrhoff -- 30. Resources for Biodiversity in Living Collections and the Challenges of Assessing Microbial Biodiversity / Richard O. Roblin -- 31. Integration of Data for Biodiversity Initiatives / David F. Farr and Amy Y. Rossman -- 32. Information Management for Biodiversity: A Proposed U.S. National Biodiversity Information Center / Bruce L. Umminger and Steve Young -- 33. Santa Rosalia, the Turning of the Century, and a New Age of Exploration / Marjorie L. Reaka-Kudla, Don E. Wilson and Edward O. Wilson.

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.

Biodiversity is the whole of life on Earth - and every day it is diminished as human population growth and exploitation of land causes the extinction of animal and plant species. If the world does not act quickly and cooperatively, species numbering into the millions will be doomed. In the process, we lose opportunities in medicine, agriculture, biotechnology, and a host of other human endeavors. This is the warning sounded by some of the world's most renowned environmental authorities in Biodiversity II. In words meaningful to lay readers and scientists alike, this book alerts us that we may soon be bereft of species that could help us fight disease and produce useful products - not to mention bringing us the wonder of natural life. Unlike other books on the topic, Biodiversity II tells us what can and must be done right now to preserve life on Earth. The experts who lend their voices to Biodiversity II explain how scientists study biodiversity, what they have learned about the scope of life on the planet, and what urgent questions remain. These experts advocate the fusion of resources already at our command - government biological surveys, private agencies, museum collections, universities - into a more effective force to better understand and protect the wealth of the natural world.

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