Synopses & Reviews
Recognition of a biodiversity crisis, and the development of new analytical and geological techniques for studying extinction, have increased our appreciation of global change in recent years. Paul Taylor looks at the implications for plants, animals and microbes, and discusses the role of extinction in evolution. His useful reference brings together key findings from the current debate concerning extinction for students, researchers and the interested general reader.
Review
"The contributors have been very successful in producing a work that is accessible to undergraduates and also represents the best of scientific analyses on the subject." CHOICE June 2005
Synopsis
The great majority of species ever to have lived on Earth are now extinct. In recent years recognition of a biodiversity crisis, and the development of new analytical and geological techniques for studying extinction have increased our appreciation of global change. This book brings together the key findings and current debates concerning extinction. It looks at the implications for plants, animals and microbes, and discusses the role of extinction in evolution. Easily accessible, it will be a useful reference for students, researchers and the interested general reader.
Synopsis
Topical review of the role of extinction in evolution for students and researchers.
Table of Contents
Notes on contributors; Preface; 1. Extinction and the fossil record Paul D. Taylor; 2. Extinctions in life's earliest history J. William Schopf; 3. Mass extinctions in plant evolution Scott L. Wing; 4. The beginning of the Mesozoic: 70 million years of environmental stress and extinction David J. Bottjer; 5. Causes of mass extinctions Paul D. Wignall; 6. The evolutionary role of mass extinctions: disaster, recovery and something in-between David Jablonski; Glossary; Index.