Extinctions in Near Time

Extinctions in Near Time
Author :
Publisher : Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages : 402
Release :
ISBN-10 : 9781475752021
ISBN-13 : 1475752024
Rating : 4/5 (024 Downloads)

Book Synopsis Extinctions in Near Time by : Ross D.E. MacPhee

Download or read book Extinctions in Near Time written by Ross D.E. MacPhee and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2013-11-09 with total page 402 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Near time" -an interval that spans the last 100,000 years or so of earth history-qualifies as a remarkable period for many reasons. From an anthropocentric point of view, the out standing feature of near time is the fact that the evolution, cultural diversification, and glob al spread of Homo sapiens have all occurred within it. From a wider biological perspective, however, the hallmark of near time is better conceived of as being one of enduring, repeat ed loss. The point is important. Despite the sense of uniqueness implicit in phrases like "the biodiversity crisis," meant to convey the notion that the present bout of extinctions is by far the worst endured in recent times, substantial losses have occurred throughout near time. In the majority of cases, these losses occurred when, and only when, people began to ex pand across areas that had never before experienced their presence. Although the explana tion for these correlations in time and space may seem obvious, it is one thing to rhetori cally observe that there is a connection between humans and recent extinctions, and quite another to demonstrate it scientifically. How should this be done? Traditionally, the study of past extinctions has fallen largely to researchers steeped in such disciplines as paleontology, systematics, and paleoecology. The evaluation of future losses, by contrast, has lain almost exclusively within the domain of conservation biolo gists. Now, more than ever, there is opportunity for overlap and sharing of information.


Extinctions in Near Time Related Books

Extinctions in Near Time
Language: en
Pages: 402
Authors: Ross D.E. MacPhee
Categories: Science
Type: BOOK - Published: 2013-11-09 - Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

GET EBOOK

"Near time" -an interval that spans the last 100,000 years or so of earth history-qualifies as a remarkable period for many reasons. From an anthropocentric poi
The Sixth Extinction
Language: en
Pages: 336
Authors: Elizabeth Kolbert
Categories: Nature
Type: BOOK - Published: 2014-02-11 - Publisher: Henry Holt and Company

GET EBOOK

ONE OF THE NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW'S 10 BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR A major book about the future of the world, blending intellectual and natural history and fiel
When Life Nearly Died: The Greatest Mass Extinction of All Time
Language: en
Pages: 485
Authors: Michael J. Benton
Categories: Nature
Type: BOOK - Published: 2003-05-17 - Publisher: Thames & Hudson

GET EBOOK

"Michael Benton's splendid book brings back to Earth Science a sense of adventure. . . . It is both a wonderfully good read and a valued reference." —James Lo
American Megafaunal Extinctions at the End of the Pleistocene
Language: en
Pages: 200
Authors: Gary Haynes
Categories: Science
Type: BOOK - Published: 2008-12-23 - Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

GET EBOOK

The volume contains summaries of facts, theories, and unsolved problems pertaining to the unexplained extinction of dozens of genera of mostly large terrestrial
The Worst of Times
Language: en
Pages: 219
Authors: P. B. Wignall
Categories: Nature
Type: BOOK - Published: 2017-05-09 - Publisher: Princeton University Press

GET EBOOK

260 million years ago, life on Earth suffered wave after wave of cataclysmic extinctions, with the worst--the end-Permian extinction--wiping out nearly every sp