Arthropod Diversity and Conservation
- Author
- David L. Hawksworth, Alan T. Bull
- Publication Year
- 2006
- Publisher
- Springer
- Language
- English
- Document Type
- Book
- Faculty / Subject Heading
- Medical Science
- Download Book Read book
Despite their enormous bulk and complexity of architecture, plants make up only around a quarter of a million of the 8 million or so species on Earth. The major components of biodiversity, instead, are the smaller, largely unseen, silent majority of invertebrates – most of which are arthropods. Vertebrates, a mere blip on the biotic horizon, are elevated in importance in the bigger scheme of things only by the human psyche. This collection of more than 30 peer-reviewed papers focuses on the diversity and conservation of arthropods, whose species inhabit virtually every recess and plane – and feature somewhere in virtually every food web – on the planet. Highlighting issues ranging from large-scale disturbance to local management, and from spatial heterogeneity to temporal patterns, these papers reflect some of the most exciting new research taking place today – and in some of the most biodiverse corners of the planet.
Keywords: Biomedical and life sciences / Biodiversity / Fauna / Hotspot / Mangrove / Namib / Rainforest / Species richness / Agroecosystems / Ecosystem / Ecosystems / Environment / Forest / Invertebrates
