Reviews provided by Syndetics

CHOICE Review

Ehrlich has been a well-known author on environmental issues for many years. This small volume is packed full of interesting and unusual aspects of ecology. It is well written, in a casual informative style. Graduate students in ecology will find this a fruitful book for a stimulating overview of population genetics; undergraduate biology majors should find their interest whetted by the tales of field research and goals achieved. The index is useful although quite limited in scope; a section on further reading is of interest. It was intriguing to see the author's selection of approximately 20 books among the hundreds available in this general area. This book is meant to be read quickly and with a sense of purpose. Scholarly details are available from other sources should one become interested in pursuing a particular issue. One need not be an ecologist or even a biologist to find this volume exciting. All libraries.-F.F. Flint, Randolph-Macon Woman's College

Kirkus Book Review

Ecology is an old word that came into vogue with the environmental and conservation movements of the 60's and 70's. Ehrlich gives the word new luster in this fine exposition of the science and of the particular field studies he and his colleagues and students out of Stanford have been conducting for the last 25 years. Using the definition of machinery as ""related elements in a system that operates in a definable manner,"" Ehrlich explores the linkages that tie living organisms and features of the environment together into a complex network of interdependencies. One goal for ecologists is to pin down the significant variables that will enable them to model nature; predict the growth or decline of populations; the development of new species or the extinction of others. Thus, ecologists discover nature's tricks-or treats; the ways living forms have evolved to cope with vicissitude to survive and thrive. For starters, Ehrlich the lepidopterist describes the painstaking work of capturing and marking checkerspot butterflies in California in order to track their numbers, movements, feeding and mating habits. Distinct and independent demographic units were found within narrow ranges of a ridge. These units showed surprising differences in size from year to year, some flourishing, others going extinct. The reason one group was able to survive well in spite of poor weather turned out to be the existence of a secondary food source that allowed larvae to survive after their primary source had dried up. All this close-in analysis led to studies farther afield, with the conclusion that there is great variety in adaptation even among the same species. Ehrlich moves from studies of individuals surviving in the physical environment to population ecology and evolution (""The Domains of Malthus and Darwin""); behavioral ecology (sexual selection, territoritality, dominance, etc.); predator-prey relations, cooperation and competition; biogeography; community ecology, and ""Ecosystem Ecology"" (life support systems). Each chapter is a huge canvas that Ehrlich covers with much current lore and theory: from the extinction of dinosaurs to why dandelions have flowers but produce asexually; from why penguins never invaded the northern hemisphere to why cattle have been a major element in desertification in Africa. The chapter lengths work against Ehrlich because too many examples lead to too many tangents. However, the style is winning: Ehrlich rarely assumes a polemical posture here. Instead, he is writing about a subject he knows and loves--and that is quite enough to win nature lovers everywhere. Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Author notes provided by Syndetics

Paul Ehrlich, founder and first president of the Zero Population Growth organization, was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He received a B.A. in zoology from the University of Pennsylvania in 1953 and an M.A. and Ph.D. from the University of Kansas in 1955 and 1957, respectively. He became a member of the faculty at Stanford University in 1959 and was named Bing Professor of Population Studies in 1976. He is a recipient of a MacArthur Foundation fellowship, and in 1990 he was awarded Sweden's Crafoord Prize, created by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences to honor researchers in those disciplines not covered by the Nobel Prize. An expert in population biology, ecology, evolution, and behavior, Ehrlich has published more than 600 articles and scientific papers. He is perhaps best known for his environmental classic The Population Bomb (1968). Paul Ehrlich and his wife Anne began working together shortly after their marriage in 1954. Anne Ehrlich received her B.S. in biology from the University of Kansas. As senior research associate in biology and associate director of the Center for Conservation Biology at Stanford University, she has lectured widely and written on various environmental issues, including the environmental consequences of nuclear war. Together, the Ehrlichs have written six books and dozens of magazine articles. (Bowker Author Biography)