Book Reviews

Let’s Move toward Genomics for Butterfly Ecologyand Insect Conservation

Ecology of Butterflies in Europe. Settele, J., T.Shreeve, M. Konvicka, and H. Van Dyck, editors. 2009.Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, United King-dom. 526 pp. $75 (paperback). ISBN 978-0-521-74759-2.

Insect Species Conservation. New, T. R. 2009. Cam-bridge University Press, Cambridge, United Kingdom.272 pp. $69 (paperback). ISBN 978-0-521-73276-5.

Butterflies, beyond netting public attention, serve asmodel systems for ecological and evolutionary research.Among arthropods, butterflies are the primary recipi-ents of conservation efforts, with species-based projectsconcentrating on the importance of in-depth ecologicalunderstanding to conservation success. For example, de-tailed studies of declines of the butterfly Maculinea arion

(large blue) highlight the importance of correctly iden-tifying and reversing degradation of the species’ habi-tat (Thomas et al. 2009). Although many species are af-fected by changes in their habitat, genetic and environ-mental interactions are also likely to affect populationpersistence. Thus, joint study of these topics is useful.However, the role of specific genes and their variationand function in species’ persistence, recovery, and subse-quent expansion of their geographic ranges has receivedlittle attention beyond theoretical models and generalmore-variation-is-better approaches. This is understand-able given the paucity of functional-genomics insightsinto life-history traits relevant to species recovery and ex-pansion. Nevertheless, the integration of the genomicsrevolution with conservation deserves more attention.

Two publications, Ecology of Butterflies in Europe andInsect Species Conservation, provide an excellent foun-dation for butterfly ecology and insect conservation, towhich a genomics perspective would be highly comple-mentary. Although different in focus, these books overlapconsiderably because conservation necessarily dependson sound ecological and evolutionary understanding andmuch butterfly study is focused on conservation. For re-searchers wishing to productively direct their projectstoward both basic research and more applied ends, read-ing both these volumes will be valuable. For those wish-ing to examine conservation decision-making structureswith a focus on issues relevant to insects, Insect Species

Conservation is an easily accessible and informative re-source. Its author uses a range of case studies to highlight

the necessity of solid ecological study for effective man-agement, and the Ecology of Butterflies in Europe is ahigh-quality overview and update on such studies.

Butterflies in Europe is the latest in edited volumessynthesizing recent ecological and evolutionary researchon butterflies. Although previous tomes (e.g., Butterflies:

Ecology and Evolution Taking Flight [Boggs et al. 2003]and On the Wings of Checkerspots: a Model System for

Population Biology [Ehrlich & Hanski 2004]) have done agood job of covering some of the more prominent groupsof butterflies used as model systems (e.g., Bicyclus, He-

liconius, Euphydryas, Melitaea), Butterflies in Europe

fills in gaps and updates knowledge related to most ofthe other systems. The editors and authors have effec-tively minimized overlap with these previously publishedvolumes. Although the geographic focus is Europe, theauthors often refer to studies conducted in other areas,which speaks to the diversity of butterfly research.

Readers looking for a perspective that integrates molec-ular insights with fundamental ecological and evolution-ary issues will have to wait for another book to eclose.Although a couple of chapters provide such integration(“Population Genetics of Butterflies” by G. Neve and “Hy-brid Zones” by A. H. Porter), recent advances in genetics,genomics, and molecular study as applied to butterflyecology (e.g., integration of evolutionary and develop-mental biology) are largely absent. However, Butterflies

in Europe is full of insightful chapters (e.g., “Gradientsin Butterfly Biology” by S. Nylin and “Predictive SpeciesDistribution Modeling in Butterflies” by Schroeder et al.).Butterflies in Europe does exactly what such a tomeshould. It provides a broad overview and updates on rig-orous research and inspires new project ideas. It certainlywould serve as an excellent resource for professors wish-ing to explore fields of inquiry neighboring their own. Forgraduate students, it is an excellent complement to pre-vious volumes for surveying the research landscape andidentifying their own independent research projects.

Insect Species Conservation by T. R. New focuses onspecies-level conservation and the central role ecologyplays in this field and on the legislative and regulatorylandscape of decision making and policy implementationrelevant to insect conservation. New’s long-term experi-ence and contemplation of these issues likely contributesto what proves an insightful read. New presents examplesof a wide range of management decisions and case studiesthat demonstrate the successes and failures of differentapproaches unique to management of insect species. Ex-amples range across countries and taxa, and with these

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he convincingly argues the importance of understandingthe “ecological peculiarities and details of individual in-sect species’ conservation needs” as a prerequisite formanagement.

The layout of the book is effective, lending itself toboth close reading and quick skimming to identify casestudies or discussions of interest. Extensive flow charts,tables, and text boxes highlight major issues and find-ings and make this book accessible to researchers, pro-fessionals, and students alike. Each of the 10 chaptersbegins with an introduction and ends with a good sum-mary. Although a wide range of insects serve as examples,butterflies dominate because there are simply more casestudies on this taxonomic group, so this book should bean extremely useful read for those interested in butterflymanagement. However, as someone interested the devel-opment of both ecological and conservation genomics,my only criticism of Insect Species Conservation is simi-lar to the one I have of Butterflies in Europe: there is ageneral absence of information on genetics. I would liketo have read New’s opinion on the current and desiredcontribution of genetic tools to the conservation issuesdiscussed throughout his book.

I believe these authors have accurately depicted thegeneral integration of genetics into their respective fields,and this concerns me. I argue that in the postgenomicsera, where sequencing genomes is common and func-tional genomic insights are growing rapidly, standard ge-netics should have achieved a greater penetration into re-search on butterflies and conservation biology in general.Although neutral molecular markers have some generaluse in Lepidoptera and great headway has been madein the study of the evolutionary and developmental biol-ogy of wing-pattern variation, little is known about thegenetics of butterfly life-history traits likely to be of im-portance to species management. Yet for the past decade,suites of candidate genes that affect life-history traits havebeen identified in model insect species (e.g., Drosophila

and Bombyx). The power of such candidate-gene ap-proaches is exemplified by recent findings of a geneticpolymorphism in the Glanville fritillary (Melitaea cinxia)that correlates with ecological and evolutionary dynamics(Hanski & Saccheri 2006). However, this gene has beenknown since the 1970s to be polymorphic and associatedwith performance and fitness differences in a wide rangeof arthropods (Wheat 2010).

With this in mind, consider the growing number ofcalls for the development of ecological and conserva-tion genomics. Certainly ecological and evolutionary un-derstanding of many butterfly systems provides an idealfoundation for productive integration of genomics withecology and conservation. My concern is that for this in-tegration to take place, much more direct attention andtransfer of knowledge is necessary, certainly more thanhas happened in the last two decades. Without this atten-tion, I fear a very slow development of genomic insights

that are vital for effective conservation of many animalspecies, not just Lepidoptera.

Genomics, when coupled with ecological understand-ing, can provide higher levels of insight and rigor toconservation science. Beyond generating a plethora ofadditional data for inferring pedigrees in the wild, phy-logeographic patterns, and phylogenetic relations (Avise2010), genomic tools also assist one in dissecting the ge-netic basis of life-history traits that affect species persis-tence, including species recovery and expansion. Identi-fying genes affecting such life-history variation is a criticalstep in the development of adaptive molecular markersand an important component of future conservation ge-nomics (Ouborg et al. 2010).

Challenges to the integration of genomics with ecol-ogy and conservation are development of neutral andadaptive markers, efficient harnessing of the resultingenormous data sets with bioinformatics, and effectiveapplication of the resulting insights to research and mon-itoring. These challenges are certain to be daunting fora community of researchers that still routinely uses al-lozymes and only handfuls of microsatellites and geneticmarkers in its work. Thus, collaboration is essential forthe necessary integration to take place effectively andefficiently.

Not every ecological question or conservation planneeds genomic tools or insights, but these should bepart of the panoply available to the community at large.Productive integration of ecology, genomics, and con-servation will require a new dialog to emerge acrossthe disciplines. In this context, I believe these twobooks, because they lack information on genomics, willserve as a counterbalance to future tomes that arelikely to be heavily influenced by the ongoing genomicsrevolution.

Christopher W. Wheat

Department of Bioscience, University of Helsinki, Viikinkaari 1, 00014Helsinki, Finland, and Center for Ecology and Conservation, Schoolof Biosciences, University of Exeter, Cornwall TR10 9EZ, U.K., emailchris@christopherwheat.net

Literature Cited

Avise, J. C. 2010. Perspective: conservation genetics enters the ge-nomics era. Conservation Genetics 11:665–669.

Boggs, C. L., W. B. Watt, and P. R. Ehrlich, editors. 2003. Mechanis-tic studies of butterfly adaptations. University of Chicago Press,Chicago, Illinois.

Ehrlich, P. R., and I. Hanski, editors. 2004. On the wings of check-erspots: a model system for population biology. Oxford UniversityPress, Oxford, United Kingdom.

Hanski, I., and I. Saccheri. 2006. Molecular-level variation affects popula-tion growth in a butterfly metapopulation. Public Library of ScienceBiology 4 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pbio.0040129.

Ouborg, N. J., F. Angeloni, and P. Vergeer. 2010. An essay on thenecessity and feasibility of conservation genomics. ConservationGenetics 11:643–653.

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Thomas, J. A., D. J. Simcox, and R. T. Clarke. 2009. Successful conser-vation of a threatened Maculinea butterfly. Science 325:80–83.

Wheat, C. W. 2010. Phosphoglucose isomerase (Pgi) performanceand fitness effects among Arthropods and its potential role as anadaptive marker in conservation genetics. Conservation Genetics11:387–397.

A Perilous Future for Coral Reefs

The Biology of Coral Reefs. Sheppard, C. R. C., S. K.Davy, and G. M. Pilling. 2009. Oxford University Press,Oxford, United Kingdom. 339 pp. $120.00 (hardcover).ISBN 978-0-19-856635-9.

A Reef in Time. Veron, J. E. N. 2008. The BelknapPress of Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA. 289pp. $18.95 (paperback). ISBN 978-0-674-03497-6.

What is the future of coral reefs, iconic ecosystemsof the world’s tropical and subtropical oceans? They arestill viewed by the general public as sublime underwatergardens that harbor a diversity of species unparalleled onEarth. For centuries, and probably millennia in some loca-tions, they have supported coastal inhabitants. It appearsthese wondrous natural resources are facing immediateextinction, but, in fact, the extinction process has beenunderway for decades in some parts of the world. Unlesshumans take swift and decisive action, coral reefs in theirpresent form may disappear totally in the coming millen-nia and be replaced by a different ecosystem that lacksthe physical structure and species richness characteristicof coral reefs.

This is the theme of two recent reference works oncoral reefs. Both books are written by well-respected sci-entists who are long-time practitioners with worldwideexperience in the field. The first, The Biology of Coral

Reefs, is by Charles Sheppard and co-authors Simon K.Davy and Graham M. Pilling. The second, A Reef in Time,is by J. E. N. Veron, a coral taxonomist. These authorsweave together an intriguing account of the history andecology of present-day reefs, most of which is based onsolid fact or well-accepted theories. They apply standardknowledge of coral physiology and carbonate biochem-istry, scaled up to ecosystem-level processes and geolog-ical time scales, to expertly lay the groundwork for theirexpositions. Then, they speculate on the future of coralreef ecosystems, given present anthropogenic effects andanticipated climate change.

The work by Sheppard et al., The Biology of Coral

Reefs, is organized in a convenient manner for easy refer-ence and contains updated treatments of standard topics,such as the distribution and types of coral reefs, levels ofspecies richness and abundance, diurnal vertical migra-tion of plankton, camouflage and mimicry in reef fishes,and the recurrent theme of human effects on coral reefs.It also features a number of relatively new topics such

as reef microbiology (e.g., fungi, protozoans, microalgae,bacteria, and viruses), the study of which has becomepossible due to the development of new techniques,such as cultivation-free methods for characterizing bac-teria and DNA barcoding.

This is an authoritative reference work on coral reefsand contains an expanded treatment of the coral-algalsymbiosis that extends into the now-recognized molecu-lar diversity of the zooxanthellae. This discussion flowsseamlessly into the biochemistry of coral calcification andthe phenomenon of coral bleaching, both of which un-derlie responses of coral reef communities to the twineffects of anthropogenic climate change, warming ofoceanic waters, and acidification. Concluding sectionsdwell on “phase shifts, alternative stable states and hys-teresis,” which is again relatively new territory in thetheoretical treatment of possible future trajectories ofthe status of coral reefs under different scenarios of hu-man activities and climate change. Sheppard et al. em-phasize the importance of controlling direct, negativehuman effects first to secure the health of coral reefs.This would confer on coral reefs increased resilience toclimate change.

A Reef in Time, by Charlie Veron, is also an author-itative treatise on coral reefs, but it is written with adistinctly more personal tone. Coral reefs are clearly theauthor’s passion, with the Great Barrier Reef being themain focus of his life’s work. His narrative begins with anoverview of the types of reefs (with a focus on those com-prising the Great Barrier Reef) and the known controlsand processes underlying the structure and function ofcoral reefs. The greatest focus is on geological aspects ofcoral reefs—their geological history, controls on reef for-mation, and possible effects of future climate change. Thebook ends with a plea for prompt management action fo-cusing on reducing carbon dioxide emissions. Veron is anengaging writer, and his story of reefs over the hundredsof millions of years often is a riveting tale. Although manyaspects are well-researched and documented, the authorconcedes that factual information has to be spiked hereand there with a little imagination.

Veron emphasizes that the great mass extinctionsthroughout Earth’s history, in which a majority of speciesof an era disappeared, were generally followed by mil-lions of years when reef building was absent from thegeological record. In other words, the causes of the erad-ication of numerous life forms are probably also linkedto reef demise. On the particular time scales involved,Veron explains that change is ultimately traced to platetectonics (together with seafloor spreading) and associ-ated climatic repercussions, notably the release of carbondioxide from volcanoes and methane from the ocean atthe margins of continental plates.

The author rules out a major role in mass extinctionsof factors such as acid rain, hydrogen sulfide buildup,and anoxia. Although these phenomena may have been

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significant in particular cases, Veron argues that the mainculprits of mass extinctions and subsequent gaps in reefbuilding are related to the global carbon cycle. Thisleaves, as candidates of causation, high levels of methaneand carbon dioxide, which echoes ongoing debates onmass extinction of coral reefs.

As with current treatments of coral reefs, a substan-tial amount of the discussion is devoted to the green-house effects of methane and carbon dioxide. Althoughthe geological record reveals dramatic warming episodesin Earth’s history, the current rate of warming in an al-ready warm world appears unique. This definitely doesnot bode well for present-day reefs, especially becauseincidents of mass bleaching are already becoming morefrequent, but Veron believes the real danger to the sur-vival of coral reefs is ocean acidification. The mecha-nisms by which increasing carbon dioxide levels in theatmosphere lead to reduced pH, which affects aragonitesaturation and, hence, calcification by living organisms,are well described by both Sheppard et al. and Veron. Inthe business-as-usual scenario (i.e., do nothing to substan-tially reduce carbon dioxide emissions), the prognosis forcoral reefs is alarming—reef building may cease and theforces of erosion take over, leading to the gradual physi-cal disappearance of these ecosystems.

In the end, all authors stress there is still hope and timefor decisive action. But time is running short. Human soci-ety is faced with a range of complex choices. The authorsask readers to answer perhaps the most challenging ques-tion: Do we value coral reefs sufficiently to accept evendifficult and painful lifestyle changes?

Helen T. Yap

The Marine Science Institute, University of the Philippines, Diliman,1101 Quezon City, Philippines, email helentyap@yahoo.com

Ecological Restoration in 2010: Insight from FourContinents

Restoring Ecological Health to Your Land. Apfel-baum, S. I., and A. Haney. 2010. Island Press, Washington,D.C. 264 pp. $30 (paperback). ISBN 978-1-57805-572-0.

The Restoration of Nature in Japan. A Challenge toEcological Engineering. Hirose, T., editor. 2010. TokaiUniversity Press, Kanagawa, Japan. 206 pp. ISBN 978-4-486-03724-8.

Pacto Pela Restauracao da Mata Atlantica. Referen-cial dos Conceitos e Acoes de Restauracao Florestal(Atlantic Forest of Brazil Restoration Pact: Introductionof Concepts, and Actions for Forest Restoration). Ro-drigues, R. R., P. H. S. Brancalion, and I. Isernhagen, edi-tors. 2009. LERF/ESALQ, Instituto BioAtlantica, Sao Paulo,Brazil (in Portuguese). 259 pp. ISBN 978-85-60840-02-

1 (Available from http://www.pactomataatlantica.org.br/[accessed October 2010]).

Ecological Restoration. A Global Challenge. Comın,F. A., editor. 2010. Cambridge University Press,Cambridge, United Kingdom. 291 pp. $78 (hardcover).ISBN 978-0-521-87711-4.

Four recent books from four different continents showthat ecological restoration is developing rapidly and hasstrong but variable links to environmental ethics, ecolog-ical and landscape engineering, and, of course, the sci-ence and practice of conservation. Ecological restorationassumes different forms in different political and culturalcontexts worldwide, as illustrated by these four volumes.E. O. Wilson believed in 1992 that “[t]he next century. . .[would] be the era of restoration in ecology.”

In 2010 ecological restoration is increasingly recog-nized as an important component of ecosystem manage-ment and environmental protection and planning. Butrestoration is now an umbrella term that may becomedevoid of the clear meaning required for legislation andrigorous cost-benefit projections and analyses. Ecological

restoration is currently used to refer to activities that gofar beyond the Society for Ecological Restoration Interna-tional’s definition of the term: “the process of assistingthe recovery of an ecosystem that is damaged, degraded,or destroyed” (SER 2004). In practice, the term inspires asmuch as it informs, but its use can also lead to confusion.Restoring Ecological Health to Your Land, The Restora-

tion of Nature in Japan, Pacto Pela Restauracao da

Mata Atlantica, and Ecological Restoration. A Global

Challenge present many fascinating variations on themeaning of restoration, but none of them offers a uni-fying vision. Perhaps it is too early in the century forthat?

Steven Apfelbaum and Alan Haney are both seasonedrestoration practitioners from Wisconsin, a heartland ofNorth American restoration practice and science. Theywrite about restoring land on small, private holdings.The authors provide step-by-step guidance on execut-ing and monitoring the restoration of grasslands, forests,wetlands, riparian areas, and even desert areas. It is a well-written, well-produced, and authoritative book, which Irecommend wholeheartedly for readers with no appetiteto tackle the specialized literature, but who have restora-tion projects in mind, at heart, or underway, especiallyon their own land.

In Japan ecological restoration is in a major growthphase. Editor Toshio Hirose and the Tokai UniversityPress present an English translation of an important book.They bring to the non-Japanese-reading world the first fullaccount of ecological restoration work in Japan.

The book describes in great detail a multitude ofcommunity-based projects run by engineers and biolo-gists. These projects, carried out mostly on public lands,

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in general seem more concerned with ecological en-gineering than with ecological restoration. Conserva-tion of biological diversity in the context of a socialmovement seeking development of a new relation be-tween society and nature is the driver of these projects,which is also the case for the restoration movement inNorth America. The primary motivation of several ofthe case studies presented is the engineered creationof habitat for particular species (e.g., giant salamanders[Andrias japonicas] and Japanese Golden Eagles [Aquila

chrysaetos japonica]) or the reconnection and enhance-ment of habitat for wild animals. Maintaining particulartypes of cultural landscapes, such as managed woodlandsor traditional rice fields, in close proximity to cities isalso discussed as is the challenge of restoring areas of“primeval nature” in national parks and controlling non-native organisms. Interestingly, the book contains onlythree references to non-Japanese publications. The finalchapter provides an excellent and welcome discussionof the social values that underlie the restoration move-ment in Japan. The book also contains an illuminatingdiscussion of recent Japanese laws, including a 2002 lawthat promotes “nature restoration.” As in Apfelbaum andHaney’s book, there is no discussion of the economiccosts and benefits of ecological restoration, a seriousshortcoming in at least 95% of the literature on ecologicalrestoration.

Hirose’s book and Pacto Pela Restauracao da Mata

Atlantica, which is in Portuguese, should dispel thenotion that ecological restoration was invented in Wis-consin in the mid-twentieth century and is practicedonly in North America. In fact, Brazil is a veritablehotbed of research and development in tropical forestrestoration and shares the distinction, with South Africaand Japan, of implementing groundbreaking restorationlegislation.

Rodrigues et al. describe the techniques and underlyingconcepts and motivations for ongoing work in restoring(sensu SER 2004) the Atlantic Forest of Brazil, drawingfrom 30 years of scientific research. Its primary audienceis people participating in or seeking to emulate the workof the 4-year-old Atlantic Forest Restoration Pact (AFRP),which is a consortium of more than 160 partners, includ-ing international nongovernmental organizations, privatecompanies, workers’ cooperatives, federal, state and mu-nicipal governments, and numerous research institutionsin Brazil. The mission is to restore 15 million ha of the At-lantic Forest by 2050 and to help protect and sustain theremaining forest fragments. In the process, they will pro-mote species protection, advance basic ecological andinterdisciplinary research and its application, generatethousands of jobs and income opportunities, and providegoods and key ecosystem services to millions of peopleand businesses, including communities of various indige-nous peoples, some of whom are collaborating activelyin the project.

The volume includes an eight-part section that de-scribes the underlying concepts and methods for theidentification of the ecological problems and implemen-tation of restoration and monitoring. This is followed bya short section on the legal challenges to landownersand a beautifully illustrated 40-page technical manual thatwill be of use to people working in the field of ecolog-ical restoration anywhere in the tropics. Finally, thereis an excellent and comprehensive bibliography and anappendix containing profiles of 10 ongoing projects tak-ing place within the larger Atlantic Forest RestorationProject. I consider this one of the most important andambitious biological-cultural restoration programs in theworld.

In Ecological Restoration. A Global Challenge, Fran-cisco A. Comın has complied papers from around theworld, some based on plenary talks at the 2005 Society forEcological Restoration International (SERI) conference.I also recommend this book with certain reservations.Many of its chapters are stand-alone pieces by well-knownveterans that summarize their recent work in ecologicalrestoration (e.g., David Lamb’s chapter on reforestationand forest restoration in the humid tropics, F. A. Comın’schapter on the uses, abuses, and restoration of coastal ar-eas, Richard Forman’s comparison of urban renewal andregreening efforts in Boston and Barcelona, and a reviewby Biojie Fu et al. called “Land degradation and EcologicalRestoration in China.”). Two other notable chapters arethose by William J. Mitsch, “Conservation, Restorationand Creation of Wetlands,” and Robert Costanza, “Valueof a Restored Earth and Its Contribution to a Sustainableand Desirable Future.” None of the chapters, however,provide a clear picture of ecological restoration today,and the book does not provide a clear roadmap of theway forward.

Part of the problem stems from the size of the territory.The very notion of ecological restoration as a global chal-lenge implies a universal undertaking. Yet the 195 nationson the planet are not even close to working together tomove toward what Costanza calls “a restored Earth” and a“sustainable and desirable future” for us all. Instead, eco-logical restoration is accomplished piecemeal and oftenwith great confusion about its underlying concepts, ben-efits, and motivations. There is little clarity or consensus,even within the 1700-strong membership of SERI, abouthow to merge scientific rigor with popular enthusiasmand political will.

The first three of these four books on ecologicalrestoration will help practitioners, and all four will beof interest to students, social scientists, environmen-tal lawyers and philosophers, and even historians whoare studying the growing field of ecological restoration.Those looking for the cutting-edge science in restora-tion ecology will have to look elsewhere, as will thoselooking for a unified vision of ecological restoration as adiscipline, field, and movement.

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It is alas true that the international peer-reviewed lit-erature on restoration is heavily dominated by NorthAmerican academics, and that over 75% of SERI mem-bers live in the United States and Canada. Yet, fromMexico and Cuba, all the way south to Argentina, inChina, Japan, Vietnam, Australia, New Zealand, SouthAfrica, and at least 10 countries in Europe an awful lotis also going on in ecological restoration and restora-tion ecology. The international flavor of these four booksgives hope, at least, for a truly global effort at ecologicalrestoration.

James Aronson

Centre d’Ecologie Fonctionnelle et Evolutive (CNRS-UMR 5175),1919 Route de Mende, 34293 Montpellier, France, and MissouriBotanical Garden, St. Louis, Missouri, email james.aronson@cefe.cnrs.fr

Literature Cited

SERI (Society for Ecological Restoration International). 2004. The SERinternational primer on ecological restoration. SERI, Washington,D.C.

Wilson, E. O. 1992. The diversity of life. Belknap Press, Cambridge,Massachusetts.

Noted with Interest

Gratis Books Scheme The British Ecological Society andthe NHBS Environment Bookstore are offering selectedecology and conservation books for free to readers andprofessionals in developing nations. Please see further in-

formation at http://www.nhbs.com/Conservation/gratis-books.Remote Sensing for Ecology and Conservation. AHandbook of Techniques. Horning, N., J. A. Robinson,E. J. Sterling, W. Turner, and S. Spector. 2010. OxfordUniversity Press, Oxford, United Kingdom. 448 pp. $60(paperback). ISBN 978-0-19-921995-7.

Remotely sensed data and analysis of these data areperceived as complex. This volume provides beginnersand professionals who collaborate with geographers withan excellent orientation to applications of remote sensingto assess land-cover and land-use change and its diverseenvironmental effects.Seeds of Amazonian Plants. Cornejo, F., and J. Janovec.2010. Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ. 186 pp.$35 (paperback). ISBN 978-0-691-14647-8.

The study of tropical forest seeds is advancing, but isstill difficult. The job of those interested in studying thisfascinating component of forests will now be easier withthis lavishly illustrated field guide.The Great Experiment in Conservation. Voicesfrom the Adirondack Park. Porter, W. F., J. D. Erick-son, and R. S. Whaley, editors. 2009. Syracuse UniversityPress, Syracuse, NY. 640 pp. $45 (hardcover). ISBN 978-0-8156-3231-3.

One of the largest parks in the continental UnitedStates, the Adirondack Park was declared by the stateof New York to be “forever kept as wild forest lands.” Aset of chapters on topics ranging from park soils, to parkhistory, to community attitudes helps teach a broaderaudience about this important ongoing experiment withparks and people.

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