A Place Like No Other : Discovering the Secrets of Serengeti

From famed zoologist Anthony Sinclair, an account of his decades-long quest to understand one of Earth's most spectacular ecosystems With its rich biodiversity, astounding wildlife, and breathtaking animal migrations, Serengeti is like no other ecosystem on the planet. A Place like No Other is Anthony Sinclair's firsthand account of how he and other scientists discovered the biological principles that regulate life in Serengeti and how they rule all of the natural world. When Sinclair first began studying this spectacular ecosystem in 1965, a host of questions confronted him. What environmental features make its annual migration possible? What determines the size of animal populations and the stunning diversity of species? What factors enable Serengeti to endure over time? In the five decades that followed, Sinclair and others sought answers. What they learned is that seven principles of regulation govern all natural processes in the Serengeti ecosystem. Sinclair shows how these principles can help us to understand and overcome the challenges facing Serengeti today, and how they can be used to repair damaged habitats throughout the world. Blending vivid storytelling with invaluable scientific insights from Sinclair's pioneering fieldwork in Africa, A Place like No Other reveals how Serengeti holds timely lessons for the restoration and conservation of our vital ecosystems. "With its biodiversity, astounding megafauna, and great animal migrations, the Serengeti is like no other ecosystem in Africa or indeed the world. It is also one of the most well studied places and perhaps no scientist has contributed more to our understanding of the Serengeti than Tony Sinclair, who has been researching this region since 1965. In this book, Sinclair recounts his quest to understand how the Serengeti works and what this unique place can tell us about how other ecosystems work and how they might even be repaired. Opening the book with his arrival in the Serengeti, Sinclair recounts how he began by asking what makes Serengeti outstanding and spectacular? What are the environmental features that allow a migration with so many animals? What determines the sizes of animal populations and the diversity of species that live there? Why does it have so many species? And what allows the Serengeti to persist over time? Subsequent chapters provide answers to these questions, as Sinclair describes how he (and others) discovered the overarching biological principles that regulate life on the Serengeti. In the concluding chapters Sinclair argues that these principles allow us to understand the problems facing Serengeti today, and what might happen to it in the future. More broadly, these principles allow us to understand how ecological problems in other areas of the world have developed and finally how we can repair them. Like the Serengeti, natural systems can repair themselves from major disturbances - even total collapse - if allowed time, protection and help"-- Provided by publisher

From famed zoologist Anthony Sinclair, an account of hisdecades-long quest to understand one of Earth'smost spectacular ecosystems With its rich biodiversity,astounding wildlife, and breathtaking animal migrations, Serengetiis like no other ecosystem on the planet. A Place like NoOther is Anthony Sinclair's firsthand account of how he andother scientists discovered the biological principles that regulatelife in Serengeti and how they rule all of the natural world. WhenSinclair first began studying this spectacular ecosystem in 1965, ahost of questions confronted him. What environmental features makeits annual migration possible? What determines the size of animalpopulations and the stunning diversity of species? What factorsenable Serengeti to endure over time? In the five decades thatfollowed, Sinclair and others sought answers. What they learned isthat seven principles of regulation govern all natural processes inthe Serengeti ecosystem. Sinclair shows how these principles canhelp us to understand and overcome the challenges facing Serengetitoday, and how they can be used to repair damaged habitatsthroughout the world. Blending vivid storytelling with invaluablescientific insights from Sinclair's pioneering fieldwork in Africa,A Place like No Other reveals how Serengeti holds timelylessons for the restoration and conservation of our vitalecosystems.

From famed zoologist Anthony Sinclair, an account of his decades-long quest to understand one of Earth's most spectacular ecosystemsWith its rich biodiversity, astounding wildlife, and breathtaking animal migrations, Serengeti is like no other ecosystem on the planet. A Place Like No Other is Anthony Sinclair's firsthand account of how he and other scientists discovered the biological principles that regulate life in Serengeti, and how those same principles are the rules by which the natural world works.When Sinclair first began studying this spectacular ecosystem in 1965, a host of questions confronted him. What environmental features make its annual migration possible? What determines the size of animal populations and the stunning diversity of species? What factors enable Serengeti to endure over time? In the five decades that followed, Sinclair and others sought answers. What they learned is that seven principles of regulation govern all natural processes in the Serengeti ecosystem. Sinclair shows how these principles can help us to understand and overcome the challenges facing Serengeti today, and how they can be used to repair damaged habitats throughout the world.Blending vivid storytelling with invaluable scientific insights from Sinclair's pioneering fieldwork in Africa, A Place Like No Other reveals how Serengeti holds timely lessons for the restoration and conservation of our vital ecosystems