The Importance Of Species: Perspectives On Expendability And Triage Project Muse Upcc Books

A great many species are threatened by the expanding human population. Though the public generally favors environmental protection, conservation does not come without sacrifice and cost. Many decision makers wonder if every species is worth the trouble. Of what consequence would the extinction of, say, spotted owls or snail darters be? Are some species expendable? Given the reality of limited money for conservation efforts, there is a compelling need for scientists to help conservation practitioners set priorities and identify species most in need of urgent attention. Ecology should be capable of providing guidance that goes beyond the obvious impulse to protect economically valuable species (salmon) or aesthetically appealing ones (snow leopards). Although some recent books have considered the ecosystem services provided by biodiversity as an aggregate property, this is the first to focus on the value of particular species. It provides the scientific approaches and analyses available for asking what we can expect from losing (or gaining) species. The contributors are outstanding ecologists, theoreticians, and evolutionary biologists who gathered for a symposium honoring Robert T. Paine, the community ecologist who experimentally demonstrated that a single predator species can act as a keystone species whose removal dramatically alters entire ecosystem communities. They build on Paine's work here by exploring whether we can identify species that play key roles in ecosystems before they are lost forever. These are some of our finest ecologists asking some of our hardest questions. They are, in addition to the editors, S.E.B. Abella, G. C. Chang, D. Doak, A. L. Downing, W. T. Edmondson, A. S. Flecker, M. J. Ford, C.D.G. Harley, E. G. Leigh Jr., S. Lubetkin, S. M. Louda, M. Marvier, P. McElhany, B. A. Menge, W. F. Morris, S. Naeem, S. R. Palumbi, A. G. Power, T. A. Rand, R. B. Root, M. Ruckelshaus, J. Ruesink, D. E. Schindler, T. W. Schoener, D. Simberloff, D. A. Spiller, M. J. Wonham, and J. T. Wootton.

A great many species are threatened by the expanding human population. Though the public generally favors environmental protection, conservation does not come without sacrifice and cost. Many decision makers wonder if every species is worth the trouble. Of what consequence would the extinction of, say, spotted owls or snail darters be? Are some species expendable?

Given the reality of limited money for conservation efforts, there is a compelling need for scientists to help conservation practitioners set priorities and identify species most in need of urgent attention. Ecology should be capable of providing guidance that goes beyond the obvious impulse to protect economically valuable species (salmon) or aesthetically appealing ones (snow leopards). Although some recent books have considered the ecosystem services provided by biodiversity as an aggregate property, this is the first to focus on the value of particular species. It provides the scientific approaches and analyses available for asking what we can expect from losing (or gaining) species.

The contributors are outstanding ecologists, theoreticians, and evolutionary biologists who gathered for a symposium honoring Robert T. Paine, the community ecologist who experimentally demonstrated that a single predator species can act as a keystone species whose removal dramatically alters entire ecosystem communities. They build on Paine's work here by exploring whether we can identify species that play key roles in ecosystems before they are lost forever. These are some of our finest ecologists asking some of our hardest questions.

They are, in addition to the editors, S.E.B. Abella, G. C. Chang, D. Doak, A. L. Downing, W. T. Edmondson, A. S. Flecker, M. J. Ford, C.D.G. Harley, E. G. Leigh Jr., S. Lubetkin, S. M. Louda, M. Marvier, P. McElhany, B. A. Menge, W. F. Morris, S. Naeem, S. R. Palumbi, A. G. Power, T. A. Rand, R. B. Root, M. Ruckelshaus, J. Ruesink, D. E. Schindler, T. W. Schoener, D. Simberloff, D. A. Spiller, M. J. Wonham, and J. T. Wootton.

Native Thistles: Expendable Or Integral To Ecosystem Resistance To Invasion? / S.m. Louda And T.a. Rand -- The Overriding Importance Of Environmental Context In Determining The Outcome Of Species-deletion Experiments / B.a. Menge -- Species Importance And Context: Spatial And Temporal Variation In Species Interactions / C.d.g. Harley -- Effects On Removing A Vertebrate Versus An Invertebrate Predator On A Food Web, And What Is Their Relative Importance / T.w. Schoener And D.a. Spiller -- Understanding The Effects Of Reduced Biodiversity: A Comparison Of Two Approaches / J.t. Wootton And A.l. Downing -- Models Of Ecosystem Reliability And Their Implications For The Question Of Expendability / S. Naeem -- Predicting The Effects Of Species Loss On Community Stability / D. Doak And M. Marvier -- One Fish, Two Fish, Old Fish, New Fish: Which Invasions Matter? / J.l. Ruesink -- Ecological Gambling: Expendable Extinctions Versus Acceptable Invasions / M.j. Wonham -- Rarity And Functional Importance In A Phytoplankton Community / D.e. Schindler [and Others] -- Community And Ecosystem Impacts Of Single-species Extinctions / D. Simberloff -- Social Conflict, Biological Ignorance, And Trying To Agree Which Species Are Expendable / E.g. Leigh Jr. -- Which Mutualists Are Most Essential? Buffering Of Plant Reproduction Against The Extinction Of Pollinators / W.f. Morris -- The Expendability Of Species: A Test Case Based On The Caterpillars On Goldenrods / R.b. Root -- An Evolutionary Perspective On The Importance Of Species: Why Ecologists Care About Evolution / S.r. Palumbi -- Recovering Species Of Conservation Concern-are Populations Expendable? / M. Ruckelshaus, P. Mcelhany, And M.j. Ford -- Virus Specificity In Disease Systems: Are Species Redundant? / A.g. Power And A.s. Flecker. Edited By Peter Kareiva And Simon A. Levin. Papers Presented At A Symposium Held In Honor Of Robert Treat Paine, Upon The Occasion Of His Retirement From The University Of Washington. Includes Bibliographical References (p. [353]-413) And Index. Native thistles: expendable or integral to ecosystem resistance to invasion? / S.M. Louda and T.A. Rand The overriding importance of environmental context in determining the outcome of species-deletion experiments / B.A. Menge Species importance and context: spatial and temporal variation in species interactions / C.D.G. Harley Effects on removing a vertebrate versus an invertebrate predator on a food web, and what is their relative importance / T.W. Schoener and D.A. Spiller Understanding the effects of reduced biodiversity: a comparison of two approaches / J.T. Wootton and A.L. Downing Models of ecosystem reliability and their implications for the question of expendability / S. Naeem Predicting the effects of species loss on community stability / D. Doak and M. Marvier One fish, two fish, old fish, new fish: which invasions matter? / J.L. Ruesink Ecological gambling: expendable extinctions versus acceptable invasions / M.J. Wonham Rarity and functional importance in a phytoplankton community / D.E. Schindler ... [et al.] Community and ecosystem impacts of single-species extinctions / D. Simberloff Social conflict, biological ignorance, and trying to agree which species are expendable / E.G. Leigh Jr. Which mutualists are most essential? Buffering of plant reproduction against the extinction of pollinators / W.F. Morris The expendability of species: a test case based on the caterpillars on goldenrods / R.B. Root An evolutionary perspective on the importance of species: why ecologists care about evolution / S.R. Palumbi Recovering species of conservation concern-are populations expendable? / M. Ruckelshaus, P. McElhany, and M.J. Ford Virus specificity in disease systems: are species redundant? / A.G. Power and A.S. Flecker. For decades, Bob Paine has exhorted ecologists to conduct field experiments in which species are removed and the community-wide responses to those removals noted.