Reconstructing the Tree of Life

Reconstructing the Tree of Life
Author: Trevor R. Hodkinson
Publisher: CRC Press
Total Pages: 374
Release: 2006-12-26
Genre: Mathematics
ISBN: 1420009532

To document the world's diversity of species and reconstruct the tree of life we need to undertake some simple but mountainous tasks. Most importantly, we need to tackle species rich groups. We need to collect, name, and classify them, and then position them on the tree of life. We need to do this systematically across all groups of organisms and b

Patterns and Processes of Speciation in Ancient Lakes

Patterns and Processes of Speciation in Ancient Lakes
Author: Thomas Wilke
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 234
Release: 2009-04-02
Genre: Science
ISBN: 1402095821

Ancient lakes are exceptional freshwater environments that have continued to exist for hundreds of thousands of years. They have long been recognized as centres of biodiversity and hotspots of evolution. During recent decades, speciation in ancient lakes has emerged as an important and exciting topic in evolutionary biology. The contributions in this volume deal with patterns and processes of biological diversification in three prominent ancient lake systems. Of these, the famous East African Great Lakes already have a strong tradition of evolutionary studies, but the two other systems have so far received much less attention. The exceptional biodiversity of the European sister lakes Ohrid and Prespa of the Balkans has long been known, but has largely been neglected in the international literature until recently. The rich biota and problems of its evolution in the two central lake systems on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi, in turn, have only lately started to draw scientific attention. This volume aims at deepening the awareness of the unusual biological diversity in ancient lakes in general, and of the role of these lakes as natural laboratories for the study of speciation and diversification in particular. It should stimulate further research that will lead to a better understanding of key evolutionary processes in these lakes, and to knowledge that might help in mitigating the deterioration of their diversity in the future.

Malawi Cichlids

Malawi Cichlids
Author: Ad Konings
Publisher:
Total Pages: 208
Release: 2003
Genre: Aquarium fishes
ISBN: 9780966825596

Description of Malawi cichlids that are being kept in the aquarium. Maintenance and breeding of Malawi cichlids. Photos of male and female per species. Large fold-out map of the lake with localities where species are collected.

Conservation Biology in Sub-Saharan Africa

Conservation Biology in Sub-Saharan Africa
Author: Richard Primack
Publisher: Open Book Publishers
Total Pages: 712
Release: 2019-09-10
Genre: Nature
ISBN: 1783747536

Conservation Biology in Sub-Saharan Africa comprehensively explores the challenges and potential solutions to key conservation issues in Sub-Saharan Africa. Easy to read, this lucid and accessible textbook includes fifteen chapters that cover a full range of conservation topics, including threats to biodiversity, environmental laws, and protected areas management, as well as related topics such as sustainability, poverty, and human-wildlife conflict. This rich resource also includes a background discussion of what conservation biology is, a wide range of theoretical approaches to the subject, and concrete examples of conservation practice in specific African contexts. Strategies are outlined to protect biodiversity whilst promoting economic development in the region. Boxes covering specific themes written by scientists who live and work throughout the region are included in each chapter, together with recommended readings and suggested discussion topics. Each chapter also includes an extensive bibliography. Conservation Biology in Sub-Saharan Africa provides the most up-to-date study in the field. It is an essential resource, available on-line without charge, for undergraduate and graduate students, as well as a handy guide for professionals working to stop the rapid loss of biodiversity in Sub-Saharan Africa and elsewhere.

Lake Kivu

Lake Kivu
Author: Jean-Pierre Descy
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 197
Release: 2012-05-25
Genre: Science
ISBN: 9400742436

In the heart of Africa, a unique lake attracts the attention of scientists since the beginning of the 20th century. At the foot of the Virunga volcano chain, Lake Kivu harbors a vast amount of dissolved carbon dioxide and methane, making this lake the most dangerous lake on Earth. But the lake furnishes also many goods and services for surrounding populations and may soon become the most important energy supplier in the area. At the beginning of gas exploitation, the time has come for gathering the large amount of scientific information acquired during past and present research on Lake Kivu. The eleven chapters cover many aspects of the physics, geochemistry and biology of the lake, with a particular focus on the unique physical and geochemical features of the water column and on the ecological functioning of the surface waters. The impacts of the introduced fish species and the potential impacts of methane exploitation are also summarized. This multi-disciplinary book may also be used as an introduction to the limnology and biogeochemistry of large tropical lakes, as it covers various aspects of the physics, geochemistry, biology and ecology of the African Great Rift lakes.​

Ecology of Meromictic Lakes

Ecology of Meromictic Lakes
Author: Ramesh D. Gulati
Publisher: Springer
Total Pages: 405
Release: 2017-02-22
Genre: Science
ISBN: 3319491431

This volume presents recent advances in the research on meromictic lakes and a state-of-the art overview of this area. After an introduction to the terminology and geographic distribution of meromictic lakes, three concise chapters describe their physical, chemical and biological features. The following eight chapters present case studies of more than a dozen meromictic lakes, showing the variety of physical and biochemical processes that promote meromixis. The result is a broad picture of the ecology and biochemistry of meromictic lakes in tropical and cold regions, in man-made pit lakes and euxinic marine lakes, and in freshwater as well as hypersaline lakes. In the final chapter the editors provide a synthesis of the topic and conclude that the study of meromictic lakes also offers new insights into the limnology of inland lakes. The book appeals to researchers in the fields of ecology, limnology, environmental physics and biophysics.