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Biodiversity and its conservation are among the main global topics in science and politics and perhaps the major challenge for the present and coming generations. Biodiversity Hotspots written by international experts from different disciplines comprises general chapters on diversity and its measurement, human impacts on biodiversity hotspots on a global scale, human diversity itself and various geographic regions exhibiting high levels of diversity. The areas covered range from genetics and taxonomy to evolutionary biology, biogeography and the social sciences. In addition to the classic hotspots in the tropics, Biodiversity Hotspots also highlights various other ecosystems harbouring unique species communities including coral reefs and the Southern Ocean.
The approach taken considers, but is not limited to, the original hotspot definition sensu stricto and presents a chapter introducing the 35th hotspot, the forests of East Australia. While, due to a bias in data availability, the majority of contributions on particular taxa deal with vertebrates and plants, some also deal with the less-studied invertebrates. Biodiversity Hotspots will be essential reading for anyone involved with biodiversity, particularly researchers and practitioners in the fields of conservation biology, ecology and evolution.
Contents
Part I Introductory and Global Aspects
1 Global Biodiversity Conservation: The Critical Role of Hotspots
2 A Tough Choice: Approaches Towards the Setting of Global Conservation Priorities
3 Quantifying Biodiversity: Does It Matter What We Measure?
4 Human Population and the Hotspots Revisited: A 2010 Assessment
5 Vascular Plant Diversity in a Changing World: Global Centres and Biome-Specific Patterns
6 Genetic Basis of Human Biodiversity: An Update
Part II Biodiversity in the Palaearctic
7 Mediterranean Peninsulas: The Evolution of Hotspots
8 Global Change Effects on Alpine Plant Diversity
9 European Hotspots as Evidenced by the Palearctic Distribution of Songbirds
10 Patterns and Hotspots of Carabid Beetle Diversity in the Palaearctic: Insights from a Hyperdiverse Invertebrate Taxon
11 The Carpathians as a Major Diversity Hotspot in Europe
Part III Biodiversity in Madagascar
12 Conservation in a Biodiversity Hotspot: Insights from Cultural and Community Perspectives in Madagascarr
13 The Kingdom of the Frogs: Anuran Radiations in Madagascar
14 Hotspots, Conservation, and Diseases: Madagascar's Megadiverse Amphibians and the Potential Impact of Chytridiomycosis
Part IV Biodiversity in the Tropics
15 Impacts of Biofuel Expansion in Biodiversity Hotspots
16 Forests of East Australia: The 35th Biodiversity Hotspot
17 Status and Threats in the Dynamic Landscapes of Northern Australia's Tropical Rainforest Biodiversity Hotspot: The Wet Tropics
18 Explosive Speciation and Adaptive Radiation of East African Cichlid Fishes
19 Inter- and Intraspecilic Genetic Biodiversity in South East Asian Rodents: New Insights for Their Conservation
20 The Amphibians and Reptiles of Sulawesi: Underestimated Diversity in a Dynamic Environment
21 The Brazilian Atlantic Forest: A Shrinking Biodiversity Hotspot
22 Sustainable Development and Conservation of Biodiversity Hotspots in Latin America: The Case of Ecuador
23 When Hotspots Meet: The Galapagos Islands: A Hotspot of Species Endemism Based on a Volcanic Hotspot Centre
Part V Marine Biodiversity
24 Hotspots on Global Coral Reefs
25 Biodiversity of a Unique Environment: The Southern Ocean Benthos Shaped and Threatened by Climate Change
Part VI Conclusions
26 Biodiversity Hotspots: Concluding Remarks and Perspectives
Index
