This volume investigates the contemporary fauna that inhabit the Cuatro Ciénegas Basin. Divided into 15 chapters, it addresses and describes their diversity, taxonomic and biogeogaphic affinities, and ecological characteristics. The Cuatro Ciénegas Valley is a unique oasis in the south-central region of the State of Coahuila, part of the Sonoran Desert, in Mexico. Several clues, specially derived from the study of the microbiota, suggest a very ancient origin of the valley and its permanence through time. This condition had promoted a high level of endemism and led to unique interactions between the resident species.

This contributed volume presents an analysis of the current conservation status of major faunal groups in Mexico. The chapters describe a prognosis of future challenges, and also explore the expanding threats inherent in the Anthropocene within the context of the unique physical, biological and cultural aspects of the nation. Covering 27 chapters, and written by Mexican and international authors, this book analyzes a wide range of vertebrate and invertebrate animal taxa, their ecosystems and the critical processes related to their present conservation status. This volume is an important reference material for researchers, conservationists and students interested in the biological and ecological processes shaping the Mexican fauna.

This book summarizes the status quo of the knowledge about the biodiversity in terrestrial, freshwater, and marine animals that live in Japan. Consisting of some 6,800 islands that are arrayed for approximately 3,500 km from north to south, the Japanese archipelago has a complex history in a paleogeographic formation process over time and harbors rich flora and fauna. This work will contribute to establishing a general biogeographic theory in archipelagoes around continental shelves. Facing the ongoing extinction crisis, one of the most important tasks for our generation is to bequeath this precious natural heritage to future generations. As the first step toward this goal, a species list has been compiled through solid, steady alpha-taxonomic work in each taxon. Furthermore, the phylogeography and population genetic structure for each species is elucidated for deeper understanding of the local fauna, the scientific results of which should be the basis for establishing conservation policies and strategies. Also the problem of alien or introduced species is investigated as another threat to the native fauna.Each of the 27 chapters is written by the most active specialist leading the field, thus readers can acquire up-to-date knowledge of the animal species diversity and their formation process of Japanese animals in the most comprehensive form available. This book is recommended for researchers and students who are interested in species diversity, biogeography, and phylogeography.

Carbon (C), Nitrogen (N) and Phosphorus (P) are three of the most important elements used to build living beings, and their uptake from the environment is consequently essential for all organisms. Photosynthesis is the process in which plants absorb atmospheric C as they grow and convert it to biomass. However, plants acquire N and P only when these are available in the soil solution, which makes these elements the most limiting nutrients in plant growth and productivity in most ecosystems. When plant residues and roots decompose, the C, N and P they contain is transformed primarily into soil organic matter (SOM) or C and N can release to the atmosphere. Recent interest on the global C, N and P cycles has focused attention on the different proportion of terrestrial C, N and P stored in different ecosystem pools. Cuatro Cienegas represents an exceptional place, since the plants are not the base of the food web, they are the microbial community, that recycle the elements essential for life. In this book we describe how this is an analog of early Earth.

This book describes the outstanding features of the ecology and bio geography of the Indian region, comprising former British India, Nepal, Bhutan, Ceylon and Burma. It summarizes the results of nearly four decades' studies and field explorations and discussions with students on the distribution of plants and animals, practically throughout this vast area and on the underlying factors. A number of specialists in geology, meteorology, botany, zoology, ecology and anthropology have also actively collaborated with me and have contributed valuable chapters in their respective fields. India has an exceptionally rich and highly diversified flora and fauna, exhibiting complex composition, character and affinities. Although the fauna of the Indian region as a whole is less completely known than its flora, we are nevertheless fairly well acquainted with at least the salient features of its faunal characters to enable us to present a meaningful discussion on some of the outstanding peculiarities of the biogeography of India. A general synthesis of the available, though much scattered, information should prove useful to future students of biogeography throughout the world.

This book offers a comprehensive study of species- and genus-level diversity and chorology of the global freshwater fauna to date. It gives a state of the art assessment of the diversity and distribution of Metazoa in the continental waters of the world.

Global biological diversity, ecosystem diversity.