Explores the evolving role of botanic gardens from products and enablers of modernity and the nation-state, to their recent reinvention as institutions of environmental governance. Since their inception in the sixteenth century, botanic gardens have been embroiled with matters of governance. In Postnormal Conservation, Katja Grötzner Neves reveals that, throughout its long history, the botanical garden institution has been both a product and an enabler of modernity and the Westphalian nation-state. Initially intertwined with projects of colonialism and empire building, contemporary botanic gardens have reinvented themselves as environmental governance actors. They are now at the forefront of emerging forms of networked transnational governance. Building on social studies of science that reveal the politicization of science as the producer of contingent, high-stakes, and uncertain knowledge, and the concomitant politicization of previously taken-for-granted science-policy interfaces, Neves contends that institutions like botanic gardens have discursively deployed postnormal science and posthuman precepts to justify their growing involvement with biodiversity conservation governance within the Anthropocene. “This is a unique contribution to the study of ‘green’ neoliberalism. I do not know of another scholarly book that undertakes an analysis of the global history of botanical gardens in relation to political/economic formations and transformations. This is an outstanding and deeply significant work.” — Tracey Heatherington, author of Wild Sardinia: Indigeneity and the Global Dreamtimes of Environmentalism “Neves has undertaken a comprehensive review of pertinent literature to create an argument that traditional approaches to conservation no longer apply and that we need to adopt a holistic approach that considers both species and cultural preservation. The future of our planet depends on it. This is an important book that points to a central role for botanic gardens in preserving and celebrating the biological and cultural diversity of this planet.” — Donald A. Rakow, Cornell University

Recent decades have witnessed strong declines in fish stocks aroundthe globe, amid growing concerns about the impact of fisheries onmarine and freshwater biodiversity. Fisheries biologists andmanagers are therefore increasingly asking about aspects ofecology, behaviour, evolution and biodiversity that weretraditionally studied by people working in very separate fields.This has highlighted the need to work more closely together, inorder to help ensure future success both in management andconservation. The Handbook of Fish Biology and Fisheries has beenwritten by an international team of scientists and practitioners,to provide an overview of the biology of freshwater and marine fishspecies together with the science that supports fisheriesmanagement and conservation. This volume, subtitled Fish Biology, reviews a broadvariety of topics from evolutionary relationships and globalbiogeography to physiology, recruitment, life histories, genetics,foraging behaviour, reproductive behaviour and community ecology.The second volume, subtitled Fisheries, uses much of thisinformation in a wide-ranging review of fisheries biology,including methods of capture, marketing, economics, stockassessment, forecasting, ecosystem impacts and conservation. Together, these books present the state of the art in ourunderstanding of fish biology and fisheries and will serve asvaluable references for undergraduates and graduates looking for acomprehensive source on a wide variety of topics in fisheriesscience. They will also be useful to researchers who needup-to-date reviews of topics that impinge on their fields, anddecision makers who need to appreciate the scientific backgroundfor management and conservation of aquatic ecosystems. To order volume I, go to the box in the top right hand corner.Alternatively to order volume II, go to:http://www.blackwellpublishing.com/book.asp?ref=063206482X or toorder the 2 volume set, go to:http://www.blackwellpublishing.com/book.asp?ref=0632064838. Provides a unique overview of the study of fish biology andecology, and the assessment and management of fish populations andecosystems. The first volume concentrates on aspects of fish biology andecology, both at the individual and population levels, whilst thesecond volume addresses the assessment and management of fishpopulations and ecosystems. Written by an international team of expert scientists andpractitioners. An invaluable reference tool for both students, researchers andpractitioners working in the fields of fish biology andfisheries.

This is a comprehensive book on the biodiversity of one of the most diverse ecosystems known - tropical freshwater.

Antarctic Paleobiology discusses the current status of paleobiology, principally paleobotany and palynology in Antarctica, and the interrelationship of Antarctic floras to those of other Gondwana continents. It provides a broad coverage of the major groups of plants on the one hand, while on the other seeking to evaluate the vegetational history and the physical and biological parameters that influence the distribution of floras through time and space. The biologic activity is discussed within a framework of the geologic history, including the tectonic and paleogeographic history of the region. Finally, the reader will find a comprehensive bibliography of Gondwana paleobotany and palynology.

The geologic record contains evidence of greenhouse climates in the earth's past, and by studying these past conditions, we can gain greater understanding of the forcing mechanisms and feedbacks that influence today's climate. Leading experts in paleoclimatology combine in one integrated volume new and state-of-the-art paleontological, geological, and theoretical studies to assess intervals of global warmth. The book reviews what is known about the causes and consequences of globally warm climates, demonstrates current directions of research on warm climates, and outlines the central problems that remain unresolved. The chapters present new research on a number of different warm climate intervals from the early Paleozoic to the early Cenozoic. The book will be of great interest to researchers in paleoclimatology, and it will also be useful as a supplementary text on advanced undergraduate or graduate level courses in paleoclimatology and earth science.

The January number of early volumes contains the reports of the officers of the board and the director.

Geobiology is an exciting and rapidly developing research discipline that opens new perspectives in understanding Earth as a system. To determine and to exploit its possibilities, this promising scientific field will benefit from a discussion of its definition as a research discipline, its objectives, and its methodological approaches. Such a spirited discussion is the goal of the book "Geobiology: Objectives, Concepts, Perspectives". Geobiology touches various subdisciplines of geology and biology in many ways. The book will serve biogeochemists, paleontologists, biomineralogists, microbiologists and many others as a forum to determine future directions of geobiological research. The book includes a section on the concept of geobiological studies, which combines the parent disciplines biology and geology. Several case studies describe geobiological investigations that serve to understand Earth in the present and past. The case studies give an overview of the general understanding of geobiology and lead the reader towards the current hot topics in this rising scientific discipline.* New definition of the rising scientific discipline "geobiology"* Overview into the broad spectrum of geobiological topics* Insight into hot topics of current geobiological research