Prelude to Extinction


Book Description

Earth's first interstellar mission ... An alien colony in ruins ... Their fight for survival has only just begun. Called "True Science Fiction" ... A must-read! When Jack Harrison climbed down the short ladder from the airlock and stepped onto the debris covered soil, the ground crackled with the sound of dried leaves and twigs. Warm sunlight shined through his helmet, making him almost forget the decade he just spent captaining Earth's first ship to another star system. The serene tropical surroundings, though, stood in stark contrast to the long abandoned structures that lay nearby. Evidence points to a massacre - the systematic extermination of an alien colony hundreds of millennia ahead of humanity. Time, however, has erased any trace of the attackers. Jack and his crew barely start probing the ruins before their curiosity betrays them as an abandoned alien device cuts them off from their main ship. Lost and short on supplies, survival soon becomes their only goal. Even their short-lived rescue by an alien race, who themselves are under siege, offers little hope. As they struggle to find a way home, signs begin pointing to a danger darker than any they could have foreseen. Jack knows that playing it safe may no longer be an option - but his only other choice is to confront a threat that they don't even begin to understand.




Childhood's End


Book Description

In the Retro Hugo Award–nominated novel that inspired the Syfy miniseries, alien invaders bring peace to Earth—at a grave price: “A first-rate tour de force” (The New York Times). In the near future, enormous silver spaceships appear without warning over mankind’s largest cities. They belong to the Overlords, an alien race far superior to humanity in technological development. Their purpose is to dominate Earth. Their demands, however, are surprisingly benevolent: end war, poverty, and cruelty. Their presence, rather than signaling the end of humanity, ushers in a golden age . . . or so it seems. Without conflict, human culture and progress stagnate. As the years pass, it becomes clear that the Overlords have a hidden agenda for the evolution of the human race that may not be as benevolent as it seems. “Frighteningly logical, believable, and grimly prophetic . . . Clarke is a master.” —Los Angeles Times







Analysis of Evolutionary Processes


Book Description

Quantitative approaches to evolutionary biology traditionally consider evolutionary change in isolation from an important pressure in natural selection: the demography of coevolving populations. In Analysis of Evolutionary Processes, Fabio Dercole and Sergio Rinaldi have written the first comprehensive book on Adaptive Dynamics (AD), a quantitative modeling approach that explicitly links evolutionary changes to demographic ones. The book shows how the so-called AD canonical equation can answer questions of paramount interest in biology, engineering, and the social sciences, especially economics. After introducing the basics of evolutionary processes and classifying available modeling approaches, Dercole and Rinaldi give a detailed presentation of the derivation of the AD canonical equation, an ordinary differential equation that focuses on evolutionary processes driven by rare and small innovations. The authors then look at important features of evolutionary dynamics as viewed through the lens of AD. They present their discovery of the first chaotic evolutionary attractor, which calls into question the common view that coevolution produces exquisitely harmonious adaptations between species. And, opening up potential new lines of research by providing the first application of AD to economics, they show how AD can explain the emergence of technological variety. Analysis of Evolutionary Processes will interest anyone looking for a self-contained treatment of AD for self-study or teaching, including graduate students and researchers in mathematical and theoretical biology, applied mathematics, and theoretical economics.




Facing Extinction


Book Description

An authoritative study of extinction in birds, with case studies of 20 critically endangered species and the research initiatives designed to save them. Almost two hundred species of birds have become extinct in the past 400 years, and a similar number today are in imminent danger of following them. The world's conservationists are leading the fight to prevent the demise of these remaining critically endangered birds, with a fair degree of success. This new book examines the process and issues concerning extinction - how and why it happens and what can be done about it. Whilst man is to blame for many of the causes, such as persecution and habitat loss, species have become extinct on a regular basis since life began. After several thought-provoking introductory chapters, the book showcases about 20 species on the brink of extinction from around the world and describes the work that is being undertaken to save them. Some are success stories, but a few are not. This is a subject close to the hearts of all birders and ornithologists and this book, written by a team of leading conservationists, will strike a chord in most of them.







An Introduction to Conservation Biology


Book Description

"An Introduction to Conservation Biology is well suited for a wide range of undergraduate courses, as both a primary text for conservation biology courses and a supplement for ecological and environmental science courses. This new edition focuses on engaging students through videos and activities, and includes new pedagogy to scaffold students' learning. Coverage of recent conservation biology events in the news-such as global climate change and sustainable development-keeps the content fresh and current"--




Carboniferous Giants and Mass Extinction


Book Description

Picture a world of dog-sized scorpions and millipedes as long as a car; tropical rainforests with trees towering over 150 feet into the sky and a giant polar continent five times larger than Antarctica. That world was not imaginary; it was the earth more than 300 million years ago in the Carboniferous period of the Paleozoic era. In Carboniferous Giants and Mass Extinction, George R. McGhee Jr. explores that ancient world, explaining its origins; its downfall in the end-Permian mass extinction, the greatest biodiversity crisis to occur since the evolution of animal life on Earth; and how its legacies still affect us today. McGhee investigates the consequences of the Late Paleozoic ice age in this comprehensive portrait of the effects of ancient climate change on global ecology. Carboniferous Giants and Mass Extinction examines the climatic conditions that allowed for the evolution of gigantic animals and the formation of the largest tropical rainforests ever to exist, which in time turned into the coal that made the industrial revolution possible—and fuels the engine of contemporary anthropogenic climate change. Exploring the strange and fascinating flora and fauna of the Late Paleozoic ice age world, McGhee focuses his analysis on the forces that brought this world to an abrupt and violent end. Synthesizing decades of research and new discoveries, this comprehensive book provides a wealth of insights into past and present extinction events and climate change.







Extinction Governance, Finance and Accounting


Book Description

The planet is currently experiencing a mass extinction event, with human and business activity being the root cause of species loss and habitat destruction. Industries, companies, banks, investors, accountants and auditors have all played their role. This book explores how they can also provide a solution. The book presents plans, metrics, frameworks, mechanisms and financial innovations that can be, and are being, implemented through the financial markets in order to save and protect species, enhance biodiversity and, at the same time, preserve the financial markets and the business world. This biodiversity handbook addresses the intersection between species extinction and the global capitalist system. With contributions from leading non-governmental organisations such as the Capitals Coalition, Business for Nature, the Ecojustice Foundation, ShareAction and the Endangered Wildlife Trust, plus senior researchers in the field, as well as industry experts from Moody’s, EOS at Hermes Federated Investment Management, BlueBay Asset Management, ODDO BHF Asset Management and OSSIAM (to mention just a few), this book is at the forefront of addressing the crucially important topics of extinction accounting, finance and governance. Drawing on leading research, the book is written in an accessible style and is relevant to researchers and students in the fields of sustainability, governance, accounting, finance, corporate social responsibility and corporate governance. It is essential reading for investors, responsible investors, bankers, business leaders and policy makers in the field of sustainable financial markets. Given the interdisciplinary nature of this book, it is useful to conservationists, ecologists and others involved in species and biodiversity protection.