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Synopsis
This book is about tropical biology in action- how biologists grapple with the ecology and evolution of the great species diversity in tropical rainforests and coral reefs. Tropical rainforests are home to 50% of all the plant and animal species on earth, though they cover only about 2% of the planet. Coral reefs hold 25% of the world's marine diversity, though they represent only 0.1 % of the world's surface. The increase in species richness from the poles to the tropics has remained enigmatic to naturalists for more than 200 years. How have so many species evolved in the tropics? How can so many species coexist there?
At a time when rainforests and coral reefs are shrinking, when the earth is facing what has been called the sixth mass extinction, understanding the evolutionary ecology of the tropics is everyone's business. Despite the fundamental importance of the tropics to all of life on earth, tropical biology has evolved relatively slowly and with difficulties - economic, political, and environmental. This book is also about tropical science in context, situated in the complex socio-political history, and the rich rainforests and coral reefs of Panama. There are no other books on the history of tropical ecology and evolution or on the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute. Thus situated in historical context, Jan Sapp's aim is to understand how naturalists have studied and conceptualized the great biological diversity and entangled ecology of tropics. This book has potential to be used in tropical biology classes, ecology courses, evolutionary ecology and it could also be useful in classes on the history of biology. New & Used
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What Reviewers Are Saying
This book can be recommended as additional reading, 'addressed to anyone who is interested in the ecology and evolution of life on earth'. I totally agree with this statement made by the author. * S. Suresh Ramanan, Elsevier (GfO Ecological Society of Germany, Austria and Switzerland) * Coexistence is a fascinating chronology and reconstruction of the history of the science of tropical ecology in the Western Hemisphere.[...] [It] provides a fascinating and comprehensive overview of the evolution of tropical forest and marine ecology and their rapidly expanding research sphere. [...] it is also a fascinating chronology of a detailed and skillfully researched scientific history that both scientists and lay readers can learn from and enjoy. * Ted Armstrong, The Canadian Field Naturalist * This is a meaty book that cannot be read quickly but must be contemplated and absorbed. Although it is focussed primarily on tropical ecology, it is also a fascinating chronology of a detailed and skillfully researched scientific history that both scientists and lay readers can learn from and enjoy. * Ted Armstrong, Canadian Field Naturalist * ...it is interesting and thorough. A perfect read for first-year graduate students planning PhD fieldwork in Panama. * Patricia L. Jones, Quarterly Review of Biology * A jewel of a book: a wonderfully written, multi-faceted history of tropical biology as seen through the lens of the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute and the major roles of its scholars in shaping understanding of the tropics -- knowledge which is essential in grasping both the very wonder and the central role of the tropics in biology. * Thomas E. Lovejoy, University Professor of Environmental Science and Policy, George Mason University * Coexistence is a comprehensive synthesis of the scientific developments over the last one hundred years that have contributed to advancing our knowledge of the evolution and ecology of tropical organisms. Jan Sapp masterfully weaves a narrative about scientific innovation with a history of events in Panama and Washington that enabled the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute to emerge as a leading contributor to biodiversity research. * Dr. Ira Rubinoff, Director Emeritus, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute * Coexistence brilliantly examines how prescient leaders build great institutions that provide the freedom and support to do great science. Sappas story of the Smithsonian in Panama and the breakthroughs achieved there in basic understanding of the remarkable species diversity of tropical forests and coral reefs captures the essence of the excitement and conflict that make for great science. * Jeremy Jackson, Professor Emeritus, Scripps Institution of Oceanography * Sapp's Coexistence is a hybrid. It combines a centurylong history of field research centered on the Barro Colorado Island (BCI) with an overview of ideas in tropical ecology as they evolved over time.The approach works well because the author alternates drier chapters on science with livelier descriptions of often colorful characters and their doings in Panama. * Vojtech Novotny and Katerina Sam, Conservation Biology *