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Concepts of applied ecology
74
Physics of the Earth and Planetary Interiors, 20 (1974) 74 © Elsevier Scientific Publishing Company, Amsterdam — Printed in The Netherlands
BOOK REVIEWS
High Pressure Research, Applications in Geophysics. M.H. Manghnani and S.I. Akimoto (Editors). Academic Press, New York, 1977,642 pp., US $29.50. Seventy contributors from laboratories around the world have provided forty-two papers covering a range of inovative equipment designs, new pressurecalibration techniques, and structure—property—pressure relationships for earth materials and their analogues. This is clearly the most highly-developed area of high-pressure research. Although there is a great variety of chemical compounds and phases in the Earth’s interior, the extreme conditions of pressure and temperature which produce this variety can actually be generated in static laboratory or shock-experiments. One can try to duplicate or predict the behavior of minerals in the upper mantle or in the deep interior of the Earth. Even transitions to “metallic” phases of oxides, 1120 or 112 have been observed and are described in detail. This book has several excellent summaries of experimental approaches to cornplicated high-pressure problems, and there is an especially authoritative and wide-ranging review of the important shock approach to generating high pressures. The general sessions convened in the symposium which occurred in Honolulu during July 6—9, 1976, included major presentations concerned with “Geophysics and Geochemistry of the Crust and Upper Mantle”, “Phase Transitions Related to Earth’s Deep Interior”, “Equations of State and Shock Wave Experiments”, and “Instrumentation, Pressure Calibration and Standardization”. The articles are wellprepared and the quality of production is excellent. The references include extensive documentation in most areas up to the early part of 1976. I believe that the editors and publishers have produced an outstanding volume which should be on the shelves of all practicing high-pressure scientists. J.L MARGRAVE (Houston, Tex.)
Concepts ofApplied Ecology. R.S. De Santo. Springer-Verlag, Heidelberg—Berlin—New York, N.Y., 1978, ix + 310 pp., 78 figs., soft cover DM 28.00/US $ 14.00. This is a disappointing book. It attempts to cover the applications of ecology to environmental problems in terrestrial, freshwater and marine ecosystems. In covering this wide field the author assumes a minimum of prior biological knowledge. Although this makes the book suitable for engineers and other non-biologists who require an introduction to the field, it places severe constraints on discussions of case studies or even exposition of more complex biological principles. A further limitation on the utility of the book is due to the inordinate length of the glossary. This together with appendices and the index occupies almost half the book, leaving less than 200 pages of text. The main value of the work is the presentation of the basic ecological concepts and their applications to a wide variety of environments. The ideas are simply presented and the methods of analysing environmental problems are illustrated by straightforward examples. It will be a useful introductory text for senior school biology students and for other professionals who need an appreciation of the scope and method of applied ecology. A. JAMES (Newcastle upon Tyne)
Physics of the Earth and Planetary Interiors, 20 (1974) 74 © Elsevier Scientific Publishing Company, Amsterdam — Printed in The Netherlands
BOOK REVIEWS
High Pressure Research, Applications in Geophysics. M.H. Manghnani and S.I. Akimoto (Editors). Academic Press, New York, 1977,642 pp., US $29.50. Seventy contributors from laboratories around the world have provided forty-two papers covering a range of inovative equipment designs, new pressurecalibration techniques, and structure—property—pressure relationships for earth materials and their analogues. This is clearly the most highly-developed area of high-pressure research. Although there is a great variety of chemical compounds and phases in the Earth’s interior, the extreme conditions of pressure and temperature which produce this variety can actually be generated in static laboratory or shock-experiments. One can try to duplicate or predict the behavior of minerals in the upper mantle or in the deep interior of the Earth. Even transitions to “metallic” phases of oxides, 1120 or 112 have been observed and are described in detail. This book has several excellent summaries of experimental approaches to cornplicated high-pressure problems, and there is an especially authoritative and wide-ranging review of the important shock approach to generating high pressures. The general sessions convened in the symposium which occurred in Honolulu during July 6—9, 1976, included major presentations concerned with “Geophysics and Geochemistry of the Crust and Upper Mantle”, “Phase Transitions Related to Earth’s Deep Interior”, “Equations of State and Shock Wave Experiments”, and “Instrumentation, Pressure Calibration and Standardization”. The articles are wellprepared and the quality of production is excellent. The references include extensive documentation in most areas up to the early part of 1976. I believe that the editors and publishers have produced an outstanding volume which should be on the shelves of all practicing high-pressure scientists. J.L MARGRAVE (Houston, Tex.)
Concepts ofApplied Ecology. R.S. De Santo. Springer-Verlag, Heidelberg—Berlin—New York, N.Y., 1978, ix + 310 pp., 78 figs., soft cover DM 28.00/US $ 14.00. This is a disappointing book. It attempts to cover the applications of ecology to environmental problems in terrestrial, freshwater and marine ecosystems. In covering this wide field the author assumes a minimum of prior biological knowledge. Although this makes the book suitable for engineers and other non-biologists who require an introduction to the field, it places severe constraints on discussions of case studies or even exposition of more complex biological principles. A further limitation on the utility of the book is due to the inordinate length of the glossary. This together with appendices and the index occupies almost half the book, leaving less than 200 pages of text. The main value of the work is the presentation of the basic ecological concepts and their applications to a wide variety of environments. The ideas are simply presented and the methods of analysing environmental problems are illustrated by straightforward examples. It will be a useful introductory text for senior school biology students and for other professionals who need an appreciation of the scope and method of applied ecology. A. JAMES (Newcastle upon Tyne)