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The ecology of resource degradation and renewal
BOOK REVIEWS
79
social system to feeding behaviour and habitat. He adopts the kind of presentation that was first used so successfully by J. H. Crook to consider social organisation in weaver birds of the family Ploceidae and later extended to monkeys. More chapters of this kind following and coordinating sections dealing with single species studies might have been an advantage. Even in Estes' excellent chapter the emphasis is on a description and classification of social systems rather than on the subject of their adaptive value. In fact, the important questions are not posed so it is not surprising that some relevant issues remain unexplored. For example, could not the niceties of social organisation be better explained in the context of exploiting food resources than within the age old concepts of anti-predator strategy. How can this latter view be promulgated by so many contributors without anybody asking in detail how a wide spectrum social organisation is specifically related to the kind of predation suffered ? Several good biological questions are discussed in an interesting review by V. Geist who deals with the relationship of ecology and behaviour to the evolution of ungulates. The rest of Volume 1 is a continuation of good and interesting descriptive accounts, mostly of social behaviour, in well studied species, including some fine observations of the white rhinoceros by R. N. Owen-Smith. Volume 2 continues with a series of papers on species or species groups but the emphasis is more on management: R. M. Laws on African elephants, F. Kurt on elephants in Ceylon, A. R. E. Sinclair on the African buffalo, J. J. Lynch on Merino sheep in Australia and H. Cauthier-Pilters on camels in the Sahara. L. M. Baskin from the Institute of Evolution, Moscow, has a fascinating paper on the management of ungulate herds in relation to domestication, and domestication of the musk ox is also discussed by P. F. Wilkinson. There are five papers reviewing game ranching and management and one on grazing problems. There is another review in this volume by J. F. Eisenberg and G. M. McKay which compares ungulate adaptations in New and Old World tropical forests; again much is made of antipredator strategy in the context of social behaviour. In conclusion, I am sure that these two volumes will become recommended reading for all vertebrate ecologists and ethologists, while conservationists in particular have been done a great service. Many of the texts are beautifully illustrated with line drawings and there are some monochrome photographs; these last are poorly reproduced though nevertheless helpful. All those concerned with the preparation of this comprehensive work are to be congratulated. R. K. MURTON
The Ecology of Resource Degradation and Renewal. 15th Symposium of the British Ecological Society. Edited by M. J. Chadwick and G. T. Goodman. Blackwell Scientific Publications, Oxford, London, Edinburgh, Melbourne. 1975. Pp. 480. 24 cm x 15-5 cm. Price: £12.00.
80
BOOK REVIEWS
The British Ecological Society Symposium volume series has long established itself as an authoritative source of information on the ecological sciences. The fifteenth volume maintains this standard and deals with a subject which has challenging problems for the research worker as well as being of special importance to those concerned with decision-making in landscape architecture, rural planning and public health. The Society has taken an active interest in the scientific aspects of environmental pollution for many years through its Industrial Ecology Group and in 1965 published a symposium volume entitled 'Ecology and the Industrial Society'. During the ten-year period since then a great deal has happened both in the research field and in the development of public concern and demand for government action. In their Preface the editors point out that the scientific and management approaches to this problem tend to be rigidly compartmentalised into various sectors covered by the industrial chemist, engineer and health authority. Consequently the role of the biologist as a manager is barely recognised despite the considerable advances in ecological knowledge in recent years. This volume is therefore primarily concerned with the examination of environmental pollution from the biological point of view. There are four sections (including 28 separate contributions) entitled: (l) The cycling of materials in environments; (2) Air and water degradation; (3) Terrestrial degradation; and (4) Planning for resource renewal. The application of existing scientific knowledge to the solution of pollution problems is stressed by the editors who write 'Scientific and technical advances in environmental study must be interpreted and presented in the form of policyoptions which are usable by often hard-pressed administrators who have the final responsibility for actually doing something about an environmental problem'. How right they are and yet how difficult it often is for the scientist to convert his technical know-how into a simple clear language which the administrator can immediately understand and use in real-life situations. The British Ecological Society, through this volume, is helping to present and clarify some of the basic scientific issues, but the next step must be taken by the new executive machinery in government who make the decisions and determine policy. E.D.
Ecological Aspects of the Reclamation of Derelict and Disturbed Land. By Gordon T. Goodman and Shirley A. Bray. Geo Abstracts Ltd, University of East Anglia, Norwich. 1975. 24.5 cm × 19 cm. Pp. 351. Price; £6.50 ($15.00). This extremely useful annotated bibliography includes a reference to all available technical and scientific books, papers and duplicated reports relevant to the problems of establishing and maintaining vegetation on derelict land in the north temperate region which has been disturbed or polluted by urban or industrial activity. The volume covers 1535 entries and its value is greatly enhanced by the
79
social system to feeding behaviour and habitat. He adopts the kind of presentation that was first used so successfully by J. H. Crook to consider social organisation in weaver birds of the family Ploceidae and later extended to monkeys. More chapters of this kind following and coordinating sections dealing with single species studies might have been an advantage. Even in Estes' excellent chapter the emphasis is on a description and classification of social systems rather than on the subject of their adaptive value. In fact, the important questions are not posed so it is not surprising that some relevant issues remain unexplored. For example, could not the niceties of social organisation be better explained in the context of exploiting food resources than within the age old concepts of anti-predator strategy. How can this latter view be promulgated by so many contributors without anybody asking in detail how a wide spectrum social organisation is specifically related to the kind of predation suffered ? Several good biological questions are discussed in an interesting review by V. Geist who deals with the relationship of ecology and behaviour to the evolution of ungulates. The rest of Volume 1 is a continuation of good and interesting descriptive accounts, mostly of social behaviour, in well studied species, including some fine observations of the white rhinoceros by R. N. Owen-Smith. Volume 2 continues with a series of papers on species or species groups but the emphasis is more on management: R. M. Laws on African elephants, F. Kurt on elephants in Ceylon, A. R. E. Sinclair on the African buffalo, J. J. Lynch on Merino sheep in Australia and H. Cauthier-Pilters on camels in the Sahara. L. M. Baskin from the Institute of Evolution, Moscow, has a fascinating paper on the management of ungulate herds in relation to domestication, and domestication of the musk ox is also discussed by P. F. Wilkinson. There are five papers reviewing game ranching and management and one on grazing problems. There is another review in this volume by J. F. Eisenberg and G. M. McKay which compares ungulate adaptations in New and Old World tropical forests; again much is made of antipredator strategy in the context of social behaviour. In conclusion, I am sure that these two volumes will become recommended reading for all vertebrate ecologists and ethologists, while conservationists in particular have been done a great service. Many of the texts are beautifully illustrated with line drawings and there are some monochrome photographs; these last are poorly reproduced though nevertheless helpful. All those concerned with the preparation of this comprehensive work are to be congratulated. R. K. MURTON
The Ecology of Resource Degradation and Renewal. 15th Symposium of the British Ecological Society. Edited by M. J. Chadwick and G. T. Goodman. Blackwell Scientific Publications, Oxford, London, Edinburgh, Melbourne. 1975. Pp. 480. 24 cm x 15-5 cm. Price: £12.00.
80
BOOK REVIEWS
The British Ecological Society Symposium volume series has long established itself as an authoritative source of information on the ecological sciences. The fifteenth volume maintains this standard and deals with a subject which has challenging problems for the research worker as well as being of special importance to those concerned with decision-making in landscape architecture, rural planning and public health. The Society has taken an active interest in the scientific aspects of environmental pollution for many years through its Industrial Ecology Group and in 1965 published a symposium volume entitled 'Ecology and the Industrial Society'. During the ten-year period since then a great deal has happened both in the research field and in the development of public concern and demand for government action. In their Preface the editors point out that the scientific and management approaches to this problem tend to be rigidly compartmentalised into various sectors covered by the industrial chemist, engineer and health authority. Consequently the role of the biologist as a manager is barely recognised despite the considerable advances in ecological knowledge in recent years. This volume is therefore primarily concerned with the examination of environmental pollution from the biological point of view. There are four sections (including 28 separate contributions) entitled: (l) The cycling of materials in environments; (2) Air and water degradation; (3) Terrestrial degradation; and (4) Planning for resource renewal. The application of existing scientific knowledge to the solution of pollution problems is stressed by the editors who write 'Scientific and technical advances in environmental study must be interpreted and presented in the form of policyoptions which are usable by often hard-pressed administrators who have the final responsibility for actually doing something about an environmental problem'. How right they are and yet how difficult it often is for the scientist to convert his technical know-how into a simple clear language which the administrator can immediately understand and use in real-life situations. The British Ecological Society, through this volume, is helping to present and clarify some of the basic scientific issues, but the next step must be taken by the new executive machinery in government who make the decisions and determine policy. E.D.
Ecological Aspects of the Reclamation of Derelict and Disturbed Land. By Gordon T. Goodman and Shirley A. Bray. Geo Abstracts Ltd, University of East Anglia, Norwich. 1975. 24.5 cm × 19 cm. Pp. 351. Price; £6.50 ($15.00). This extremely useful annotated bibliography includes a reference to all available technical and scientific books, papers and duplicated reports relevant to the problems of establishing and maintaining vegetation on derelict land in the north temperate region which has been disturbed or polluted by urban or industrial activity. The volume covers 1535 entries and its value is greatly enhanced by the