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The niche in competition and evolution
pounds; and synthetic uses of Se and Te compounds. As with similar multi-author works the coverage of topics varies from comprehensive to selected recent developments. The book maintains the high standard set by Volume 1 both in content and presentation. Few errors were noted and most articles contained some references from 1985-86 literature. Access to this book and its companion volume will be essential for workers in the field of organoselenium and tellurium chemistry, and most organic and inorganic chemists will find one or more chapters of interest to them. W. Levason A Handbook of Nuclear Magnetic Resonance. By Ray Freeman, Pp. 312. Longman, London. 1987. Paperback f 14.95. Ray Freeman’s book is intended for postgraduate and research NMR spectroscopists in chemistry, biochemistry, and medicine. To this list I would add physicists and theorists in general wanting to improve their insight into the subject. It is a glossary of some 60 concepts and methods. A typical entry extends to several pages, develops its exposition with little mathematics, and ends with a list of cross-references to other glossary items, together with a short list of references to the literature. The latter are chosen primarily for their expository value. The volume can be used, with persistence, to explore the subject widely. For example, dipping into Adiabatic Fast Passage quickly led me to Spin-Lattice Relaxation, Spin-Spin Relaxation, Rotating Frame, Radiofrequency Pulses, Vector Model, and beyond. Although the scope is large it includes nothing on nuclear quadrupole resonance and magnetic resonance imaging, as these topics are attributed to solid state physics. Any practitioner of NMR willing to admit to less than global command of the subject deserves ready access to this nice little book. T. B. Smith The Chemistry of the Cyclopropyl Group, Parts 1 and 2. Edited by Zvi Rappoport. Pp. 1739. Wiley, Chichester. 1987. f2.50.00 the set (or f 135.00 each). These two books, over 1700 pages in all, comprise some 24 chapters covering structural, theoretical spectroscopic, and synthetic aspects of both cyclopropanes and cyclopropenes. The writing is generally of a high standard, the diagrams are clear, and the coverage is broad but not lacking in detail. One may highlight the chapter on aminocyclopropanes, including over 900 references, though shorter contributions, such as that on the biochemistry of the cyclopropyl group will be just as valuable. Extensive author and subject indexes are provided in the second part. The format of chapters by separate individuals inevitably leads to overlaps and omissions. One example is that cyclopropylidenes receive scant attention. The fact that the coverage of the literature extends only to
about mid-1985 is excusable in a book which will be used for many years; it is unfortunate, however, that the delay before publishing was not used to correct some errors, particularly in the diagrams - one important natural product, for example, is incorrectly represented in the one place in which it appears. Nonetheless, these books may be expected to become a major source of information and inspiration for cyclopropane chemists and certainly live up to the high reputation of earlier volumes in the series. M. S. Baird The Cambridge Illustrated Dictionary of Natural History. By R. J. Lincoln and G. A. Boxshall. Pp. 413. Cambridge University Press. 1987. f 15.00 ($24.95). My English dictionary seldom fails me except when it comes to biological terms which is why I also have three scientific dictionaries on my bookshelf. But recently a word cropped up that was not in any of them. It was poikilothermic, and I wanted to know if it meant cold-blooded. It did, according to ‘The Cambridge Illustrated Dictionary of Natural History.’ And the introduction to the book suggested that here was possibly the all-encompassing biological dictionary I had been looking for; covered were ‘habitats, lifestyles, associations, feeding, reproductive strategies, behaviour and physiology, as well as the taxonomic names of all groups of living organisms’. To test the book, I first looked up three mammal names: manatee, takin, and meerkat. Manatee was there, but the other two were not. I then, unfairly, checked to see if the phylum Loricifera (discovered only recently) was described. It was, and illustrated by a picture of a tiny loriciferan. Finally, I looked up a couple of biological terms. My first - displacment activity, a common used description - was one I would not expect to be in a natural history dictionary. Yet there it was. The second - mitochondria - had recently caught me out when trying to define mitochondrial DNA, and I expected it to be listed. It was not - but it was in my English dictionary! Though not all encompassing, the Cambridge natural history dictionary does, so far, appear to cover aspects that others do not always, such as geological terms and microscopic animals, and it is up-to-date, which is why I for one am going to carry on putting it to the test. Rosamund Kidman Cox Sugar Transport and Metabolism in Gram-positive Bacteria. Edited by J. Reizer and A. Peterkofsky. Pp. 4 Il. Ellis Horwood, Chichester. 1987. f69.50. This book covers, thoroughly and comprehensively, a fairly well circumscribed field of biological science, wandering beyond the title where necessary or useful (for example, to mention the metabolism of amino acids or the production of antibiotics). But probably more important than having a logically defined field is having a clearly defined readership. There
is a tendency for fundamental scientists to concentrate on gram-negative bacteria, while pathologists, dentists, and workers in the milk products, organic chemical, or antibiotic industries will have equal or greater interest in gram-positives. Scientists who study the proton motive force, the mechanisms of pH homeostasis or solute-coupled transport, the enzymology or kinetics of the phosphotransferase systems, will not be particularly interested in this book. These chapters, even though good, gain little by being juxtaposed with chapters on sporulation, pentitol metabolism, or polysaccharide synthesis, and, being written by prominent experts, can be read elsewhere. But for someone interested in plaque, or cheese, etc., the comprehensive collection of (occasionally overlapping) chapters makes a valuable unity. The authors are, in most cases, the authorities in their fields. The chapters are well documented, averaging 100 references, while a tour de force by Marks and Freese on sporulation contains 368. The quality of the writing is a good average, containing all the standard errors plus a few garbled passages. (Do editors edit?). The book is nicely produced, and can be warmly recommended. I. West The Niche in Competition and Evolution. By Wallace Arthur. Pp. 175. Wiley, Chichester. 1987. f22.50. The niche is a basic ecological concept. Potentially illuminating, it has generated more heat than almost any other ecological concept apart, possiblyfromcompetitionitself. When, as now, many ecologists recommend avoiding the term and abandoning the concept, it is a bold author who selects this title. As so often, boldness succeeds. Although the book is primarily about inter-specific competition in theory, field, and laboratory and in contemporary and evolutionary time, the niche concept is central. The analogy between competing species in a guild and competing genotypes in a population is interesting for ecologists, but overdone. Nevertheless, this is one of the best accounts of the niche and competition that I have ever read. It is comprehensive, objective, and distinguished throughout by its clarity and readability. This is equally true whether ,the author is introducing concepts, defining terms, explaining mathematical models, discussing experiments, or drawing conclusions. The book is aimed at ecologists from undergraduates upwards and is intended to fill the gap between primary literature and general ecology texts. I would recommend them to read it, and anyone confused by the niche concept who does not find clarification and stimulation therein should abandon ecology. C. R. Kennedy Climatology of West Africa. By D. Hayward and J. Oguntoyinbo. Pp. 271. Hutchinson, London. 1987. Paperback f 14.95. This text is aimed at first-year West African undergraduates, and is divided into three
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about mid-1985 is excusable in a book which will be used for many years; it is unfortunate, however, that the delay before publishing was not used to correct some errors, particularly in the diagrams - one important natural product, for example, is incorrectly represented in the one place in which it appears. Nonetheless, these books may be expected to become a major source of information and inspiration for cyclopropane chemists and certainly live up to the high reputation of earlier volumes in the series. M. S. Baird The Cambridge Illustrated Dictionary of Natural History. By R. J. Lincoln and G. A. Boxshall. Pp. 413. Cambridge University Press. 1987. f 15.00 ($24.95). My English dictionary seldom fails me except when it comes to biological terms which is why I also have three scientific dictionaries on my bookshelf. But recently a word cropped up that was not in any of them. It was poikilothermic, and I wanted to know if it meant cold-blooded. It did, according to ‘The Cambridge Illustrated Dictionary of Natural History.’ And the introduction to the book suggested that here was possibly the all-encompassing biological dictionary I had been looking for; covered were ‘habitats, lifestyles, associations, feeding, reproductive strategies, behaviour and physiology, as well as the taxonomic names of all groups of living organisms’. To test the book, I first looked up three mammal names: manatee, takin, and meerkat. Manatee was there, but the other two were not. I then, unfairly, checked to see if the phylum Loricifera (discovered only recently) was described. It was, and illustrated by a picture of a tiny loriciferan. Finally, I looked up a couple of biological terms. My first - displacment activity, a common used description - was one I would not expect to be in a natural history dictionary. Yet there it was. The second - mitochondria - had recently caught me out when trying to define mitochondrial DNA, and I expected it to be listed. It was not - but it was in my English dictionary! Though not all encompassing, the Cambridge natural history dictionary does, so far, appear to cover aspects that others do not always, such as geological terms and microscopic animals, and it is up-to-date, which is why I for one am going to carry on putting it to the test. Rosamund Kidman Cox Sugar Transport and Metabolism in Gram-positive Bacteria. Edited by J. Reizer and A. Peterkofsky. Pp. 4 Il. Ellis Horwood, Chichester. 1987. f69.50. This book covers, thoroughly and comprehensively, a fairly well circumscribed field of biological science, wandering beyond the title where necessary or useful (for example, to mention the metabolism of amino acids or the production of antibiotics). But probably more important than having a logically defined field is having a clearly defined readership. There
is a tendency for fundamental scientists to concentrate on gram-negative bacteria, while pathologists, dentists, and workers in the milk products, organic chemical, or antibiotic industries will have equal or greater interest in gram-positives. Scientists who study the proton motive force, the mechanisms of pH homeostasis or solute-coupled transport, the enzymology or kinetics of the phosphotransferase systems, will not be particularly interested in this book. These chapters, even though good, gain little by being juxtaposed with chapters on sporulation, pentitol metabolism, or polysaccharide synthesis, and, being written by prominent experts, can be read elsewhere. But for someone interested in plaque, or cheese, etc., the comprehensive collection of (occasionally overlapping) chapters makes a valuable unity. The authors are, in most cases, the authorities in their fields. The chapters are well documented, averaging 100 references, while a tour de force by Marks and Freese on sporulation contains 368. The quality of the writing is a good average, containing all the standard errors plus a few garbled passages. (Do editors edit?). The book is nicely produced, and can be warmly recommended. I. West The Niche in Competition and Evolution. By Wallace Arthur. Pp. 175. Wiley, Chichester. 1987. f22.50. The niche is a basic ecological concept. Potentially illuminating, it has generated more heat than almost any other ecological concept apart, possiblyfromcompetitionitself. When, as now, many ecologists recommend avoiding the term and abandoning the concept, it is a bold author who selects this title. As so often, boldness succeeds. Although the book is primarily about inter-specific competition in theory, field, and laboratory and in contemporary and evolutionary time, the niche concept is central. The analogy between competing species in a guild and competing genotypes in a population is interesting for ecologists, but overdone. Nevertheless, this is one of the best accounts of the niche and competition that I have ever read. It is comprehensive, objective, and distinguished throughout by its clarity and readability. This is equally true whether ,the author is introducing concepts, defining terms, explaining mathematical models, discussing experiments, or drawing conclusions. The book is aimed at ecologists from undergraduates upwards and is intended to fill the gap between primary literature and general ecology texts. I would recommend them to read it, and anyone confused by the niche concept who does not find clarification and stimulation therein should abandon ecology. C. R. Kennedy Climatology of West Africa. By D. Hayward and J. Oguntoyinbo. Pp. 271. Hutchinson, London. 1987. Paperback f 14.95. This text is aimed at first-year West African undergraduates, and is divided into three
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