Preface
Biological diversity, or biodiversity, refers to the universal attribute of all living
organisms that each individual being is unique - that is, no two organisms are
identical. The biology of biodiversity must include all the aspects of evolutionary
and ecological sciences analyzing the origin, changes, and maintenance of the diversity of living organisms. Today biodiversity, which benefits human life in various ways, is threatened by the expansion of human activities. Biological research in
biodiversity contributes not only to understanding biodiversity itself but also to its
conservation and utilization.
The Biology of Biodiversity was the specialty area of the 1998 International
Prize for Biology. The International Prize for Biology was established in 1985 in
commemoration of the sixty-year reign of the Emperor Showa and his longtime
devotion to biological research. The 1998 Prize was awarded to Professor Otto
Thomas Solbrig, Harvard University, one of the authors of this book.
In conjunction with the awarding of the International Prize for Biology, the
14th International Symposium with the theme of The Biology of Biodiversity was
held in Hayama on the 9th and 10th of December 1998, with financial support by
an international symposium grant from the Ministry of Education, Science, Sports
and Culture of Japan. The invited speakers were chosen so as to cover four basic
aspects of biodiversity: species diversity and phylogeny, ecological biodiversity,
development and evolution, and genetic diversity of living organisms including
human beings.
This book is one of the o).ltcomes of the symposium, presenting a broad review
of current biological research on biodiversity. It synthesizes modern approaches,
the current status of research, and future perspectives of biodiversity science for a
better understanding of the origin, changes, and maintenance of biodiversity. The
book's 20 chapters in four parts focus on recent multidisciplinary approaches to
major problems in biodiversity, with an emphasis on the increasing use of molecular approaches to the problems of speciation, phylogeny, developmental morphology, and genetic biodiversity. The first part, Species Diversity and Phylogeny, reviews molecular phylogenetic and genetic approaches, in order to better understand the origin of reproductive isolation, phylogeography and conservation, phylogenetic relationships, species taxonomy, and adaptive radiation. The second part,
Ecological Biodiversity, discusses the significance of biodiversity science, ecosystem processes, relationships between reproduction and landscape fragmentation,
population persistence and community diversity, biodiversity maintenance, and
ecological factors of biodiversity enhancement. Included here is Professor Solbrig's
paper on theory and practice in the science of biodiversity. Development and Evov
Biological diversity, or biodiversity, refers to the universal attribute of all living
organisms that each individual being is unique - that is, no two organisms are
identical. The biology of biodiversity must include all the aspects of evolutionary
and ecological sciences analyzing the origin, changes, and maintenance of the diversity of living organisms. Today biodiversity, which benefits human life in various ways, is threatened by the expansion of human activities. Biological research in
biodiversity contributes not only to understanding biodiversity itself but also to its
conservation and utilization.
The Biology of Biodiversity was the specialty area of the 1998 International
Prize for Biology. The International Prize for Biology was established in 1985 in
commemoration of the sixty-year reign of the Emperor Showa and his longtime
devotion to biological research. The 1998 Prize was awarded to Professor Otto
Thomas Solbrig, Harvard University, one of the authors of this book.
In conjunction with the awarding of the International Prize for Biology, the
14th International Symposium with the theme of The Biology of Biodiversity was
held in Hayama on the 9th and 10th of December 1998, with financial support by
an international symposium grant from the Ministry of Education, Science, Sports
and Culture of Japan. The invited speakers were chosen so as to cover four basic
aspects of biodiversity: species diversity and phylogeny, ecological biodiversity,
development and evolution, and genetic diversity of living organisms including
human beings.
This book is one of the o).ltcomes of the symposium, presenting a broad review
of current biological research on biodiversity. It synthesizes modern approaches,
the current status of research, and future perspectives of biodiversity science for a
better understanding of the origin, changes, and maintenance of biodiversity. The
book's 20 chapters in four parts focus on recent multidisciplinary approaches to
major problems in biodiversity, with an emphasis on the increasing use of molecular approaches to the problems of speciation, phylogeny, developmental morphology, and genetic biodiversity. The first part, Species Diversity and Phylogeny, reviews molecular phylogenetic and genetic approaches, in order to better understand the origin of reproductive isolation, phylogeography and conservation, phylogenetic relationships, species taxonomy, and adaptive radiation. The second part,
Ecological Biodiversity, discusses the significance of biodiversity science, ecosystem processes, relationships between reproduction and landscape fragmentation,
population persistence and community diversity, biodiversity maintenance, and
ecological factors of biodiversity enhancement. Included here is Professor Solbrig's
paper on theory and practice in the science of biodiversity. Development and Evov