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Everyone uses species names and yet there are communication gaps between those who who name species and those who use species names. This book is intended to explore why different groups of scientists understand and use taxa in very different ways, and the consequences for measuring and understanding biodiversity.
List of contents
1. Premise. 2. General concepts. 3. Everyone uses species. 4. Why do the names keep changing? 5. Species are units of evolution. 6. Natural patterns in classification. 7. Are species real? 8. How to name a species. 9. Biodiversity and extinction through time. 10. How many species are there? 11. Dynamic patterns in biodiversity. 12. Translating biodiversity across cultural barriers
About the author
Dr Julia D. Sigwart is the director of the Queen's University Marine Laboratory, an interdisciplinary institute for marine science in Portaferry, N. Ireland. She completed her undergraduate education at the University of Victoria, and then took up a position on the scientific staff at the American Museum of Natural History. She later moved to Ireland, to manage a research programme linking the National Museum of Ireland (Natural History) and University College Dublin. In 2009, she moved to her faculty position in Queen's University, Belfast. She has published over 70 papers on diverse topics and organisms. Her research focuses on the evolution of diversity in molluscs and other animal groups, spanning both living and fossil species.
Summary
Everyone uses species names and yet there are communication gaps between those who who name species and those who use species names. This book is intended to explore why different groups of scientists understand and use taxa in very different ways, and the consequences for measuring and understanding biodiversity.
