LEADER 04573nam 2200721Ia 450 001 9910814496003321 005 20240430185421.0 010 $a0-226-75777-3 010 $a1-281-96650-9 010 $a9786611966508 024 7 $a10.7208/9780226757773 035 $a(CKB)1000000000721521 035 $a(EBL)432297 035 $a(OCoLC)309071396 035 $a(SSID)ssj0000136733 035 $a(PQKBManifestationID)11144660 035 $a(PQKBTitleCode)TC0000136733 035 $a(PQKBWorkID)10084013 035 $a(PQKB)10325645 035 $a(SSID)ssj0000293658 035 $a(PQKBManifestationID)11229754 035 $a(PQKBTitleCode)TC0000293658 035 $a(PQKBWorkID)10302660 035 $a(PQKB)11652804 035 $a(MiAaPQ)EBC432297 035 $a(DE-B1597)524825 035 $a(OCoLC)1096478735 035 $a(DE-B1597)9780226757773 035 $a(Au-PeEL)EBL432297 035 $a(CaPaEBR)ebr10269601 035 $a(CaONFJC)MIL196650 035 $a(EXLCZ)991000000000721521 100 $a20080215d2008 uy 0 101 0 $aeng 135 $aur|n|---||||| 181 $ctxt 182 $cc 183 $acr 200 10$aDemons in Eden $ethe paradox of plant diversity /$fJonathan Silvertown 205 $a1st ed. 210 $aChicago $cUniversity of Chicago Press$dc2008 215 $a1 online resource (204 p.) 300 $aDescription based upon print version of record. 311 $a0-226-75771-4 311 $a0-226-75772-2 320 $aIncludes bibliographical references (p. [167]-179) and index. 327 $tFrontmatter -- $tContents -- $tPreface -- $t1. An Evolving Eden -- $t2. The Tree of Trees -- $t3. Succulent Isles -- $t4. Demon Mountain -- $t5. The Panama Paradox -- $t6. Nix Nitch -- $t7. Liebig's Revenge -- $t8. Florida! -- $t9. New Demons? -- $t10. The End of Eden? -- $t11. Fynbos Finale -- $tScientific Names of Plants Mentioned in the Text -- $tSources and Further Reading -- $tIndex 330 $aAt the heart of evolution lies a bewildering paradox. Natural selection favors above all the individual that leaves the most offspring-a superorganism of sorts that Jonathan Silvertown here calls the "Darwinian demon." But if such a demon existed, this highly successful organism would populate the entire world with its own kind, beating out other species and eventually extinguishing biodiversity as we know it. Why then, if evolution favors this demon, is the world filled with so many different life forms? What keeps this Darwinian demon in check? If humankind is now the greatest threat to biodiversity on the planet, have we become the Darwinian demon? Demons in Eden considers these questions using the latest scientific discoveries from the plant world. Readers join Silvertown as he explores the astonishing diversity of plant life in regions as spectacular as the verdant climes of Japan, the lush grounds of the Royal Botanical Gardens at Kew, the shallow wetlands and teeming freshwaters of Florida, the tropical rainforests of southeast Mexico, and the Canary Islands archipelago, whose evolutionary novelties-and exotic plant life-have earned it the sobriquet "the Galapagos of botany." Along the way, Silvertown looks closely at the evolution of plant diversity in these locales and explains why such variety persists in light of ecological patterns and evolutionary processes. In novel and useful ways, he also investigates the current state of plant diversity on the planet to show the ever-challenging threats posed by invasive species and humans. Bringing the secret life of plants into more colorful and vivid focus than ever before, Demons in Eden is an empathic and impassioned exploration of modern plant ecology that unlocks evolutionary mysteries of the natural world. 606 $aPlant diversity 606 $aPlant diversity conservation 610 $abiodiversity, evolution, natural selection, darwin, science, ecology, environment, environmentalism, preservation, conservation, plants, species, invasive, archipelago, canary islands, mexico, tropical rainforests, florida, freshwater, wetlands, royal botanical gardens, japan, botany, ecosystem, nonfiction, biology, life sciences. 615 0$aPlant diversity. 615 0$aPlant diversity conservation. 676 $a581.722 686 $aAR 13540$2rvk 700 $aSilvertown$b Jonathan W$0749532 801 0$bMiAaPQ 801 1$bMiAaPQ 801 2$bMiAaPQ 906 $aBOOK 912 $a9910814496003321 996 $aDemons in Eden$93949610 997 $aUNINA