The Miner's Canary: Unraveling the Mysteries of Extinction - Hardcover

Niles Eldredge

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 013583659X ISBN 13: 9780135836590

Publisher: Prentice Hall Direct, 1991

Synopsis

Discusses the general theory of extinction, and looks for what triggers it, what accelerates it, and what its warning signs are

About this title

Reviews

Eldredge, curator and chairman of the department of invertebrates at New York City's American Museum of Natural History, surveys the last 670 million years, examining factors that cause extinction without human intervention and, later, the effects of human action. Offering a theory that links the distant past to the present, he observes that most mass extinctions occurred slowly over a very long period (up to five million years); he points out that by the time dinosaurs vanished forever, most of their species had already become extinct. Noting that the move to agriculture signaled the destruction of animal habitats, Eldredge concludes that change of size and location of habitat underlies most instances of extinction, from isolated species disappearances to mass extinction. In the matter of ecosystem degradation, he maintains, it is our existence that is at stake. A stimulating and persuasive argument. Science Book Club and Library of Science Book Club alternates.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Curator and chairman of the Department of Invertebrates at the American Museum of Natural History, Eldredge has long been comfortable with the concept of mass extinction--but his concern for the future surfaces here as he examines just how easily Homo sapiens might help bring about the next great catastrophic wave. Admittedly, Eldredge says, mass extinctions have always been an essential step in the cycles of life's creation--but as participants in the current global ecosystem, we have a clear and justifiable stake in postponing the next debacle for as long as we can. In examining the circumstances, possible causes, and consequences associated with previous mass extinctions, Eldredge attempts to understand how clear the present danger really is and what is likely to happen if current abuses of the environment continue unabated. The examination is long and sometimes tedious-- no one but a paleontologist can eagerly turn the pages of a discussion of Early Triassic ammonites--but the author's conclusions are powerful enough to justify a little preliminary detail. Whether caused by the earth's collision with extraterrestrial bodies, a global drop in temperature, or a change in sea level (thanks in part, perhaps, to the continental drift), most extinction events come about through a change of the size and location of habitat. Is the human impact on the ecosphere sufficient to set off a major catastrophe? Citing agriculture and deforestation as major culprits, Eldredge gives an emphatic yes- -particularly when considered in concert with the even less controllable and predictable natural forces still at work. Any solution must begin with conserving ``as much [space] as possible'' in maintaining local ecosystems and with rescuing endangered species one by one, understanding that preserving each species is an effective way of underscoring our intent to rescue us all. Sober and sobering--Eldredge's facts imply a sick canary indeed. -- Copyright ©1991, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Because of their sensitivity to dangerous gases, canaries were once kept in mines to warn miners of potential disaster. In this book, paleontologist Eldredge, author of Life Pulse ( LJ 2/1/87) and other books dealing with evolution and the history of life, notes that the decline of migrating songbirds may likewise signal catastrophe, but on a global scale. He reviews the evidence for extinction and its causes, primarily using fossil evidence and focusing on climatic change and loss of habitat. This book is aimed at the same interested lay readers as David Raup's Extinction ( LJ 8/91), but differs in its focus and its more wide-ranging discussion. If forced to choose between the two, pick this one.
- Joseph Hannibal, Cleveland Museum of Natural History
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Edition details

• Publisher: Prentice Hall Direct
• Publication date: 1991
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 013583659X
• ISBN 13: 9780135836590
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 246