Ebook: Rarity

To say you are writing about rarity is to invite two kinds of response. Either one provokes a discussion of what rarity is, or some comment on the complex­ ity of the subject. The objective of this book is to explore the nature of rarity, its complexity if you like, from one particular perspective on what rarity is. Primarily, it is an opportunity to review, to synthesize, and to question. The book is an attempt to draw together a vast body of literature, to extract from it some general principles, and to raise question marks over areas the founda­ tions of which appear to be either absent or crumbling. A perusal of prefaces suggests that they often dwell as long upon what a book is not about, as upon what it does concern. True to such a tradition, I should state that this is specifically not a book about conservation, although in some quarters anything about rarity is viewed as something about conser­ vation. Nor does it contain more than a passing reference to the undoubtedly important issues of the role of genetics in rarity. Examples have been drawn from a wide variety of taxa. They are, nonethe­ less, somewhat depauperate in cases from marine systems. In part this bias results from the unevenness of my familiarity with the literature, in part it perhaps also reflects differences in the questions asked and approaches to the study of communities and assemblages in terrestrial and marine systems.

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This book focuses on rarity, its spatial and temporal dynamics, causes, and interaction with conservation. Although they can be viewed from many different perspectives, rare species are of particular concern to conservationists because they tend to have a greater probability of extinction. This book therefore identifies a number of important issues both heuristic and practical.

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This book focuses on rarity, its spatial and temporal dynamics, causes, and interaction with conservation. Although they can be viewed from many different perspectives, rare species are of particular concern to conservationists because they tend to have a greater probability of extinction. This book therefore identifies a number of important issues both heuristic and practical.
Content:
Front Matter....Pages i-x
What is rarity?....Pages 1-21
Abundances and range sizes: measuring rarity....Pages 22-56
The non-independence of abundance and range size....Pages 57-77
Spatial dynamics....Pages 78-93
Temporal dynamics....Pages 94-113
Causes of rarity....Pages 114-135
Conservation and rarity....Pages 136-152
Where next?....Pages 153-163
Back Matter....Pages 164-205

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This book focuses on rarity, its spatial and temporal dynamics, causes, and interaction with conservation. Although they can be viewed from many different perspectives, rare species are of particular concern to conservationists because they tend to have a greater probability of extinction. This book therefore identifies a number of important issues both heuristic and practical.
Content:
Front Matter....Pages i-x
What is rarity?....Pages 1-21
Abundances and range sizes: measuring rarity....Pages 22-56
The non-independence of abundance and range size....Pages 57-77
Spatial dynamics....Pages 78-93
Temporal dynamics....Pages 94-113
Causes of rarity....Pages 114-135
Conservation and rarity....Pages 136-152
Where next?....Pages 153-163
Back Matter....Pages 164-205
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