A Plague Of Rats And Rubbervines

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A Plague of Rats and Rubbervines

Author : Yvonne Baskin
Publisher : Island Press
ISBN 13 : 1610911008
Total Pages : 388 pages
Book Rating : 4.6/5 (19 download)

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Book Synopsis A Plague of Rats and Rubbervines by : Yvonne Baskin

Download or read book A Plague of Rats and Rubbervines written by Yvonne Baskin and published by Island Press. This book was released on 2013-04-15 with total page 388 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The human love of novelty and desire to make one place look like another, coupled with massive increases in global trade and transport, are creating a growing economic and ecological threat. The same forces that are rapidly "McDonaldizing" the world's diverse cultures are also driving us toward an era of monotonous, weedy, and uniformly impoverished landscapes. Unique plant and animal communities are slowly succumbing to the world's "rats and rubbervines" -- animals like zebra mussels and feral pigs, and plants like kudzu and water hyacinth -- that, once moved into new territory, can disrupt human enterprise and well-being as well as native habitats and biodiversity. From songbird-eating snakes in Guam to cheatgrass in the Great Plains, "invasives" are wreaking havoc around the world. In A Plague of Rats and Rubbervines, widely published science writer Yvonne Baskin draws on extensive research to provide an engaging and authoritative overview of the problem of harmful invasive alien species. She takes the reader on a worldwide tour of grasslands, gardens, waterways, and forests, describing the troubles caused by exotic organisms that run amok in new settings and examining how commerce and travel on an increasingly connected planet are exacerbating this oldest of human-created problems. She offers examples of potential solutions and profiles dedicated individuals worldwide who are working tirelessly to protect the places and creatures they love. While our attention is quick to focus on purposeful attempts to disrupt our lives and economies by releasing harmful biological agents, we often ignore equally serious but much more insidious threats, those that we inadvertently cause by our own seemingly harmless actions. A Plague of Rats and Rubbervines takes a compelling look at this underappreciated problem and sets forth positive suggestions for what we as consumers, gardeners, travelers, nurserymen, fishermen, pet owners, business people -- indeed all of us who by our very local choices drive global commerce -- can do to help. "

A Plague of Rats and Rubbervines

Author : Yvonne Baskin
Publisher : Turtleback Books
ISBN 13 : 9780613915144
Total Pages : 377 pages
Book Rating : 4.9/5 (151 download)

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Book Synopsis A Plague of Rats and Rubbervines by : Yvonne Baskin

Download or read book A Plague of Rats and Rubbervines written by Yvonne Baskin and published by Turtleback Books. This book was released on 2003-11-01 with total page 377 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Explores the issue of bioinvasions, covering the extent and consequences of human rearrangement of the Earth's species and the search for solutions.

Pathways to the Present

Author : Mansel G. Blackford
Publisher : University of Hawaii Press
ISBN 13 : 0824878477
Total Pages : 281 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (248 download)

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Book Synopsis Pathways to the Present by : Mansel G. Blackford

Download or read book Pathways to the Present written by Mansel G. Blackford and published by University of Hawaii Press. This book was released on 2018-03-31 with total page 281 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Ranging from the Hawaiian Archipelago to the Aleutian Islands, from Silicon Valley to Guam, Pathways to the Present is a thoroughly researched and concisely argued account of economic and environmental change in the postwar "American" Pacific. Following a brief survey of the history of the Pacific, the author takes the Hawaiian Islands as the center of American activities in the region and looks at interactions among native Hawaiian, developmental, military, and environmental issues in the archipelago after World War II. He then turns to land- and water-use problems that have intersected with more nebulous quality-of-life concerns to generate policy controversies in the Seattle region and the San Francisco Bay area, especially Silicon Valley. Economic expansion and environmentalism in Alaska are examined through the lens of changes occurring along the Aleutians. From there the study considers Hiroshima after its destruction by the atomic bomb in 1945, looking at residents’ desire to combine urban-planning concepts. The author investigates the effort to remake Hiroshima as a high-tech city in the 1990s, an attempt inspired by the perceived success of Silicon Valley, and postwar planning on Okinawa, where American influences were particularly strong. The final chapter takes into account issues raised on Guam regarding the growth of tourism and the use of the island for military purposes and links these to developments in the Philippines to the west and American Sâmoa to the south. An electronic version of this book is freely available thanks to the support of libraries working with Knowledge Unlatched, a collaborative initiative designed to make high-quality books open access for the public good. The open-access version of this book is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0), which means that the work may be freely downloaded and shared for non-commercial purposes, provided credit is given to the author. Derivative works and commercial uses require permission from the publisher.

American Perceptions of Immigrant and Invasive Species

Author : Peter Coates
Publisher : Univ of California Press
ISBN 13 : 0520933257
Total Pages : 268 pages
Book Rating : 4.5/5 (29 download)

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Book Synopsis American Perceptions of Immigrant and Invasive Species by : Peter Coates

Download or read book American Perceptions of Immigrant and Invasive Species written by Peter Coates and published by Univ of California Press. This book was released on 2007-01-09 with total page 268 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Sometimes by accident and sometimes on purpose, humans have transported plants and animals to new habitats around the world. Arriving in ever-increasing numbers to American soil, recent invaders have competed with, preyed on, hybridized with, and carried diseases to native species, transforming our ecosystems and creating anxiety among environmentalists and the general public. But is American anxiety over this crisis of ecological identity a recent phenomenon? Charting shifting attitudes to alien species since the 1850s, Peter Coates brings to light the rich cultural and historical aspects of this story by situating the history of immigrant flora and fauna within the wider context of human immigration. Through an illuminating series of particular invasions, including the English sparrow and the eucalyptus tree, what he finds is that we have always perceived plants and animals in relation to ourselves and the polities to which we belong. Setting the saga of human relations with the environment in the broad context of scientific, social, and cultural history, this thought-provoking book demonstrates how profoundly notions of nationality and debates over race and immigration have shaped American understandings of the natural world.

Invasive Species in a Globalized World

Author : Reuben P. Keller
Publisher : University of Chicago Press
ISBN 13 : 022616618X
Total Pages : 427 pages
Book Rating : 4.2/5 (261 download)

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Book Synopsis Invasive Species in a Globalized World by : Reuben P. Keller

Download or read book Invasive Species in a Globalized World written by Reuben P. Keller and published by University of Chicago Press. This book was released on 2015 with total page 427 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Global trade and the spread of human populations have increasingly moved thousands of native animal and plant species across the natural barriers that have kept them ecologically separated for millions of years. Because some of them thrive in their new regions and harm the environment, the economy, and human health, the prevention and management of such invasive species has become a major local, national, and international policy initiative. Yet even though ecologists have been studying the negative (and sometimes positive) environmental impacts of invasive species and trying to curb their proliferation, and even though their work has in some cases stimulated public conversation and policy, politicians have generally ignored their recommendations. As a result, ecologists have achieved limited success in slowing the spread of invasives. They ve been realizing that in order to fully characterize the impacts of these species, they need to engage with other relevant disciplines across the social and legal sciences as well as the humanities. Drawing together a wide variety of ecologists, historians, economists, legal scholars, policymakers, and communication scholars, Invasive Species in a Globalized World aims to facilitate a dialogue among these various disciplines in order to fully understand invasives and stop their spread. Addressing the numerous challenges associated with reducing invasive impacts, the contributors provide direct policy recommendations, strategies for communicating the risks of invasive species, and insight into how public discourse drives our response to these risks."

Conservation Biology for All

Author : Navjot S. Sodhi
Publisher : Oxford University Press
ISBN 13 : 0199554234
Total Pages : 369 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (995 download)

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Book Synopsis Conservation Biology for All by : Navjot S. Sodhi

Download or read book Conservation Biology for All written by Navjot S. Sodhi and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2010-01-07 with total page 369 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Conservation Biology for All provides cutting-edge but basic conservation science to a global readership. A series of authoritative chapters have been written by the top names in conservation biology with the principal aim of disseminating cutting-edge conservation knowledge as widely as possible. Important topics such as balancing conversion and human needs, climate change, conservation planning, designing and analyzing conservation research, ecosystem services, endangered species management, extinctions, fire, habitat loss, and invasive species are covered. Numerous textboxes describing additional relevant material or case studies are also included. The global biodiversity crisis is now unstoppable; what can be saved in the developing world will require an educated constituency in both the developing and developed world. Habitat loss is particularly acute in developing countries, which is of special concern because it tends to be these locations where the greatest species diversity and richest centres of endemism are to be found. Sadly, developing world conservation scientists have found it difficult to access an authoritative textbook, which is particularly ironic since it is these countries where the potential benefits of knowledge application are greatest. There is now an urgent need to educate the next generation of scientists in developing countries, so that they are in a better position to protect their natural resources.

Fruits and Plains

Author : Philip J. Pauly
Publisher : Harvard University Press
ISBN 13 : 9780674026636
Total Pages : 364 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 (266 download)

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Book Synopsis Fruits and Plains by : Philip J. Pauly

Download or read book Fruits and Plains written by Philip J. Pauly and published by Harvard University Press. This book was released on 2007 with total page 364 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The engineering of plants has a long history on this continent. Fields, forests, orchards, and prairies are the result of repeated campaigns by amateurs, tradesmen, and scientists to introduce desirable plants, both American and foreign, while preventing growth of alien riff-raff. These horticulturists coaxed plants along in new environments and, through grafting and hybridizing, created new varieties. Over the last 250 years, their activities transformed the American landscape. "Horticulture" may bring to mind white-glove garden clubs and genteel lectures about growing better roses. But Philip J. Pauly wants us to think of horticulturalists as pioneer "biotechnologists," hacking their plants to create a landscape that reflects their ambitions and ideals. Those standards have shaped the look of suburban neighborhoods, city parks, and the "native" produce available in our supermarkets. In telling the histories of Concord grapes and Japanese cherry trees, the problem of the prairie and the war on the Medfly, Pauly hopes to provide a new understanding of not only how horticulture shaped the vegetation around us, but how it influenced our experiences of the native, the naturalized, and the alien--and how better to manage the landscapes around us.

Creative Participation

Author : Michele Micheletti
Publisher : Routledge
ISBN 13 : 1317261909
Total Pages : 231 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (172 download)

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Book Synopsis Creative Participation by : Michele Micheletti

Download or read book Creative Participation written by Michele Micheletti and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2015-12-03 with total page 231 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Creative Participation presents the theory and practice of new innovative forms of political participation. Examples covered in the book include consumers engaging in political shopping, capitalists building green developments, UK Muslim youth campaigning on the internet, Sicilian housewives taking on the Mafia, young evangelical ministers becoming concerned with social change and vegetarians making political statements. The authors show how in these new campaigns individuals swarm like honeybees around particular issues, causing those in power to sit up and take notice. This is the essential guide to the new politics of participation.

Invasive and Introduced Plants and Animals

Author : Ian D. Rotherham
Publisher : Routledge
ISBN 13 : 1134062028
Total Pages : 394 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (34 download)

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Book Synopsis Invasive and Introduced Plants and Animals by : Ian D. Rotherham

Download or read book Invasive and Introduced Plants and Animals written by Ian D. Rotherham and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2012-12-06 with total page 394 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: There have been many well-publicized cases of invasive species of plants and animals, often introduced unintentionally but sometimes on purpose, causing widespread ecological havoc. Examples of such alien invasions include pernicious weeds such as Japanese knotweed, an introduced garden ornamental which can grow through concrete, the water hyacinth which has choked tropical waterways, and many introduced animals which have out-competed and displaced local fauna. This book addresses the broader context of invasive and exotic species, in terms of the perceived threats and environmental concerns which surround alien species and ecological invasions. As a result of unprecedented scales of environmental change, combined with rapid globalisation, the mixing of cultures and diversity, and fears over biosecurity and bioterrorism, the known impacts of particular invasions have been catastrophic. However, as several chapters show, reactions to some exotic species, and the justifications for interventions in certain situations, including biological control by introduced natural enemies, rest uncomfortably with social reactions to ethnic cleansing and persecution perpetrated across the globe. The role of democracy in deciding and determining environmental policy is another emerging issue. In an increasingly multicultural society this raises huge questions of ethics and choice. At the same time, in order to redress major ecological losses, the science of reintroduction of native species has also come to the fore, and is widely accepted by many in nature conservation. However, with questions of where and when, and with what species or even species analogues, reintroductions are acceptable, the topic is hotly debated. Again, it is shown that many decisions are based on values and perceptions rather than objective science. Including a wide range of case studies from around the world, his book raises critical issues to stimulate a much wider debate.

Handbook of the Psychology of Religion and Spirituality, Second Edition

Author : Raymond F. Paloutzian
Publisher : Guilford Publications
ISBN 13 : 1462520537
Total Pages : 717 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (625 download)

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Book Synopsis Handbook of the Psychology of Religion and Spirituality, Second Edition by : Raymond F. Paloutzian

Download or read book Handbook of the Psychology of Religion and Spirituality, Second Edition written by Raymond F. Paloutzian and published by Guilford Publications. This book was released on 2014-12-19 with total page 717 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Paloutzian (experimental and social psychology, Westmont College) and Park (psychology, U. of Connecticut) provide a 33-chapter handbook on the psychology of religion and spirituality, for social and clinical psychologists, pastoral counselors, and students and researchers in psychology and religious studies. Psychologists and a few religious studies specialists from the US and some countries in Europe address the foundations, including definitions, core issues, measurement assessment, research methods, psychodynamic psychology and religion, and evolutionary psychology as a foundation for the psychology of religion; religious and spiritual development across the lifespan; and the neural and cognitive bases of religion and connections to emotion, personality, culture, and social behavior. They discuss religious practices and rituals, conversion experiences, prayer, spiritual struggles, fundamentalism, forgiveness, values, and morality, and implications for individual and collective well-being in terms of health, mental health, coping, psychotherapy, workplace spirituality research, terrorism, and other areas. New topics in this edition include cross-cultural issues, spiritual goals, emotional values, and mindfulness. Most chapters have been redesigned or rewritten, with 25 new and eight revised chapters. The main themes of the book are more integrated, and the introductory and concluding chapters argue that the application of religious meaning systems and the multilevel interdisciplinary paradigm can allow reconceptualization of the field and expand research. Annotation ©2013 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com).

Sustaining Life

Author : Eric Chivian
Publisher : Oxford University Press
ISBN 13 : 0199721203
Total Pages : 568 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (997 download)

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Book Synopsis Sustaining Life by : Eric Chivian

Download or read book Sustaining Life written by Eric Chivian and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2008-06-02 with total page 568 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Earth's biodiversity-the rich variety of life on our planet-is disappearing at an alarming rate. And while many books have focused on the expected ecological consequences, or on the aesthetic, ethical, sociological, or economic dimensions of this loss, Sustaining Life is the first book to examine the full range of potential threats that diminishing biodiversity poses to human health. Edited and written by Harvard Medical School physicians Eric Chivian and Aaron Bernstein, along with more than 100 leading scientists who contributed to writing and reviewing the book, Sustaining Life presents a comprehensive--and sobering--view of how human medicines, biomedical research, the emergence and spread of infectious diseases, and the production of food, both on land and in the oceans, depend on biodiversity. The book's ten chapters cover everything from what biodiversity is and how human activity threatens it to how we as individuals can help conserve the world's richly varied biota. Seven groups of organisms, some of the most endangered on Earth, provide detailed case studies to illustrate the contributions they have already made to human medicine, and those they are expected to make if we do not drive them to extinction. Drawing on the latest research, but written in language a general reader can easily follow, Sustaining Life argues that we can no longer see ourselves as separate from the natural world, nor assume that we will not be harmed by its alteration. Our health, as the authors so vividly show, depends on the health of other species and on the vitality of natural ecosystems. With a foreword by E.O. Wilson and a prologue by Kofi Annan, and more than 200 poignant color illustrations, Sustaining Life contributes essential perspective to the debate over how humans affect biodiversity and a compelling demonstration of the human health costs. It is the winner of the Gerald L. Young Book Award in Human Ecology Best Sci-Tech Books of 2008 for Biology by Gregg Sapp of Library Journal

Sociocultural Situatedness

Author : Roslyn M. Frank
Publisher : Walter de Gruyter
ISBN 13 : 3110199114
Total Pages : 453 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (11 download)

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Book Synopsis Sociocultural Situatedness by : Roslyn M. Frank

Download or read book Sociocultural Situatedness written by Roslyn M. Frank and published by Walter de Gruyter. This book was released on 2008-08-27 with total page 453 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The contributions contained in the second volume of the two-volume set Body, Language and Mind introduce and elaborate upon the concept of sociocultural situatedness, understood broadly as the way in which minds and cognitive processes are shaped, both individually and collectively, by their interaction with socioculturally contextualized structures and practices; and, furthermore, how these structures interact, contextually, with language and can become embodied in it. Drawing on theoretical concepts and analytical tools within the purview of cognitive linguistics and related fields, the volume explores the relationship between body, language and mind, focusing on the complex mutually reinforcing relationships holding between the sociocultural contextualisation of language and, inversely, the linguistic contextualisation of culure. Stated differently, the notion of sociocultural situatedness allows for language to be seen as a cultural activity and at the same time as a subtle mechanism for organizing culture and thought. The volume offers a representative, multi- and interdisciplinary collection of new papers on sociocultural situatedness, bringing together for the first time a wide variety of perspectives and case studies directed explicitly to elucidating the analytical potential of this concept for cognitive linguists and other researchers working in allied fields such as AI, discourse studies and cognitive anthropology. The book brings together several core issues related to the notion of sociocultural situatedness, some of which have been addressed previously, although to a large degree sporadically and from a variety of disciplinary perspectives without fully exploring the possible analytical advantages of this concept as a tool for investigating the role of culturally entrenched schemata in cognition and language. In short, this is the first comprehensive survey of sociocultural situatedness theory.

Transitions

Author : Peter W. Newton
Publisher : Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN 13 : 9781402088124
Total Pages : 716 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 (881 download)

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Book Synopsis Transitions by : Peter W. Newton

Download or read book Transitions written by Peter W. Newton and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2008-09-09 with total page 716 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Formidable challenges confront Australia and its human settlements: the mega-metro regions, major and provincial cities, coastal, rural and remote towns. The key drivers of change and major urban vulnerabilities have been identified and principal among them are resource-constraints, such as oil, water, food, skilled labour and materials, and carbon-constraints, linked to climate change and a need to transition to renewable energy, both of which will strongly shape urban development this century. Transitions identifies 21st century challenges to the resilience of Australia’s cities and regions that flow from a range of global and local influences, and offers a portfolio of solutions to these critical problems and vulnerabilities. The solutions will require fundamental transitions in many instances: to our urban infrastructures, to our institutions and how they plan for the future, and perhaps most of all to ourselves in terms of our lifestyles and consumption patterns. With contributions from 92 researchers – all leaders in their respective fields – this book offers the expertise to chart pathways for a sustainability transition.

State of the World 2003

Author : Worldwatch Institute
Publisher : Routledge
ISBN 13 : 1136533400
Total Pages : 342 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (365 download)

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Book Synopsis State of the World 2003 by : Worldwatch Institute

Download or read book State of the World 2003 written by Worldwatch Institute and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2010-09-23 with total page 342 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This volume takes a look at the trends that have put the global economy on a collision course with the Earth's ecosystems. It aims to provide a vital synthesis ranging across a wide spectrum of both the social and natural sciences. Published annually in 28 languages, each edition draws on the knowledge of the Worldwatch Institute's team of writers and researchers.

Biodiversity

Author : Kevin J. Gaston
Publisher : John Wiley & Sons
ISBN 13 : 1118684915
Total Pages : 194 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (186 download)

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Book Synopsis Biodiversity by : Kevin J. Gaston

Download or read book Biodiversity written by Kevin J. Gaston and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2013-04-22 with total page 194 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This concise introductory text provides a complete overview of biodiversity - what it is, how it arose, its distribution, why it is important, human impact upon it, and what should be done to maintain it. Timely overview of the serious attempts made to quantify and describe biodiversity in a scientific way Acts as an easy entry point into the primary literature Provides real-world examples of key issues, including illustrations of major temporal and spatial patterns in biodiversity Designed primarily with undergraduate students and course lecturers in mind, it will also be of interest to anyone who requires an overview of, and entry to, the vast literature on these topics. All the figures included in the book are downloadable from the Blackwell Publishing website

Liquid Empire

Author : Corey Ross
Publisher : Princeton University Press
ISBN 13 : 0691211442
Total Pages : 464 pages
Book Rating : 4.6/5 (912 download)

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Book Synopsis Liquid Empire by : Corey Ross

Download or read book Liquid Empire written by Corey Ross and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2024-07-09 with total page 464 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A bold new account of European imperialism told through the history of water In the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, a handful of powerful European states controlled more than a third of the land surface of the planet. These sprawling empires encompassed not only rainforests, deserts, and savannahs but also some of the world’s most magnificent rivers, lakes, marshes, and seas. Liquid Empire tells the story of how the waters of the colonial world shaped the history of imperialism, and how this imperial past still haunts us today. Spanning the major European empires of the period, Corey Ross describes how new ideas, technologies, and institutions transformed human engagements with water and how the natural world was reshaped in the process. Water was a realm of imperial power whose control and distribution were closely bound up with colonial hierarchies and inequalities—but this vital natural resource could never be fully tamed. Ross vividly portrays the efforts of officials, engineers, fisherfolk, and farmers to exploit water, and highlights its crucial role in the making and unmaking of the colonial order. Revealing how the legacies of empire have persisted long after colonialism ebbed away, Liquid Empire provides needed historical perspective on the crises engulfing the world’s waters, particularly in the Global South, where billions of people are faced with mounting water shortages, rising flood risks, and the relentless depletion of sea life.

Molecular Identification of Fungi

Author : Youssuf Gherbawy
Publisher : Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN 13 : 3642050425
Total Pages : 511 pages
Book Rating : 4.6/5 (42 download)

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Book Synopsis Molecular Identification of Fungi by : Youssuf Gherbawy

Download or read book Molecular Identification of Fungi written by Youssuf Gherbawy and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2010-03-03 with total page 511 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Fungi enjoy great popularity in pharmaceutical, agricultural, and biotechnological applications. Recent advances in the decipherment of whole fungal genomes promise an acceleration of these trends. This timely book links scientists from different parts of the world who are interested in the molecular identification of fungi combined with the exploration of the fungal biodiversity in different ecosystems. It provides a compendium for scientists who rely on a rapid and reliable detection of fungal specimens in environmental as well as clinical resources in order to ensure the benefit of industrial and clinical applications. Chapters focus on the opportunities and limits of the molecular marker-mediated identification of fungi. Various methods, procedures and strategies are outlined. Furthermore, the book offers an update of the current progress in the development of fungal molecular techniques, and draws attention to potential and associated problems, as well as integrating theory and practice.