Science Masters: The Sixth Extinction: The Survival Of Biodiversi - Softcover

Over the last 530 million years there have been five mass extinctions of species-the last,65 million years ago,when the dinosaurs disappeared.The biodiversity of our planet may now be on the verge,Leakey and Lewin believe,of a sixth extinction,caused this time by the relentless expansion and limitless appetites of human beings. The new science of 'biodiversity',presented clearly and cogently by Leakey and Lewin,combines insights from palaeontology,biology,ecology and even economics.It integrates the role of Darwenian evolution with the increasingly recognised importance of external and unpredictable forces.

Richard Leakey, the son of leading paleoanthropologists Louis and Mary Leakey, was Director of the National Museums of Kenya for twenty years and more recently has served his country in a more political role as Director of the Wildlife Service. He made the important discovery of the ¿Turkana Boy¿, a virtually complete skeleton, and his popular books include Origins, The People of the Lake and The Making of Mankind. Sean Barrett narrated the BBC Modern History series, People¿s Century and appeared in television productions of Twelfth Night and Father Ted.