Shaping Ecology: The Life of Arthur Tansley
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | 4.28 (914 Votes) |
| Asin | : | 0470671548 |
| Format Type | : | paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 226 Pages |
| Publish Date | : | 2014-09-01 |
| Language | : | English |
DESCRIPTION:
Arthur Digbee said A nice, short biography that begins well but ends in a mass of committee work. Arthur Tansley was one of the founders of British ecology, popularly but erroneously attributed with coining the word "ecosystem." Peter Ayres has given him a nice little biography here. Ayres is himself a plant scientist who is an academic nephew or grandson of Tansley. Surprisingly, Ayres not to emphasize Tansley's biology as much as his mentoring and institution building, including creation of The Nature Conservancy.I found this to be a lively and interesting biography as Tansley rose to the highest peaks of British ecology. At that. A hard book to like Mohe This is a much needed biography of one of the chief architects, and arguably the founder, of modern ecology, it is also incredibly tedious, annoying, and barely readable.Basically a sponsored volume, it is co published by the British Ecological Society and the academic journal, the New Phytologist, it is almost a self parody of the genre. There is much quoting of mission statements, detailed chronolgies of the founding of organizations, and endless discussions of the formation and reports of endless, mostly forgotten study committees, . Trudie Barreras said Contemporary and basically important. For a relatively thin volume, this book is painstakingly detailed. However, it is not really what I've come to understand a biography to represent. Although there are personal details of Tansley's life outside of his career (which was obviously all-consuming for him), I didn't feel as if I gained any real perspective on his personality or the important relationships. Perhaps this is quintessentially "British", but from my viewpoint was not really deeply engaging.Ayers' book is extensively annotated, and I found the inclusion of the "no
After a career teaching plant physiology and pathology at Lancaster University, his interest in the history of plant sciences has led him to write Harry Marshall Ward and the Fungal Thread of Death and The Aliveness of Plants: The Darwins at the Dawn of Plant Science. Peter Ayres was taught by, or worked with, several of Tansley's closest friends. He was for seven years
He was the first President of the British Ecological Society and the first chair of the Field Studies Council. Tansley was its President. Yet ecology is a young science, barely 100 years old. Historical context is provided by Tansley's family for his parents moved in the Fabian-socialist world of John Ruskin and Octavia Hill, both instrumental in the foundation of the National Trust. His work as a botanist is considered seminal and he is recognized as one of the giants of ecology throughout the world. While Britain was relatively slow to protect its green spaces and wildlife, it did establish in 1913 the first professional Ecological Society in the world. Ecology underpins the principles and practices of modern conservation and the maintenance of biodiversity. Sir Arthur Tansley was the leading figure in ecology for the first half of the 20th century, founding the field, and forming its first professional societies. Its origins lie in phytogeography, the naming and mapping of plants.Shaping Ecology is a book about a multi-faceted man whose friends included Bertrand Russell, Marie Stopes, Julian Huxley, GM Trevelyan, and Solly Zuckerman. Organising the British Vegetation Committee and initiating a series of International Phytogeographic Excursions, he changed phytogeography into ecology.. It explains the causes of, and offers solutions to, problems of climate change
” (Ecology, 1 April 2013)“To all of us who cherish such wild places in modern Britain, as this book reveals, we owe Tansley a great debt.” (The Biologist, 1 June 2013)“A valuable acquisition for institutions with programs in ecology, botany, environmental sciences, or history of science. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Academic and general readers, all levels.” (Choice, 1 March 2013)“It is directed at ecologists, but it is a straightforward biography and, as such, deserves to be widely read.” (Journal of Insect Conservervation, 8 July 2012) . “In conclusion, this book is well written and it is easy to locate specific information on Tansley and the broader contexts of his work throughout the book.” (The British