We know that there are tens of millions of plant and animal species, but we do not know enough to be able to describe the patterns and processes that characterise the distribution of species in space, time and taxonomic groups. Given that in practical terms it is impossible to expect to be able to document biodiversity with any degree of completeness other approaches must be used. Scaling rules offer one possible framework, and this book offers a synthesis of the ways in which scaling theory can be applied to the analysis of biodiversity. Scaling Biodiversity presents new views on quantitative patterns of the biological diversity on earth and the processes responsible for them. Written by a team of leading experts in ecology who present their most recent and innovative views, readers will be provided with what is the state of art in current ecology and biodiversity science.

Preface Geoffrey West, Murray Gell-Mann and James H. Brown; Foreword Lord Robert May; 1. Introduction: scaling biodiversity - what is the problem David Storch, Pablo B. Marquet, James H. Brown; Part I. Spatial Scaling of Species Richness and Distribution: 2. Species-area curves and the geometry of nature Michael W. Palmer; 3. The distribution of species: occupancy, scale, and rarity Fangliang He and Rick Condit; 4. Species distribution patterns, diversity scaling and testing for fractals in Southern African birds Jack J. Lennon, William E. Kunin, Stephen Hartley and Kevin J. Gaston; 5. Geometry of species distribution: random clustering and scale invariance Arnöt ¿izling and David Storch; 6. Toward a mechanistic basis for a unified theory of spatial structure in ecological communities at multiple spatial scales John Harte; Part II. Alternative Measures of Biodiversity: Taxonomy, Phylogeny and Turnover: 7. Spatial scaling of microbial biodiversity Jessica Green and Brendan J. M. Bohannan; 8. The importance of phylogenetic structure in biodiversity studies Jérôme Chave, Guillem Chust and Christophe Thébaud; 9. Hierarchical analysis of beta-diversity using wavelets Timothy H. Keitt, Naiara Sardinha-Pinto and Evan Economo; 10. The scaling of spatial turnover: pruning the thicket Kevin J. Gaston, Karl L. Evans and Jack J. Lennon; Part III. Species-Energy Relationship and the Latitudinal Biodiversity Gradient: 11. Climate and diversity: the role of history Andrew Clarke; 12. Inverse latitudinal trends in species diversity Pavel Kindlmann, Iva Schödelbauerová and Anthony F. G. Dixon; 13. Regional- to global patterns of biodiversity, and what they have to say about mechanisms David J. Currie; 14. The role of temperature in the origin and maintenance of biodiversity Andrew P. Allen, James H. Brown and Jamie F. Gillooly; 15. Scaling species richness and distribution: uniting the species-area and species-energy relationships David Storch, Arnöt L. ¿izling and Kevin J. Gaston; Part IV. Processes, Perspectives and Syntheses: 16. Spatiotemporal scaling of species richness: patterns, processes, and implications Ethan P. White; 17. Scaling biodiversity under neutrality Luís Borda-de-Água, Stephen P. Hubbell and Fangliang He; 18. General patterns in plant invasions: a family of quasi-neutral models Tomá¿ Herben; 19. Extinction and population scaling William E. Kunin; 20. Survival of species in patchy landscapes: percolation in space and time Beata Oborny, György Szabó and Géza Meszéna; 21. Biodiversity power laws Pablo A. Marquet, Sebastian R. Abades and Fabio A. Labra.