The current extinction crisis is of human making, and any favorable resolution of that biodiversity crisis-among the most dire in the 4-billion-year history of Earth-will have to be initiated by mankind. Little time remains for the public, corporations, and governments to awaken to the magnitude of what is at stake. This book aims to assist that critical educational mission, synthesizing recent scientific information and ideas about threats to biodiversity in the past, present, and projected future. This is the second volume from the In the Light of Evolution series, based on a series of Arthur M. Sackler colloquia, and designed to promote the evolutionary sciences. Each installment explores evolutionary perspectives on a particular biological topic that is scientifically intriguing but also has special relevance to contemporary societal issues or challenges. Individually and collectively, the ILE series aims to interpret phenomena in various areas of biology through the lens of evolution, address some of the most intellectually engaging as well as pragmatically important societal issues of our times, and foster a greater appreciation of evolutionary biology as a consolidating foundation for the life sciences. Table of ContentsFront MatterPart I: Contemporary Patterns and Processes in Animals1 Ecological Extinction and Evolution in the Brave NewOcean--JEREMY B. C. JACKSON2 Are We in the Midst of the Sixth Mass Extinction? A View from theWorld of Amphibians--DAVID B. WAKE and VANCE T. VREDENBURG3 Patterns of Biodiversity and Endemism on Indo-West Pacific CoralReefs--MARJORIE L. REAKA, PAULA J. RODGERS, and ALEXEI U. KUDLA4 Homage to Linnaeus: How Many Parasites? How Many Hosts?--ANDYDOBSON, KEVIN D. LAFFERTY, ARMAND M. KURIS, RYAN F. HECHINGER, andWALTER JETZPart II: Contemporary Patterns and Processes in Plants and Microbes5 Species Invasions and Extinction: The Future of NativeBiodiversity on Islands--DOV F. SAX and STEVEN D. GAINES6 How Many Tree Species Are There in the Amazon and How Many ofThem Will Go Extinct?--STEPHEN P. HUBBELL, FANGLIANG HE, RICHARDCONDIT, LUIS BORDA-DE-AGUA, JAMES KELLNER, and HANS TER STEEGE7 Microbes on Mountainsides: Contrasting Elevational Patterns ofBacterial and Plant Diversity--JESSICA A. BRYANT, CHRISTINELAMANNA, HELENE MORLON, ANDREW J. KERKHOFF, BRIAN J. ENQUIST, andJESSICA L. GREEN8 Resistance, Resilience, and Redundancy in MicrobialCommunities--STEVEN D. ALLISON and JENNIFER B. H. MARTINYPart III: Trends and Processes in the Paleontological Past9 Extinction as the Loss of Evolutionary History--DOUGLAS H. ERWIN10 Extinction and the Spatial Dynamics of Biodiversity--DAVIDJABLONSKI11 Dynamics of Origination and Extinction in the Marine FossilRecord--JOHN ALROY12 Megafauna Biomass Tradeoff as a Driver of Quaternary and FutureExtinctions--ANTHONY D. BARNOSKYPart IV: Prospects for the Future13 A Phylogenetic Perspective on the Distribution of PlantDiversity--MICHAEL J. DONOGHUE14 Phylogenetic Trees and the Future of Mammalian Biodiversity--T. JONATHAN DAVIES, SUSANNE A. FRITZ, RICHARD GRENYER, C. DAVID L. ORME, JON BIELBY, OLAF R. P. BININDA-EMONDS, MARCEL CARDILLO, KATEE. JONES, JOHN L. GITTLEMAN, GEORGINA M. MACE, and ANDY PURVIS15 Three Ambitious (and Rather Unorthodox) Assignments for theField of Biodiversity Genetics--JOHN C. AVISE16 Engaging the Public in Biodiversity Issues--MICHAEL J. NOVACEK17 Further Engaging the Public on Biodiversity Issues--PETER J. BRYANT18 Where Does Biodiversity Go from Here? A Grim Business-as-UsualForecast and a Hopeful Portfolio of Partial Solutions--PAUL R. EHRLICH and ROBERT M. PRINGLEReferencesIndex