Advances in Ecological Research by M. Begon; A. H. Fitter; E. D. Ford; A. MacfadyenReview by: P. S. GillerJournal of Animal Ecology, Vol. 59, No. 1 (Feb., 1990), p. 379Published by: British Ecological SocietyStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/5179 .

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Journal of Animal Ecology (1990), 59, 379-384 Journal of Animal Ecology (1990), 59, 379-384

REVIEWS

M. Begon, A. H. Fitter, E. D. Ford & A. Macfadyen (Eds) (1988). Advances in Ecological Research. Vol. 18. Pp. xii+ 330. Academic Press, London. Price ?32.50 (hardback).

Books containing a number of largely unrelated reviews, like this, are unlikely to end up on many individual's bookshelves and one's first impression is 'who are they written for?' But this is probably being unfair, as the Advances in Ecological Research volumes are trying to bridge the gap between journals and specialist books by publishing comprehensive, up-to-date reviews, on a variety of specialized topics in a series destined for library collections.

The current volume contains five chapters. Those by R. Chazdon (53 pp.) on sunflecks and their importance to forest understorey plants, and by E. Newman (22 pp.) on mycorrhizal links between plants are interesting reviews but are not directly relevant to animal ecologists. E. A. Livetts chapter on geochemical monitoring of atmospheric heavy metal pollution (92 pp.) provides an excellent review of the theory, scale and sources, dating techniques and practical applications of heavy metal deposition in peat, ice and aquatic sediments. J. Meyers examines population cycles of forest lepidoptera (49 pp.) and presents a comprehensive review of the occurrence and characteristics of population cycles and analyses the various hypotheses (from insect and plant quality to disease susceptibility) used to explain the cycles. The final chapter by C. tar Braak and I. Prentice presents a theory of gradient analysis, examining data analysis methods and interpretation and discusses which methods should be used to assist interpretation of community composition in terms of species responses to environmental gradients.

All chapters seem to provide a very good, up-to-date and well-referenced review, that will be of significant interest to the various specialists. I do feel, however, that the series as a whole might benefit (in terms of sales and exposure) if individual volumes were based around more closely related topics.

P. S. GILLER

J. B. Campbell & K. M. Charlton (Eds) (1988). Rabies. Pp. xii + 431. Kluwer Academic Publishers, Boston. Price not given.

Few diseases have such an emotional impact on western man as rabies and yet, in comparison with bubonic plague, smallpox and influenza, its impact on human survival and suffering is negligible. In Europe 1.25 million foxes are killed annually to control the disease while only 1-4 people are affected. The difference between rabies and other diseases is that transmission is through the bite of an enraged animal and not the relatively innocuous routes used by other viruses. Unfortunately, few infected people ever recover since the immune system is compromised by a lack of induction until infection is well established in vital, non-regenerating tissue.

The dynamics of the disease are fascinating since the structure and behaviour of the fox population is conducive to rabies transmission; high fecundity, dispersal and spacing behaviour mean that areas hit by rabies are rapidly repopulated by susceptibles. Transmission is density- dependent but most of the fox control campaigns have failed, although the use of oral vaccines for wildlife appears a workable alternative. In Switzerland, vaccines placed in chicken-head baits immunized 60% of the fox population and provided an apparent immune barrier to the disease; in no tests has the barrier been crossed by the epizootic. In America the problem is on a much larger scale and baits have been administered by aircraft, although the use of simulation models implies that more than 60% of the susceptible host population need to be vaccinated.

The volume would have benefited from a chapter which re'iewed the dynamics of the disease and some of the many models produced. Nevertheless, the editors succeed in colating the approaches taken by different disciplines to understand the nature and control of rabies and related viruses. An abstract for each chapter would have helped the general reader but, overall, the volume presents a readable contemporary account, and the editors should be complimented on bringing an international authorship together successfully.

PETER HUDSON

REVIEWS

M. Begon, A. H. Fitter, E. D. Ford & A. Macfadyen (Eds) (1988). Advances in Ecological Research. Vol. 18. Pp. xii+ 330. Academic Press, London. Price ?32.50 (hardback).

Books containing a number of largely unrelated reviews, like this, are unlikely to end up on many individual's bookshelves and one's first impression is 'who are they written for?' But this is probably being unfair, as the Advances in Ecological Research volumes are trying to bridge the gap between journals and specialist books by publishing comprehensive, up-to-date reviews, on a variety of specialized topics in a series destined for library collections.

The current volume contains five chapters. Those by R. Chazdon (53 pp.) on sunflecks and their importance to forest understorey plants, and by E. Newman (22 pp.) on mycorrhizal links between plants are interesting reviews but are not directly relevant to animal ecologists. E. A. Livetts chapter on geochemical monitoring of atmospheric heavy metal pollution (92 pp.) provides an excellent review of the theory, scale and sources, dating techniques and practical applications of heavy metal deposition in peat, ice and aquatic sediments. J. Meyers examines population cycles of forest lepidoptera (49 pp.) and presents a comprehensive review of the occurrence and characteristics of population cycles and analyses the various hypotheses (from insect and plant quality to disease susceptibility) used to explain the cycles. The final chapter by C. tar Braak and I. Prentice presents a theory of gradient analysis, examining data analysis methods and interpretation and discusses which methods should be used to assist interpretation of community composition in terms of species responses to environmental gradients.

All chapters seem to provide a very good, up-to-date and well-referenced review, that will be of significant interest to the various specialists. I do feel, however, that the series as a whole might benefit (in terms of sales and exposure) if individual volumes were based around more closely related topics.

P. S. GILLER

J. B. Campbell & K. M. Charlton (Eds) (1988). Rabies. Pp. xii + 431. Kluwer Academic Publishers, Boston. Price not given.

Few diseases have such an emotional impact on western man as rabies and yet, in comparison with bubonic plague, smallpox and influenza, its impact on human survival and suffering is negligible. In Europe 1.25 million foxes are killed annually to control the disease while only 1-4 people are affected. The difference between rabies and other diseases is that transmission is through the bite of an enraged animal and not the relatively innocuous routes used by other viruses. Unfortunately, few infected people ever recover since the immune system is compromised by a lack of induction until infection is well established in vital, non-regenerating tissue.

The dynamics of the disease are fascinating since the structure and behaviour of the fox population is conducive to rabies transmission; high fecundity, dispersal and spacing behaviour mean that areas hit by rabies are rapidly repopulated by susceptibles. Transmission is density- dependent but most of the fox control campaigns have failed, although the use of oral vaccines for wildlife appears a workable alternative. In Switzerland, vaccines placed in chicken-head baits immunized 60% of the fox population and provided an apparent immune barrier to the disease; in no tests has the barrier been crossed by the epizootic. In America the problem is on a much larger scale and baits have been administered by aircraft, although the use of simulation models implies that more than 60% of the susceptible host population need to be vaccinated.

The volume would have benefited from a chapter which re'iewed the dynamics of the disease and some of the many models produced. Nevertheless, the editors succeed in colating the approaches taken by different disciplines to understand the nature and control of rabies and related viruses. An abstract for each chapter would have helped the general reader but, overall, the volume presents a readable contemporary account, and the editors should be complimented on bringing an international authorship together successfully.

PETER HUDSON

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