An Introduction to Evolutionary Ecology by A. CockburnReview by: Jan ZimaFolia Geobotanica & Phytotaxonomica, Vol. 30, No. 1 (1995), p. 109Published by: SpringerStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/4181336 .

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Bookreviews 109

The two volumes of the proceedings contain more than 100 contributions divided into nine sections: Biodiversity; Evolution on islands; Phylogenetic processes; Morphology and development in evolution; Population and community evolution; Symbiosis and coevolution; Genetic processes in evolution; Cellular and molecular levels in evolution; Methods and resources. Details of the congress programme and organization are given in appendices, and indexes of authors and organisms are included. Individual contributions are presented as extended abstracts, full papers and review articles or essays. The book provides a good synopsis of recent research in evolutionary biology and systematics, emphasizes currently important issues, and targets emerging ideas that are likely to play an important role in the future of the field. Workers in all spheres of evolutionary biology will find this book of great importance. The next International Congress of Systematic and Evolutionary Biology will be held in Budapest, Hungary, in August 1996.

Jan Zima

A. Cockburn: AN INTRODUCTION TO EVOLUTIONARY ECOLOGY; Blackwell Scientific Publications, Oxford, 1991, xii + 370 pp. Price GBP 18.95 (paperback), ISBN 0-632-02729-0

This extensively illustrated book aims to provide a course suitable for older undergraduates and postgraduate students early in their careers. The well-structured and lucid text presents an up-to-date critical evaluation of a variety of problems of evolutionary ecology, with many examples of classical research and recent results from all parts of the plant and animal kingdoms. Evolutionary ecology is defined as the study of the distribution and abundance of organisms. Main topics discussed include the origin and maintenance of the diversity of ogranisms, the pressures that determine their form and shape, their behaviour, and the way in which they interact. The final chapters consider topical applications of evolutionary ecology, covering the management of endangered species, the causes of extinction, the importance of genetic diversity and the release of genetically engineered organisms.

Great mathematical competence is not assumed, though certain algebraic or geometric analyses are used to illustrate particular ideas. The text includes much more detailed discussion of genetics at various levels than is usual in an ecology textbook. Every chapter concludes with a short summary, recommended further reading and several topics suggested for discussion. An extensive list of references covers largely the current literature in the respective field. Surprisingly, Pianka's book on evolutionary ecology from 1978 is not included among the references.

This book is a celebration of evolutionary thinking and explores the role that evolution plays in ecology. Its primary aim is to improve readers' ability to ask questions about the living world and the pattern that resides within it. Undoubtedly, the book will be of interest not only to university students.

Jan Zima

R. Pott: DIE PFLANZENGESELLSCHAFTEN DEUTSCHLANDS; Verlag Eugen Ulmer Stuttgart, 1992, 427 p., 2 72 figs., Price DEM 58.-, ISBN 3-8252-8067-5 (UTB), ISBN 3-8001-2658-3 (Ulmer)

The book presents perhaps the first survey of plant communities of the whole of Germany, after the Federal Republic of Germany and the German Democratic Republic united. The text is introduced by a brief explanation of basic concepts and terms in plant sociology and of the theoretical basis of classification of plant communities (syntaxonomy). The classification used is based on the floristic composition of stands and on tabular differentiation of vegetation units, according to the principles of the Zurich-Montpellier phytosociological school. Information on the geographical division of the territory and a schematic map of the potential natural vegetation is included.

The plant communities are treated within 46 vegetation classes grouped into 11 groups corresponding roughly to principal formations. The systematic survey starts with the group of aquatic communities including the following classes: Lemnetea minoris, Charetea fragilis, Zosteretea marinae, Ruppietea maritimae,

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