Annual Review of Biology and Systematics, Vol. 30Review by: J. Ch.Folia Geobotanica, Vol. 37, No. 2 (Jun., 2002), pp. 251-252Published by: SpringerStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/25133905 .

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Bookreviews 251

J. Bart, M.A. Fligner & W.L Notz: Sampling and statistical methods for behavioral ecologists; Cambridge

University Press, Cambridge, 1998, xii + 330 pp. Price GBP 47.50, USD 74.95, ISBN 0-521-45095-0

(hardback), Price GBP 17.95, USD 29.95, ISBN 0-521-45 705-X(paperback). - The book describes the design

of sampling and statistical methods used in behavioral ecology and related disciplines such as fisheries,

wildlife, and environmental physiology. Written by a biologist and two statisticians, the book provides a

rigorous discussion of statistical concepts and methods that are consequently poorly understood and applied by field biologists. The text consists of twelve chapters: Statistical analysis in behavioral ecology, Estimation, Test

and confidence intervals, Survey sampling methods, Regression, Pseudoreplication, Sampling behavior,

Monitoring abundance, Capture-recapture methods, Estimating survivorship, Resource selection, Other

statistical methods. Each chapter is completed by worked examples. Three appendices summarize the

frequently used statistical methods and contain a set of statistical tables. References include 139 titles and all

examples mentioned in the text are listed in the index. The first part of the book covers the basic statistical

methods and ideas. It reviews important issues such as defining the statistical population when using nonrandom methods for sample selection, bias, interpretation of statistical tests, confidence intervals, multiple

comparisons, and multiple regression. The subsequent chapters discuss topics that are generally not covered in

introductory statistics courses, such as pseudoreplication or capture-recapture methods. The book was written

especially for readers who wish to use sampling techniques and statistical analysis as a tool, but who do not have

a deep interest in the underlying mathematical principles. For these individuals, it can quickly become the basic

statistics handbook. (Lubos Tichy)

L. Chittka & J.D. Thomson (eds.): Cognitive ecology of pollination. Animal behaviour and floral

evolution; Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 2001, 344 pp. Price USD 95-, GBP 60.-, ISBN

0-521-78195-7. - The book was initiated by participants of a symposium at the XVI. International Botanical

Congress in St. Louis, USA in August 1999. It is meant to provide a link between evolutionary ecologists, who

tend to seek adaptive explanations for biological characters, and physiologists and neuroethologists who prefer to consider the mechanisms by which enviromental stimuli provoke or modify behaviour, or, in the other words,

between proximate and ultimate reasoning in biology. It comprises 16 papers devoted to the cognitive and

sensory abilities of pollinators and to the evolution of flower display and diversity. Although most of the papers seem to be of more interest to a zoological audience, they are of crucial interest for understanding the processes in plant populations, too. I feel the editors' goal was to publish papers (in fact reviews) with innovative ideas,

thoughtful approaches and sometimes controversial views. The book is primarily aimed at graduates and

researchers of behavioral and pollination ecology, plant evolutionary biology and neuroethology. (JCh)

T.V. Egorova: Osoki (Carex L.) Rossii i sop rede!'nykh gosudarstv. The sedges (Carex L.) of Russia and

adjacent states; State Chemical-Pharmaceutical Academy, St.-Petersburg and Missouri Botanical Garden

Press, St. Louis, 1999, 776pp. Price USD 49.95, ISBN5-8085-0051-6 (Russia), 0-915279-67-3. -

The book is

the result of a long-term study of the genus Carex (Cyperaceae) on the territory of Russia and adjacent states

(the former U.S.S.R.). The author's proposed new system of the genus is adopted; 5 subgenera and altogether 69

sections are distinguished. Morphological descriptions are given for each subgenus, section and subsection; each species entry (382 species and subspecies are recognized) includes the correct name, main synonyms, indication of the type material, and geographic distribution in the territory. Comments on infraspecific

variation, and related taxa occurring outside the territory are often provided; for some species distribution maps and/or ink drawings are given. The extensive chapters on general geographic distribution and the main

ecological pecularities, evolution, and morphological, anatomical and selected biological features of sedges are

worth reading. The text is written in both Russian and English. The book presents a sound and exhaustive

systematic treatment of a substantial portion of a difficult genus Carex and can be recommended to all plant taxonomists. (JCh)

Annual review of biology and systematics, vol. 30; Palo Alto, California, 1999, 641 pp. Price USD 65.-, ISSN

0066-4167, ISBN 0-8243-1430-1. -

Similarly to the previous issues, the present volume brings together the

most timely and interesting topics in the field of ecology and systematics. Altogether 21 review papers written

by invited authors are included; the most important for the botanical audience are those about the use of

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252 Bookreviews

phylogenetic approaches in the analysis of plant breeding system evolution (by S.G. Weiler and A.K. Sakai), the resistance of hybrid plants and animals to herbivores, pathogens, and parasites (by R.S. Frit2 et al.), gene flow and introgression from domesticated plants into their wild relatives (by N.C. Ellstrand), effect of

population size and mating history on inbreeding depression (by D.L. Byers and D.M. Waller) and about the

evolution of the Eastern Asian and Eastern North American disjunct distributions in flowering plants (by Jun

Wen). (JCh)

D. Graur & Wen-Hsiung Li: Fundamentals of molecular evolution, 2nd edition; Sinauer, Sunderland,

1999, 482 pp. Price USD 48.95, ISBN 0-87893-266-6. - This second edition of a well-known textbook, first

published in 1991, describes the dynamics of evolutionary change at the molecular level, the driving forces

behind the evolutionary process, and the effects of the various molecular mechanisms on the long-term evolution of genomes, genes and their products. Furthermore, it provides the readers with basic methodological tools for comparative and phylogenetic analyses of molecular data. The text is divided into 8 chapters, each of

them includes many examples that support theoretical arguments. I find it a clearly written and readable

textbook, which can be recommended for both under- and postgraduate students of molecular biology and

evolution. (JCh)

J. Silvertown & D. Charleswortb: Introduction to plant population biology, 4th ed.; Blackwell Science,

Oxford, etc., 2001, 347 pp. Price GBP 27.50 (P/B), GBP 24.95 (H/B), ISBN 0-632-04991-X (P/B), 0-865-42029-7 (H/B).

- This is completely revised edition of a basic textbook in plant population biology. The

text is arranged into 10 chapters covering variation and its inheritance in plant populations, evolutionary and

ecological genetics, intraspecific interactions, population dynamics, dynamics of age-structured and

stage-structured populations, regional dynamics and metapopulations, competition and coexistence, and the

evolution of plant life history. Particular characteristics of plants that affect their population biology are

emphasized; much attention is paid to interactions between genetics and ecology, and to the evolution of plant life history. "Hie clarity of text, plentiful examples, and extensive literature survey make this book indispensable for all students of population biology. (JCh)

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