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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 Contents Front Matter Part I: Contemporary Patterns and Processes in Animals 1 Ecological Extinction and Evolution in the Brave NewOcean--JEREMY B. C. JACKSON 2 Are We in the Midst of the Sixth Mass Extinction? A View from theWorld of Amphibians--DAVID B. WAKE and VANCE T. VREDENBURG 3 Patterns of Biodiversity and Endemism on Indo-West Pacific CoralReefs--MARJORIE L. REAKA, PAULA J. RODGERS, and ALEXEI U. KUDLA 4 Homage to Linnaeus: How Many Parasites? How Many Hosts?--ANDYDOBSON, KEVIN D. LAFFERTY, ARMAND M. KURIS, RYAN F. HECHINGER, andWALTER JETZ Part II: Contemporary Patterns and Processes in Plants and Microbes 5 Species Invasions and Extinction: The Future of NativeBiodiversity on Islands--DOV F. SAX and STEVEN D. GAINES 6 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 STEEGE 7 Microbes on Mountainsides: Contrasting Elevational Patterns ofBacterial and Plant Diversity--JESSICA A. BRYANT, CHRISTINELAMANNA, HELENE MORLON, ANDREW J. KERKHOFF, BRIAN J. ENQUIST, andJESSICA L. GREEN 8 Resistance, Resilience, and Redundancy in MicrobialCommunities--STEVEN D. ALLISON and JENNIFER B. H. MARTINY Part III: Trends and Processes in the Paleontological Past 9 Extinction as the Loss of Evolutionary History--DOUGLAS H. ERWIN 10 Extinction and the Spatial Dynamics of Biodiversity--DAVIDJABLONSKI 11 Dynamics of Origination and Extinction in the Marine FossilRecord--JOHN ALROY 12 Megafauna Biomass Tradeoff as a Driver of Quaternary and FutureExtinctions--ANTHONY D. BARNOSKY Part IV: Prospects for the Future 13 A Phylogenetic Perspective on the Distribution of PlantDiversity--MICHAEL J. DONOGHUE 14 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 PURVIS 15 Three Ambitious (and Rather Unorthodox) Assignments for theField of Biodiversity Genetics--JOHN C. AVISE 16 Engaging the Public in Biodiversity Issues--MICHAEL J. NOVACEK 17 Further Engaging the Public on Biodiversity Issues--PETER J.BRYANT 18 Where Does Biodiversity Go from Here? A Grim Business-as-UsualForecast and a Hopeful Portfolio of Partial Solutions--PAUL R.EHRLICH and ROBERT M. PRINGLE References Index