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Evaluating and Monitoring the Health of Large-Scale Ecosystems pp 137–152Cite as

Using Biological Criteria to Protect Ecological Health

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Part of the book series: NATO ASI Series ((ASII,volume 28))

Abstract

Among organisms that inhabit Earth, the human species is unique for three reasons. First, our population size and the extent of our geographic distribution gives us an impact that is unprecendented in the history of life on Earth. Five times in the last 600 million years, cataclysmic events, driven by major geological or astronomical forces such as meteorite strikes or climate change, have set back the evolutionary process with a spasm of extinction that was global in scope (Wilson 1992). As we move into the 21st century, the human species, a biological agent, is likely to be responsible for the next massive extinction event.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute for Environmental Studies, University of Washington FM-12, Seattle, WA, 98195, USA

    James R. Karr

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  1. James R. Karr
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Environmental Sciences, University of Guelph, Blackwood Hall, Guelph, Ontario, N1G 2W1, Canada

    David J. Rapport

  2. Soil and Sediment Quality Section, Environment Canada, Hull, Quebec, K1A 0H3, Canada

    Connie L. Gaudet (Ecosystem Conservation Directorate) (Ecosystem Conservation Directorate)

  3. Institute of Environmental Sciences and Technology Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield, P. O. Box 601, Sheffield, S10 2UQ, UK

    Peter Calow

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© 1995 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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Karr, J.R. (1995). Using Biological Criteria to Protect Ecological Health. In: Rapport, D.J., Gaudet, C.L., Calow, P. (eds) Evaluating and Monitoring the Health of Large-Scale Ecosystems. NATO ASI Series, vol 28. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-79464-3_9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-79464-3_9

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-642-79466-7

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-79464-3

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