Holloway, Colin W.

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REVIEWS & NOTICESWildlife Ecology: An Analytical Approach, by AARONN. MOEN. W. H. Freeman, San Francisco, USA, andReading, England: xviii + 458 pp., 182 illustr., 56 tables,26 x 18 x 2.3 cm., $17.50 or £7.60, 1973.The content of this book is largely devoted to analysis ofenergy relationships between the organism and its environ-ment through the use of ecological models. Its particularconcern is the analysis of wild ruminant requirements,throughout the animals' life-span, and the ability of therange to satisfy them. Publishers' claims aside, it mustcertainly be among the first comprehensive textbooks onanalysis of environmental responses of free-ranging mam-mals in terms of energy metabolism and nutrition, and, incommon with any new look at an apparently well-establish-ed situation, its study provides an instructive and illuminat-ing experience.In presenting his information, the author follows his ownphilosophy of analytical ecology, namely of providing aprogression of analyses from the simple to the complex.He is initially concerned with environmental interactions ofsingle animals and then progresses to consideration ofgroups, populations, and, finally, ecological organizations.He reviews the physical, chemical, and thermal, charac-teristics of the biosphere, then considers animal physiologyand behaviour (mainly of wild ruminants and with conti-nuing emphasis on the energetics of interactions). Thesedata provide the basis for his final section, which comprisesan analysis of the biological relationships of the animaland its range, with special reference to the concepts ofhomeothermy and carrying capacity.The author's English composition is clear and concise,and commendably free from jargon. The reader may expe-rience problems, however, in maintaining continuity ofthought between certain subsections of the book. It issometimes difficult to appreciate the relevance of some ofthe data that are reviewed, until one has the opportunityof studying the more complex models of the final section,when most of the apparent irrelevancies slot into place.One of the headaches of computer analysis is the need toquantify relationships. Unfortunately, many of the requireddata on energy metabolism of wild animals, for example,are lacking, and so the author has been forced to lean heavilyon similar data for domestic stock. This expedient shouldprompt no serious criticism, however, at least for thepurposes of demonstrating methods and providing insightinto the more complex ecological interactions. Animalbehaviour provides obstacles of a different sort, and one cansympathize with the author's lament that 'behaviouralcharacteristics are difficult to quantity'—a comment whichcould probably rank as one of the understatements of thedecade!The penultimate chapter, 'Predicting Population Dynam-ics,' considers the relative importance of different factorsin earlier analyses in the book and attempts a more detailedanalysis of the animal's relationships with its environment.It identifies productivity simulations as the key to predic-tions on a gamut of population parameters and makesextremely interesting reading. In contrast, parts of the lastchapter, 'Ecological Analyses and Decision-making Pro-cedures' are painfully weak and ought to be rewritten orexcluded from subsequent editions.At the present time, perhaps one of the more usefulfunctions that this book will serve is to clarify the currentrole of models in ecological analysis—comment on which isscattered, sometimes almost incidentally, throughout thetext. The author admits that the natural world is toocomplex to be modelled in its entirety, but he maintains thatthere is a considerable amount of information to be obtain-ed from models comprising the more important variables innatural systems. In addition, the construction of models fora specific set of conditions can provide insight into therelative values of different responses of the organism to itsenvironment. Simulation models of interactions can alsoprovide the means for estimating the quantitative nature ofthe variables and for identifying specific variables thatrequire more exhaustive study. The point is made that testsof significance must be considered in the context of theecosystem, and that the significance of variation in any oneparameter cannot be assessed adequately unless its effect isconsidered in relation to the other ecosystem componentsthat are affected by it.Professor Moen's book may not entirely eliminatescepticism over the importance of modelling in ecologicalanalyses, but it should certainly remove some of the moreprevalent misconceptions on the subject.COLIN W. HOLLOWAY(Morges, Switzerland)Ecology and Economics: Controlling Pollution in the 70s,Edited by MARSHALL I. GOLDMAN. Prentice-Hall, Engle-wood Cliffs, New Jersey: xi + 234 pp., 3 figs, 23.5 x 16x 1.9 cm, US$2.95, 1972.The Spoils of Progress: Environmental Pollution in theSoviet Union, by MARSHALL I. GOLDMAN. MIT Press,Cambridge, Massachusetts, and London, England: xi +372 pp., illustr., 21 x 14.3 x 3.4 cm, US $7.50 or £3.60,1972.Several common themes are explored in ProfessorGoldman's two volumes: in particular those which establishthe pervasiveness of environmental disruption in quitedistinct institutional settings. Pollution has its source indevelopment itself. The relatively similar processes andcontexts of industrialization, modernization, urbanization,and the consequent rise in affluence, are the factors toreckon with—not socialism or capitalism as such. Theauthor/editor asks the reader to probe underlying economicrelationships, particularly the tendency for production togenerate untoward externalities, in order to understand howMan almost universally damages his setting, how heencounters difficulties in assessing such effects, and how hemay yet, perhaps, redeem his stewardship of the Earth.Ecology and Economics serves as an introductory text,a collection of fifteen rather brief essays (four by Goldmanhimself) which approach the subject from an economic,technological, and administrative, perspective. A nicebalance is held between economic theory and case studies(USA, Europe, Japan, and USSR). The articles seek firstto explain why pollution is so widespread: traditionalmethods of control fail, both those of the market and those77Environmental Conservation, Vol. 1, No. 1, Spring 1974—© 1974 All Rights Reserved—Printed in Switzerlandhttps:/www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0376892900004057Downloaded from https:/www.cambridge.org/core. University of Basel Library, on 11 Jul 2017 at 12:21:05, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at

Book Review: Wildlife Ecology: An Analytical Approach: Wildlife Ecology: An Analytical Approach, by MoenAaron N.. FreemanW. H., San Francisco, USA, and Reading, England: xviii + 458 pp., 182 illustr., 56 tables, 26 × 18 × 2.3 cm., $17.50 or £7.60, 1973

Book Review: Wildlife Ecology: An Analytical Approach: Wildlife Ecology: An Analytical Approach, by MoenAaron N.. FreemanW. H., San Francisco, USA, and Reading, England: xviii + 458 pp., 182 illustr., 56 tables, 26 × 18 × 2.3 cm., $17.50 or £7.60, 1973

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