Holloway, Colin W.

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76 Environmental Conservationfrom David Lack's work on the significance of clutch-sizein birds. Dawkins pays tribute to Lack for having clearlyseen evolution as a matter of individual rather than speciessurvival.'The Selfish Gene' is a catchy title for a book whichmight more accurately have been called 'An EthologistDiscovers Evolution'. I recommend it as light and enter-taining reading with some perceptive insight into the signifi-cance of animal behaviour seen from an evolutionary view-point, and as a caution to those conservationists who areover-preoccupied with the idea of what is good for thespecies.DENIS F. OWEN{Leicester, England)Lichens as Pollution Monitors, by DAVID L. HAWKSWORTH& FRANCIS ROSE. (Studies in Biology No. 66.) EdwardArnold, 25 Hill Street, London: iv + 60 pp., 17 figs,tables, 21.5 x 13.8 x 0.4 cm, £2.80, £1.40 paper covers,1976.This booklet is the sixty-sixth in the Institute of Biology'sseries of 'Studies in Biology'. The object of the series is toprovide up-to-date coverage of conclusions from research,study methods, and proposals for practical work, on select-ed biological topics, for the use of teachers and studentsat school and university. The objectives of this particularpublication are to summarize the effects of pollutants onlichens, to demonstrate how changes in lichen distributioncan be used to ascertain levels and patterns of pollutants,and to draw attention to phenomena that can be observedand measured in the field.The first four chapters describe the structure, reproduc-tion, growth, and ecology, of lichens and the effect of pollu-tants and other factors (land management, climate, topo-graphy, and human disturbance) on their occurrence.Three further chapters explain the methods of mappingair pollution patterns from lichen studies, describe theeffects of sulphur dioxide on the British lichen flora, andconsider related matters—namely the results of legislationon sulphur dioxide levels, the effects of this pollutant onother plants and on Man, the consequences of lichen losson invertebrates, and the place of lichen studies in environ-mental conservation. Two appendixes deal with theproblem of lichen identification and with practical exer-cises in the mapping and listing of species as a basis forestimating pollution levels. Some references are listedwithin the text and there is a concluding bibliography.To cover this field within a mere sixty pages of text andillustrations is no mean feat and has obviously restrictedthe Authors' scope for exploring interesting tributaries tothe main stream. However, discussion of certain relativelyimportant subjects—notably in the chapter on factorsthat affect the growth and distribution of lichens—has beenpared down to the point of inadequacy. The effects oftemperature, aspect, exposure, and the water-retainingcapacity of substrates, receive scant attention, and thesubject of drought surely merited more than the foursentences that it was allotted, in view of the significancepreviously attached to its inhibitory effect on lichen dis-tribution in urban areas. The presentation of some materialmight also have been improved at the cost of a little addi-tional space. For example, the reader should not have tosearch within the text to find the reasons why lichens aregenerally more sensitive than other plants to air pollution;in an introduction to the subject of this type the itemdeserves a clear explanation of the phenomenon in asection to itself.Minor details aside, however, the authors have met theirobjectives remarkably well and, at the price, the booklet isa bargain.COLIN W. HOLLOWAY(Morges, Switzerland)Man and Environment: Crisis and the Strategy of Choice(4th edn), by 'ROBERT ARVILL'. Penguin Books, Har-mondsworth, Middlesex, England, and New York, N.Y.10022: 432 pp., 13 figs, 18 x 11 x 1.6 cm, stiff papercovers, £1.25 or Can. $5.25, 1976.The fourth edition of this well-known primer by a well-known environmentalist writing under a now well-knownpseudonym, is excellent value for the traveller's pocketthough by no means light reading. Since the first editionwas published in 1967, this work has increased in length bynearly one-third and almost tripled in price, while theillustrative material has been reduced very considerably;nevertheless the result is still satisfying.There are, however, three main points which this Re-viewer would hope the Author will bear in mind whenpreparing future editions: firstly, the book has been writtenlargely for the British reader and with the practical purposeof creating in him or her a greater awareness of the environ-mental facts of life; to a foreigner it is interesting mostly byimplication, which one hopes could be remedied for a widerreadership.* Secondly, the problem as 'Robert Arvill'evidently sees it is one of finding practical means of soprotecting the biosphere that Man can enjoy it far into thefuture. This in fact means retarding the day of reckoning,as the Author intends to be practical while leaving asidethe argument put up by the Chinese that 'If only you wouldaccept to live as we do, there would be no population prob-lem'. For I at least have always felt with horror that theactual threat to life on Earth is not only from the increasein our numbers but also from the profligacy of our livingstandards. Here one thinks for instance of the area ofconcrete currently required by a European or Americancompared with that expected by an Indian, so I wonderwhat exactly is behind the oddly persistent use of the term'developing countries'?To introduce my final point of what I hope to be con-structive criticism, I must confess that reading this bookbrought to my mind persistently the image of a Hoopoestanding on a rotting tree-trunk. From what in life can welearn more than from a rotting tree? It will in due courseturn to splendid manure, and meanwhile provide for manyforms of saprophytic plant and animal life and offer therequired nesting-place for beautiful seed-carrying and otherbirds. It is a microcosm of constant change and almostendless possibilities. Yet rotting wood is a waste as far asMan is concerned, and there is little doubt that the Authorand his clientele will be loath to tolerate its existence.One concluding thought: Homo sapiens agg. is surelythe most evolved and the only responsible species living inthe biosphere—at least to the extent that he may conformto what one cannot help presuming to have been thecreator's wish—and so it would be particularly fascinatingto have outlined what ought properly to be the liaison of Manwith other forms of life which should surely be allowed toprosper and have their existence constantly made moresecure and lasting than the reverse!ROGER DE CANDOLLE{Geneva, Switzerland)* The Author comments (in litt. 21 January 1977), and we agree,that in this connection 'the supplements [pp. 357-419] are ofwide relevance.'—Ed.https:/www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0376892900025212Downloaded from https:/www.cambridge.org/core. University of Basel Library, on 11 Jul 2017 at 13:19:05, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at

Book Review: Lichens as Pollution Monitors: Lichens as Pollution Monitors, by HawksworthDavid L. & RoseFrancis. (Studies in Biology No. 66.) Edward Arnold, 25 Hill Street, London: iv + 60 pp., 17 figs, tables, 21.5 × 13.8 × 0.4 cm, £2.80, £1.40 paper covers, 1976. --- Either ISSN or Journal title must be supplied

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