The Hidden Universe: Adventures in Biodiversity

“If we are to care for biodiversity, we first need to fully understand what it is,” writes Antonelli, director of science at England’s Royal Botanic Gardens, in his impassioned debut. Through research and globe-trotting anecdotes, Antonelli seeks to answer “big questions about the origins and evolution of whole ecosystems… and how biodiversity has changed, and continues to change.” His survey is divided into four parts: the first defines what biodiversity is (it consists of five concepts: “species diversity, genetic diversity, evolutionary diversity, functional diversity, and ecosystem diversity”), and the second explains why it matters (among other reasons, allowing for pollinated crops and clean water). Elsewhere, Antonelli “outline[s] the major threats affecting biodiversity today,” which include habitat loss and climate change, and he wraps up with ideas for protecting biodiversity, calling for up to 40% of Earth’s “terrestrial areas” to be conservation spaces and for readers to cut back big time on their meat consumption. Along the way, the author gives readers glimpses into ecosystems teeming with diverse life, and while he uses a fair bit of technical language, he’s skilled at translating it for the lay reader. This timely appreciation of Earth’s varied life forms delivers. (Sept.)