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Big Ideas Simply Explained

O Livro da Ecologia

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O livro da ecologia– mais um volume da série best-seller As grandes ideias de todos os tempos

Entender a importância da biodiversidade e da sustentabilidade é uma demanda urgente, em um mundo que se mostra cada vez mais hostil às intervenções humanas. Em O livro da ecologia é possível compreender desde as origens do nosso planeta e seus microrganismos, como chegamos ao estágio de evolução atual, e como a natureza nos obriga a lutar constantemente pela nossa sobrevivência e a nos adaptar e melhorar diante de cada novo desafio, seja ele um vírus ou as mudanças climáticas.

Escrito em uma linguagem simples, O livro da ecologia desmistifica algumas crenças e traz à tona discussões importantes para o presente e o futuro, como: Qual o papel do DNA? Como as epidemias controlam as populações? Como preservar os ecossistemas ajuda também a nos preservar como espécie? Qual a real influência do fator humano no clima?

Ricamente ilustrado, a obra traz infográficos que descomplicam teorias complexas e citações que facilitam a visualização e memorização das informações, além de imagens que complementam e entretêm para ajudar a compreender a ciência.

352 pages, Paperback

First published April 2, 2019

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Various

455k books1,340 followers
Various is the correct author for any book with multiple unknown authors, and is acceptable for books with multiple known authors, especially if not all are known or the list is very long (over 50).

If an editor is known, however, Various is not necessary. List the name of the editor as the primary author (with role "editor"). Contributing authors' names follow it.

Note: WorldCat is an excellent resource for finding author information and contents of anthologies.

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Displaying 1 - 30 of 33 reviews
446 reviews4 followers
March 2, 2020
This was a comprehensive guide to Ecology, which I have practiced for many years. It could be a good starter book for someone new to the movement, it has pictures and graphs other visual guides on every page. Great for visual learners. There may be sections you think you want to skip, but I urge anyone who reads the book to skim those sections due to updated information. Check it out at the library to see if it is helpful for the information you are seeking.
Profile Image for Eleri.
241 reviews8 followers
December 31, 2020
I'm sure this would be a useful resource for some people and there were some interesting things in here. Giving the historical context so clearly was a helpful way of illustrating the evolution of ideas. However, this did make it very repetitious, and given that I already knew a solid 60+% of the stuff anyway it was generally a very dull reading experience.
Profile Image for Heidi.
719 reviews12 followers
February 6, 2020
It goes into all the scientific details and processes instead of simply being preachy. It stays objective and clinical. It discusses many aspects of the natural sciences behind ecology- not just the broad environmental science.
Profile Image for Brassylocks.
2 reviews1 follower
June 7, 2020
È un libro che da una buona conoscenza di base sulle problematiche che il nostro pianeta fronteggia senza scendere troppo nel dettaglio, accessibile anche a chi non è del mestiere e pieno di informazioni utili. Essendo l’ecologia e il clima temi in continua evoluzione alcune informazioni potrebbero nel tempo risultare obsolete quindi necessita di essere aggiornato frequentemente.
Profile Image for Destynnie Berard.
65 reviews
March 5, 2024
First and foremost, this is an absolutely beautifully designed book. You can tell that a lot of effort went not only into the content of it, but in the design and layout of it.

There are a few areas where I found it a little bit unintuitive because of how much information they were blocking out in a single page, and I think that aspect could have been designed a little bit better, but overall that was only a few areas of the content, and the design still stands heads and tails above most books.

As far as the content itself, it is a great primer and historical overview, while also introducing several really great concepts of ecology. I found it to be rather inspirational, and If you are comfortable with reading nonfiction, you can easily read it cover to cover and enjoy it that way like I did, or pick up a section here and there.

I think they did a great job designing a lot of the headlines quotes, and I like that you get a mix of the information about ecology itself, where these concepts came from, and who helped shape these concepts.

Overall, it is not going to go into extreme detail on any one subject, but there is just so much information that it goes over as a whole broad topic. You could easily take a couple of areas that you are interested in and do further reading.
Profile Image for Randell Carlton Brown.
Author 3 books34 followers
October 31, 2020
Love this book series. Thus far, this was the least informative & addicting, but that’s because so much of Ecology is a new science. I Recommend this, but read the Philosophy book first!
Profile Image for Lily.
25 reviews1 follower
August 17, 2024
Great explanations! Basically a summary of my ecology bachelor's so it was not in depth enough for what I was hoping but it covers a really wide array of topics!
Profile Image for نجد.
424 reviews250 followers
February 13, 2023
عنون الكتاب بالعربية (كتاب علم البيئة) وهو مُترجَم.
..

" الإنسان جزء من الطبيعة وحربه ضدها هي حتماً حربٌ ضد نفسه"! 🌳🕊️🌧️
…..


يتحدث الكتاب عن البيئة من مواضيع كثيرة سأذكر أبرزها :
( مقدمة عن التطور - الجينات - الأوبئة والطفيليات - وظائف الأعضاء للحيوانات التي ساعدتهم على التأقلم مع بيئاتهم - الغطاء النباتي - الزيادة السكانية- الاحتباس الحراري - الأثر السلبي للمبيدات الحشرية - إزالة الغابات - تآكل طبقة الأوزون - استنزاف الموارد الطبيعية - الصيد الجائر للأسماك - النفايات البلاستيكية - أزمة المياه ..)

أكثر موضوع استمتعت بقراءته هو الانقراضات الجماعية التي حدثت لعدد من الكائنات الحية في كوكب الأرض نتيجة كوارث طبيعية كالبراكين، و اصطدام كويكب، والتغيرات في تكوين الغلاف الجوي والمحيطات، وتغير المناخ..

إلا أنه للأسف الانقراض القادم في عصرنا الحالي ( الانقراض السادس ) لعدد من الكائنات الحية ربما لن يكون لهذه الأسباب بل للعامل البشري ! وبسبب مانفعله كبشر من الصيد الجائر والتلوث البيئي وغيرها ..

كما أعجبني موضوع أزمة المياه ، والتلوث الجوي ..

..
بالنسبة لمواضيع التطور ..

لا أقبل بنظرية التطور كوني مسلمة وكون جزء منها (وربما كلها لا أعلم) يتعارض مع ديني، ولست هنا لمناقشتها، لكن المقصد أن قرائتي لمثل هذه الكتب لكي أستفيد من المعلومات المذكورة فائدة شخصية في حياتي، من حيث تدبّري لكيفية خلق الله سبحانه للحيوانات بهذه الصفات والخصائص التي مكنتها من التأقلم مع بيئات صعبة كالقطب الشمالي والجنوبي، وكم أستغرب من كون علماء التطور الذين نقلوا لنا هذا لم يَلحظوا بديع خلق الله -سبحانه- هذا!
وقرأت أن التطوريين إلى الآن لم يستطيعوا الإجابة عن سؤال بسيط مثل نشأة اللغة، الذي أؤمن كمسلمة أن الله سبحانه ألهمه لآدم عليه السلام (وعلّم آدم الأسماء كلها)..

أيضاً يوجد ما أُخالفه في هذا الكتاب، فهو بدايةً كتاب أجنبي يعتبر التراث اليهودي-مسيحي في مناقشاته -بطبيعة الحال- فيقول مثلاً أن أوائل العلماء التطوريين لاحظوا تناقضاً بين ما وجدوه في الجيلوجيا من علامات على تغيرات تركيبة الأرض والصخور تحتاج وقت طويل لكي تحدث، مما يعارض التوراة التي حددت خلق الأرض ببضعة آلاف من السنين فقط .
ونحن التوراة لا تلزمنا (بعد تحريفها بالطبع).

أيضاً هذه الكتب العلمية وارد فيها دسّ السم في العسل، فعلى سبيل المثال يعتبرون النمو السكاني السريع مضر بالبيئة، ومعروف التوجه الرأسمالي/النسوي/اليساري بالحرب ضد الإنجاب والأسرة التقليدية (الحصن ضد أفكارهم).

أيضاً بعض المواضيع أفادتني في ممارساتي الحياتية فأحاول قدر استطاعتي على سبيل المثال أن أقلل من النفايات، مع أننا كمسلمين مُطالبين أساساً بعدم الإسراف، وعدم تخريب المال، ومُطالبين بترك الاستهلاك غير الضروري (أوكلما اشتهيت اشتريت؟).

…..

مما ورد في الكتاب :

١- جورج مندل عالم الوراثة كان رجل دين (قسيس)، هذه المعلومة فاجئتني .

٢- الأصل أن دببة الباندا تصنف كـ آكلة لحوم و جهازها الهضمي لا يعمل بكفاءة مع الكميات الكبيرة من النبات، إذ إن البكتيريا في معدتها تساعدها على هضم اللحوم.. إلا أن أغلب غذاء الباندا من نبات الخيزران ولا يعلم العلماء سبب اعتماده الأساسي عليه إلى الآن .

٣- لاحظ العلماء عدم تنافس نوع من الطيور على الغذاء، و عزوا ذلك إلى مبدأ ( تقسيم الموارد ) وهو أن تحيا الطيور في مكامن مختلفة من الشجرة الواحدة، وتتغذى على ارتفاعات وأعماق مختلفة من الغطاء النباتي وبهذه الطريقة تتحاشى التنافس فيما بينها، فبعضها يسكن الأعلى وبعضها يسكن الجزء المتوسط وهكذا ، وزيادةً على ذلك تختلف هذه الطيور بمناقيرها شكلاً وحجماً مما أنتج إختلاف انواع الغذاء ، فبعضها يفضل الحبوب، وبعضها يفضل الحشرات.. إلى آخره.

٤- في قسمٍ من الكتاب بعنوان "مهندسو النظام البيئي" تكلم الكتاب عن حيوان (كلب المروج) وهو من القوارض التي تنتمي لفئة السناجب، و سُمّي بالكلب لإصداره صوتاً يشبه عواء الكلب، كلب المروج هذا يعد من أشهر الحيوانات في وسط غرب أمريكا التي يرجع تأثيرها على البيئة إلى "أنشطتها الهندسية"؛ فجماعاتها تحفر شبكات من الأنفاق تحت التربة والمراعي لكي تنام وتربي صغارها في هذه الجحور.
و عملية الحفر المستمر التي تقوم بها تساهم في تقليب التربة بشكل كبير جداً، مما يسمح للعناصر الغذائية والماء باختراق أجزاء أعماق من التربة، وهذه التربة الرطبة الغنية بالعناصر الغذائية تشجع على التنوع النباتي والحيواني .. ومن المعروف أن هناك ما يقرب من ١٥٠ نوعاً من النباتات والحيوانات تستفيد من مستعمرات كلب المروج .!👍🏻

" سُبحان من ألهمهم ! "..

٥- أُزِيل ما يقرُب من نصف غابات العالم الآن، والاستغلال الزراعي هو السبب في ذلك .

٦- مرّت خمس فترات من الانقراضات الجماعية على كوكب الأرض، ونحن الآن في الانقراض السادس، فُقِدت العديد من أنواع الحيوانات والنباتات منذ بداية الثورة الصناعية في القرن الـ ١٨ ، وقد حدثت هذه الخسائر بسبب تغير المناخ، والصيد الجائر، وتحمّض المحيطات، وتلوث الهواء .. ويعتقد عالم البيئة الأمريكي إدوارد أوسبورن ويلسون -المعروف بأبي التنوع البيولوجي- أنه إذا استمر موت الأنواع بالمعدل الحالي فإن نصف جميع أشكال الحياة سينقرض بحلول عام ٢١٠٠ !

..

تم بحمد الله .
10 reviews
August 7, 2024
I’ve dipped in and out of this book and whilst it’s pretty good on some themes, it’s rather disappointing on others.

One distressing flaw has been that this book perpetuates the overpopulation myth. Scientists & political scientists have explained for a long time that the problem lies in resource management and the overconsumption of resources. On average, 1 person from the US has the same carbon footprint as 18 people from Brazil.
5 reviews2 followers
September 28, 2019
I didn't finish this book yet, but I am loving it! It is written in an interesting way, with a lot of pictures and graphs and colors that make it more attractive to read. I am learning a lot, and I know I still have a lot to learn.
Profile Image for Lisa Konet.
2,354 reviews10 followers
October 11, 2019
This was a brief but concise book about evolution and the most important periods of ecological history; as well as humans and the food chain. This just tickled my brain the whole way through. The pictures and other little tidbits just added even more to this. A fun read
Profile Image for Ashlee Noble.
2 reviews1 follower
January 18, 2020
For starters. KOALAS ARE NOT BEARS. It’s an ecology book. This should be simple. Koalas are more closely related to Wombats. Koalas are marsupials NOT bears.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Ryan.
Author 1 book36 followers
November 13, 2022
A reference book packed with information on both ecology as an academic subject, and environmentalism as a topic. A laundry list of scientists and thinkers can be found, with each of the dozens of short chapters introducing two or three people and their ideas. The diagrams and photos were also pleasing and useful.

The main criticism I have is that of its haphazard and poor organization. Yes this is a very complex field with many subbranches and related topics, so it is a tough endeavor for the editors to be sure. However this meant many of the concepts overlapped multiple times in the chapters, which were themselves separated into sections that were also arguably too similar. The only clear distinction was that the first parts dealt with theoretical concepts, while the latter parts detailed the history of environmental consciousness and activism. The many ideas and references could be jumping off points for further research by the reader, if only they had included a bibliography, notes or reference section in the appendix, which was a most glaring omission!

In summary, this book brought together many ideas and knowledge we have accumulated about all things related to ecology, and reading any part at random would be just as beneficial as doing it in chronological order. Great effort at putting together a book on a very complex subject.
13 reviews
January 10, 2026
Great book introducing concepts of evolution, ecology and how they tie in to the modern day environmental and conservation movement. I like how each concept and page begins with a timeline of what happens before and after as well as the important people involved. Introduced to Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring as well as Aldo Leopold’s essays.

One thing that I felt could be better though (considering this is a DK book) was varying how the information is presented from page to page as well as having more of a link between pages.
Profile Image for Giorgia.
123 reviews6 followers
May 18, 2020
Molto interessante.
Un libro diviso in tanti capitoli e sotto-capitoli, che riprende la storia del pianete Terra e dell'umanità. Descrive scoperte, situazioni del passato e del presente. In esso vi sono diverse finestre interattive, curiosità e informazioni particolari (per esempio sulla vita di coloro che hanno fatto scoperte importanti o che sono stati importanti per la scienze e l'ecologia). Per nulla noioso.
Adatto anche a ragazzi.
Profile Image for Simon Parent.
244 reviews3 followers
September 12, 2020
Full of good facts, which I all knew, so I was a bit bored. Also, the constant FACT... Were getting old. But if I needed to recommend something to someone that does not know much about ecology, that would be the book.
Profile Image for Shamsah .
53 reviews
February 25, 2024
I bought this book thinking it would help me with my class but it wasn’t as relevant to what the professor has written in his syllabus. Also explanations that I would expect to last at least 3 pages only went for 2. It felt like I was kinda cut off from information.
Profile Image for Jessi.caffeine.
5 reviews
March 5, 2024
Enjoyed it. It covers some of the history of ecology which gives enough background. I didn't read all chapters, I skipped some and read more on others, but this is wonderful if you want to know the basics on the climate change movement.
Profile Image for Evrim.
54 reviews
December 24, 2021
Doğanın bagli olduğu ekoloji prensipleri, bunları ortaya koyan bilim adamları ve bilimsel beyin fırtınalarını bir arada bulabileceğiniz çok güzel bir kaynak.
Profile Image for Mitch.
137 reviews9 followers
June 4, 2023
-“The Gaia hypothesis, named after the ancient Greek goddess of Earth, posits that Earth and its biological systems behave as a huge single entity.”

-Biodiversity

-Predator/prey dynamics
Profile Image for George Hahn.
Author 11 books14 followers
December 29, 2024
Interesting and educational, but its format makes the information very repetitive. Maybe that's not a bad think to make the points we should understand.
Profile Image for Molly Driver.
58 reviews
July 21, 2025
Thoroughly enjoyed. Loved learning about the people involved the most. Recommend to all.
Profile Image for Robyn.
184 reviews2 followers
February 28, 2025
i kept this book by my bedside and read a few pages here and there when i felt like it. cover to cover. i think it is a good introduction to ecology, with ideas explained simply and lots of interesting info!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 33 reviews

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