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Why is life so diverse? Why are there so many different species? This book explores the origins of biodiversity, its evolution and its continuation, as well as the impact that humans are having on this natural heritage.
Richly illustrated, accessible and engaging, The Game of Species is structured like the instruction manual for a board game whose separate pieces are individual species. Each chapter explores a different aspect of this game: the origin of the pieces, how they interact with each other, the rules of the different types of board on which species exist. This game-based approach guides the reader through the science of biodiversity in a fun and rather addictive way.
We are living in a time of deep crisis in the natural world, with the loss of species and habitats impoverishing the earth for future generations. In order to stop this trend, we need to understand the essential rules that regulate biodiversity. This is a book for everyone interested in how life on earth works and the evolutionary mechanisms that shape it.
This is a really good book and I thank the author for writing it so clearly... A book about all species on the whole of our planet over billions of years can surely be seen as mind-expanding and this book is designed to give you more of a grasp of how life got to where it is now. That’s surely worth a read?
— Mark Avery, environmentalist and wildlife campaigner
Julián Simón López-Villalta is a biologist fascinated by one question: why are there so many species? His wide range of interests, from ecology to evolution and paleobiology, makes him consider possible answers from a broad perspective. He enjoys being in nature, either watching wildlife, doing nature photography, or geologizing; when possible, he takes along his high-school students of biology and geology. Julián lives in Miguelturra (Ciudad Real, Spain) with his wife.
Preface
1. Introduction to the game
2. On the origin of pieces
3. The roles of the pieces
4. About the boards
5. The islands board
6. The Red Queen’s board
7. Redux
8. The future of life
Glossary
References and further reading
Illustration credits
Index