A Coupled Natural and Human Systems Approach Toward Biodiversity: Reflections from Social Scientists

Abstract

This concluding chapter discusses and critiques the key themes and findings presented in the preceding chapters written by a diverse array of social and natural scientists. We position the themes and findings within the context of biodiversity as a grand challenge in environmental sciences as identified by the US National Research Council. We reveal varying degrees of engagement with the themes: (1) advances in understanding biogeography, speciation, and extinction; (2) progress in understanding the interaction of biodiversity and ecosystem functions; (3) new and improved tools; (4) progress in conservation science; and (5) integration of ecology with the social sciences. Evident in the volume’s chapters is an emerging integrative paradigm among social and ecological scientists that investigates biodiversity and conservation science using geospatial and other techniques. We argue that these efforts can benefit by an even stronger coupling between social and ecological scientists.