Ecology in Africa: a view from the past for informing the future

Abstract

book reviews ISSN 1948‐6596 Ecology in Africa: a view from the past for informing the future African Ecology – Benchmarks and Historical Perspectives. Clive A. Spinage, 2012, Springer. 1562 pp. £180 (hardback) / £180 (ebook). ISBN 978‐3‐642‐22871‐1. http://www.springer.com/ “Africa’s natural habitats are disappearing at a rapid rate accelerating markedly since the 1970s. A continent outstanding for its exuberance of life, both in numbers and variety of flora and fauna, this largely historical treatment provides bench‐ marks against which change can be assessed and man’s role in shaping the ecology of Africa…”. These opening sentences from the preface to Spi‐ nage’s grand synthesis of African ecology hint at the scope and breadth of material covered in this book. It is one of the best recent synthetic works, drawing widely from the historical literature, and presents a wealth of past and current information in an accessible and highly readable format. This book is an incredible feat and brings together decades of work in a superbly well‐ written and thoroughly researched volume. The book is built around major themes, including cli‐ mate, fire, vegetation, populations of animals (such as elephants or locusts) and a stunning re‐ view of diseases and their ecological roles, includ‐ ing both zoonoses and epidemics that have af‐ fected humans over time. The book builds on the previous works by the author that focus on ecol‐ ogy and disease, such as Cattle plague: a history (Spinage, 2003), which is a synthesis of the history and ecology of rinderpest. It is the inclusion of disease and vector biol‐ ogy that makes this an innovative and timely work. Traditionally, most African ecology has been focused on the charismatic mega‐fauna (Shorrocks, 2007), which is an important conser‐ vation focus, but also part of a complex and dy‐ namic system. Given the rapid ecological changes being experienced across Africa through both di‐ rect anthropogenic disturbances and global cli‐ mate change, the chapters examining disease ecology are timely and should stimulate scientists to take a closer look at these issues. With the syn‐ thesis of information on specific ecological pat‐ terns, this work sets a valuable historical baseline for those interested in regional biogeography and especially for those currently working in this area—developing new range maps, distributional analyses or other studies. Each chapter in this book could stand as a work on its own; the breadth of material covered in each one is substantial. At the same time, the vast amount of technical information, bio‐ geographical datasets, historical accounts and bio‐ logical details, including the details of life‐history strategies of many less well‐known or researched organisms, is presented in a clear and accessible style. This book therefore will be of use not just to students and scientists in the field of ecology, but to anyone interested in African history, wildlife conservation and development. The author has very thoroughly researched all the topics covered and presents a balanced historical perspective, including when discussing potentially controversial issues, such as the use of fire as a management tool, or the control (or lack thereof) of populations of elephants. Wherever these topics are discussed, the author has been careful both to document the historical aspects of the issue and to present different points of view. This is especially important because many conser‐ vation issues today have far‐reaching impacts in social and political spheres beyond the basic sci‐ ence. Given that conservation is ultimately about populations and interactions, sustained within landscapes, the historical works reviewed by Spi‐ nage are an important reference for current deci‐ sion‐makers in the field of conservation biology in Africa. One example discussed in detail in the book is that of the biology, impact and control of the tsetse fly. Today the ecological consequences of these interventions continue to have ramifications for both conservation and livestock management across Africa. The chapters looking at diseases and epidemiology are perhaps the most poignant in the book; the author points out that many of the data are historical, yet new information is not be‐ ing generated as rapidly, for reasons ranging from lack of support for basic research to political insta‐ frontiers of biogeography 5.1, 2013 — © 2013 the authors; journal compilation © 2013 The International Biogeography Society