Instant Notes Ecology
The INSTANT NOTES series Series editor B.D. Hames School of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK Animal Biology Ecology Genetics Microbiology Chemistry for Biologists Immunology Biochemistry 2nd edition Molecular Biology 2nd edition Neuroscience Psychology Developmental Biology Plant Biology Forthcoming titles.
Content This book does what it says on the label; it provides notes on (probably) all of the topics within the compass of present-day ‘plant biology’. Primarily, it deals with anatomy, growth and development, physiology, reproduction, and economic uses and ecology of flowering plants (angiosperms). However, it does cover other phyla of the Kingdom Plantae (principally in two ‘taxonomy/evolution’ sections), and algae (along with bryophytes in a single section). And, for completeness, Fungi and bacteria are also included (in sections on plant–non-plant interactions). The relevance of this edition to modern-day plant biology is underlined by a cursory glance at entries in the glossary, the sections devoted to plant genetic engineering and biotechnology, and the sections on arabidopsis, and methods in experimental plant science (which is probably the longest section in the whole book). Merits One of the impressive qualities of the book is its economy of words.
For example, the plant cell (section C1) is admirably summarized in about 2.25 pages (including a half-page diagram!); woody stems and secondary growth (section D4) is dispatched in just over 2.5 pages. Understandably (but unfortunately), a few liberties accompany this minimalist approach; for example, taken at face value, D4, p.54 implies that trees make only ring-porous wood; no mention is made of the potential controls over wood formation, e.g.
By plant growth regulators. Indeed, section D4 is couched largely in terms of angiosperm trees; there is no mention of the amazing diversity of wood (secondary xylem)-cell types (nor of secondary phloem ones), nor mention of the intimate mix of living and dead cells in wood.
However, this book is not intended to be a comprehensive encyclopaedia of the entirety of plant biology, so perhaps it can be forgiven, but readers ought to be aware of some of the downsides of this ‘economical approach’. I am very heartened to see many references to such review journals as Trends in Plant Science, Current Opinion in Plant Biology, Current Reviews in Plant Science and Annual Reviews in Plant Biology and Plant Molecular Biology. However—and intriguingly—Nature/Macmillan's high profile Encyclopedia of Life Science does not seem to be cited at all. Competitors If you want a single text that gives you good coverage of the whole range of present-day plant biology, I know of no better than this one. Presentation All the illustrations (solely line diagrams) are only in black and white. Whilst personally I would have like to see some colour, on reflection, I can appreciate that monochrome is probably better if students are to be encouraged to reproduce those diagrams in essays, exam answers, etc.
Ecology Lecture Notes
Some specific criticisms. 2 (page 57) incorrectly shows abaxial epidermal cells entirely surrounded by cuticle (and thereby perpetuates an error from the first edition of this text). On page 60, the authors state that solute and pressure potential are the major components of water potential.
I agree with this for mature cells; however, it seems appropriate to at least mention matric potential in the context of seeds since, arguably, it is their sole component of water potential (at least initially). On pages 63–4 ‘apoplast’ and ‘symplast’ are used where really they ought to have used apoplasm and symplasm (see ). Getting that changed in such a book would be a great service to future generations of plant biologists. On page 76, Table 1, Fe 2+ is ferrous, Fe 3+ is ferric (unfortunately, stated the other way round, and also wrong in the first edition).
Whilst it is clear that many references have been updated since the previous edition, I feel they could have been updated more. For example, in section N (human uses of plants), is cited; whilst this is eminently relevant and readable, the opportunity to add his 2003 book could have been taken; is listed—and is a very good book—however, why not also mention here their 2003 second edition (which is cited in section K)?
Similarly, is probably largely superseded by her 2003 second edition. Unless there are compelling reasons for retaining the older references—and none are given—these amendments might help to give the reader extra confidence that the book had been appropriately updated in this edition. The book is very poor regarding the source(s) of information in tables and figures. Of course, this may be because all of these items are original by the authors. If so, it would be useful to indicate that.
Ecology Study Notes
If undergraduate texts don't display such information, how are we to impress upon students the importance of plagiarism? Specifically relating to the diagrams, the scale is sometimes indicated, sometimes not. It would be useful (and not just pedagogically) if the scale was included for all diagrams—it conveys useful information, particularly to those just starting out on their plant biological journey. Finally, from the perspective of one who has battled long and hard to get nominally English-speaking students to write fibre instead of fiber, it is a great pity that English (US) is the language used throughout the book. Potential market In the Preface the authors claim to ‘have written it keeping in mind an undergraduate faced with a range of advanced courses, needing an affordable text that gives insight into the whole range of plant sciences’. I am happy to endorse that sentiment, and to add that it is also extremely useful for teachers of those undergraduates (particularly when teaching a new topic for the first time in providing a reminder of major new issues).
In conclusion, this book provides a very useful supplement to lecture notes and probably deserves to be on the ‘recommended reading’ list for every plant biology module/course. A good book, at a very good price. Well done to the authors! LITERATURE CITED.