The Song of the Dodo: Island Biogeography in an Age of Extinction

by David Quammen

Book Overview

"Compulsively readable--a masterpiece, maybe the masterpiece of science journalism." --Bill McKibben, AudubonA brilliant, stirring work, breathtaking in its scope and far-reaching in its message, The... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0684827123
• Release Date: April 1997
• Publisher: Scribner
• Length: 704 Pages
• Weight: 1.86 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.3" x 1.4" x 6.1"

Customer Reviews

Plotting the roadmap to species extinction

"Islands are where species go to die." - David Quammen, author of THE SONG OF THE DODO This book is all about the birth, maturation, and real world applications of the science of island biogeography as it relates to the circumstances of species isolation and diversification and subsequent decline and extinction. Here, "island" means not only the obvious - a bit of land surrounded by water - but any habitat separated from the rest of the world by a geographic barrier which its resident species are unlikely to cross. "Island", then, can refer, for examples, to a lake, a remnant of rain forest surrounded by clear-cut, a temperate mountaintop surrounded by desert, a national park hemmed in by human habitation, a cave, an expanse of jungle bordered by wide rivers, or a literal island in the sea. Island biogeography inexorably leads the reader to the concept of conservation biology and viable-population theory. You see, the rampant human population is cutting the world's diverse ecosystems into little bits - islands - thus dooming countless species living within them - especially large vertebrates - to eventual destruction. THE SONG OF THE DODO is a lucid, erudite, troubling, and extensively researched piece of science writing by journalist David Quammen. It's biggest fault is that he just about beats the subject to death. Where, perhaps, just a few examples of past species extinction (the Dodo or the Micronesian honeyeater) and present pending extinction (the indri of Madagascar or the Concho water snake in Texas) would suffice, the author includes at least a dozen more. But, as Quammen is such an excellent writer who feels strongly about this important subject, one cannot award less than five stars. Amidst the record of both realized and threatened animal extirpations, David even manages to be humorous when his narrative becomes a personal travelogue as he journeys to exotic places to observe the pending carnage for himself, as when tripping face-first into a spiderweb on Guam ("My worst nightmares feature tarantulas the size of badgers") or getting mugged in Rio de Janeiro. About the last incident, when confronted at the local police station with the one (of three) of his attackers unlucky enough to get caught, David quips: "He's looking at five years (imprisonment) I'm told. Cinco anos. Cinco, no kidding? that's a lot of anos, I say. Probably I should feel terrible for the young thug, on grounds of socioeconomic extenuation, but in the weakness of the moment my liberal knee fails to jerk and cinco anos sounds fine." The most glaring negative is the lack of photographs, both of the various creatures under discussion and the scientists, past and present, who've contributed to, and fought over, the theory and practice of island biogeography. Recently, I saw AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH, a documentary on global warming. Taken together with THE SONG OF THE DODO, my pessimism is kindled to a white heat. I don't have a high opinion of my fellow man: Homo s

A great book about ecology and travel

This is unquestionably the finest book I've read that explains biogeography and population ecology in clear, concise English for the average intelligent person interested in the natural world who lacks a background in science. Quammen deserves highest praise for devoting much time to learn relevant science and then disseminating this knowledge to his readers. Much to my amazement, Quammen fully understands the implications of MacArthur's and Wilson's theory of island biogeography, encompassing such diverse subjects as determining the appropriate size of wildlife refuges to studying cycles of mass extinction in the marine invertebrate fossil record. He gives compelling descriptions of Alfred R. Wallace, Robert H. MacArthur, and E. O. Wilson as scientists and people, pointing out the importance of Wallace's and MacArthur's work towards our understanding of biogeography and indeed, of biological diversity. To his credit, Quammen mentions other signficiant players, such as Ernst Mayr, Daniel Simberloff, Jared Diamond, and of course, Charles Darwin himself. Mixed successfully with biography and scientific research are lyrical passages about the many islands Quammen visited in pursuit of Wallace's footsteps and ongoing important ecological research. Anyone wishing to catch more than a glimpse of great science and how it pertains directly to preserving endangered species should read this magnificient book.

A global trek for survival

Over a couple of cold ones at the local pub, the good doctor and i burst out simultaneously: "I found this incredible book! You've got to read it!" It was, of course, Quammen. That's the kind of reaction this writer generates. His prose seizes your attention as he gently leads you into deserts, mountainous jungles, riverside woodlands and isolated islands in the Pacific. His quiet courage forces you to remind yourself that he's not gleaning his information from the vast list of sources in the back of this book, but from the researchers in the field. And he's right there with them as he relates their stories to him for you. Quammen writes books you want to carry around, waving at people, urging them to enjoy the superior writing and the critical message. It's all about our survival.Quammen's resurrection of Alfred Russell Wallace was long overdue. Others have tried to bring this figure back into common knowledge, but the revival was either to accuse Darwin of plagiarism or taint Wallace's accomplishments with the flaws of penury and spiritualism. Quammen handles him as a total human being who achieved through inspiration in a delirium, what Darwin took two decades to accomplish. Quammen doesn't need to balance the two, he's more concerned with explaining the concepts in ways we can understand.It's Quammen's ability to make you feel you are accompanying him on his quest to see how Nature that places him far above other science writers. He understands the issues, recognizes the value of the research being done and presents the methods and events alike with unblemished clarity. As a writer concerned with the impact of humanity on the world's environment, Quammen exhibits a unique talent. While the ongoing extinction of species remains the central issue of this book, Quammen is able to show how dedicated researchers given support from concerned and caring people can begin to slow that eradication of our fellow species. Quammen's concern doesn't translate into alarmist rhetoric. He calls to us softly but urgently: "There's work to be done. There's people out there doing it. Help them how you can. They're our symbol of hope."

<p>Dodo is not for Dodos. Quammen is supurb.

Spring 1997. An active volcano on the Caribbean island of Montserrat forced thousands to flee the island. Britain is gripped by the worst drought in two centuries. The koala population in Australia is exploding. Brooklyn's trees are being eaten by the Asian long-horned beetle. If you see no relationship among these events, read David Quammen's superb book, "The Song of the Dodo," and learn about island biogeography, "the study of the facts and patterns of species distribution." When most people look at animals they only see the animals--tigers, tortoises, hornbills, rhinos and so on. They never ask why an animal is the way it is or how it got that way; where it came from and what it is like. Few wonder why animals are where they are and why they're not where they're not. Quammen does, so he takes readers on an intriguing and fascinating tour of island biogeography that relates the history of famous early biologists from Charles Darwin, Alfred Russel Wallace and Joseph Hooker to biogeographers of today like Michael Soulé and Edward O. Wilson. Quammen's bibliography is 23 pages of references in very tiny type. Fortunately, despite years spent researching Dodo, Quammen wasn't content to spend all his time reading dry academic papers and obscure texts. Instead he broke out his hiking boots and retraced the steps of some of these explorers. He describes his personal experiences colorfully with analogies, anecdotes and descriptions. If you've been to some of the places he describes, you feel like you ought to go back to see through opened eyes. If you haven't been there, you feel like you ought to go--with Quammen's book in your backpack. Here's his description of Komodo dragons being fed a goat carcass by rangers on Komodo Island in Indonesia. "They snarf and chomp. They gorge. They thrash, they scuffle, they tug and twist. They stir up one helluva ruckus. Within a few seconds they have composed themselves at its axis; elbow to elbow, jaws locked on the meat, tails swinging, they resemble a monstrous nine-pointed starfish. Their round-snouted faces, which looked as gentle and dim as a basset hound's until just a moment ago, have gone smeary with blood. When the goat rips in half, they split into two mobs over the severed halves and the tussling continues. They have each seized a mouthful but the mouthfuls are still held together, barely, by bone and sinew. They wrestle. They lunge for new jaw-grips and clamp down, straining greedily against the tensile limits of the mangled goat. Much of Dodo is a long tale of complex ecological concepts woven together so that those explored in the beginning are introduced again later. Quammen's observations, historical and personal, are part text, part story. Some are humorous; some are tragic. Plan to read the book at least twice. You may want to start a notebook. Then, when you finish reading The Song of the Dodo, you might want to take your children to a zoo or natural history museum to show them