Encyclopedia of Biodiversity

Sam Scheiner is a theoretical biologist with work in various areas of evolution, ecology, and general biology. In evolution, he works on modeling phenotypic plasticity and the use of structural equation modeling for measuring trait relationships and natural selection. In ecology, he works on macroecological patterns of diversity, species richness relationships, and diversity metrics. In general biology, he is developing a set of general theories encompassing all of biology. He currently serves as a Program Director in the Division of Environmental Biology at the U.S. National Science Foundation. Previously he was an Associate Professor at Arizona State University West, and Assistant and Associate Professor at Northern Illinois University, and Adjunct Faculty at the University of Arizona. He received his BA, MS and PhD from the University of Chicago and is a AAAS Fellow.

A list of sections with short lists of contents is below:1. Theories and concepts of biodiversity: what is biodiversity, metrics of biodiversity, species definitions2. Biodiversity of taxa and clades: descriptions of various groups such as mammals, birds, insects, fungi, bacteria3. Biodiversity of biomes and communities: descriptions of various types of ecosystems such as hot deserts, tropical savannas, boreal forests, tropical forest canopies, diversity patterns along environmental and geographic gradients4. Ecological processes that determine biodiversity: how biodiversity is shaped by competition, predation, dispersal, and so forth, including both theory and empirical patterns5. Evolutionary processes that determine biodiversity: how biodiversity is shaped by natural selection, mutation, speciation, extinction, and so forth, including both theory and empirical patterns, both current and in deep time6. Conservation and management of biodiversity: how global change is affecting biodiversity, conservation in law and practice, the role of farming, fishing and other human activities in biodiversity