| Author | David M Wilkinson |
| Language | Engish |
| ISBN | 9780008717582 |
| Publisher | Harper Collins UK |
| Pages | 276 |
| Size | 158 x 223 mm |
| Format | Hardcover |
| Images | Images in color and black and white |
| Year published | 2026 |
Microworlds brings to life a whole new ecosystem populated by a bewildering array of forms living extraordinary lives. It is a remarkable eye-opener for all naturalists.
For most of the history of life on Earth, all life was microscopic, and even today, most of biodiversity is still microscopic. Until the invention of the microscope in the seventeenth century, all this diverse microworld was completely unknown. As well as dominating Earth for aeons, microbes are still vital to the health of the planet. Microworlds reveals the incredible life forms that lie beyond our everyday perception. It focuses on protists, organisms that an earlier generation of biologists called algae and protozoa, rather than the often much smaller bacteria and viruses.
Concentrating on the extraordinary range that can be seen with at most a relatively basic microscope, Microworlds reveals the biology of these minuscule life forms. Some of them – notably Amoeba proteus and Paramecium – are widely known to anyone who has peered down a microscope in a school science class. But the microworld is an extraordinary assemblage of a vast range of different species – some of which have lifestyles that seem very familiar to the larger life forms that they live amongst, while some of their lifestyles simply seem like science fiction.
Contents
Editor's Preface vii
Author's Foreword and Acknowledgements ix
Prologue: Malham, Mites and Micrasterias 1
1. The Hidden World of Infusoria 5
2. Microbial Planet 29
3. What is it Like to be Small? 55
4. Making a Living: Algae and Protozoa 69
5. Diversity and Distribution: the View from Rochers-de-Naye 101
6. Sex and Death 127
7. Becoming Larger: Microbes on the Edge of Multicellularity 145
8. Ecosystems and Cycles 167
9. Conservation and Global Change 197
Appendix A: A Brief Guide to Finding Protists 223
Glossary 230
Endnotes 235
References 242
Species Index 259
General Index 262
David M. Wilkinson is an ecologist with very wide interests, having published research on organisms ranging from bacteria to sauropod dinosaurs, but he has a particular interest in testate amoebae. He was a Reader in environmental science at Liverpool John Moores University, where he taught for almost a quarter of a century. He is now Honorary Professor in ecology at the University of Lincoln, and an honorary research fellow in archaeology at the University of Nottingham.
