Introduction xi Chapter 1 The Gradual Decline of Biodiversity: What Do We Mean? 1 1.1 The context of the debate 2 1.2 "Biodiversity"? A vague concept 3 1.3 The origins of a concept: creationist thinking 4 1.4 Decline: clarifying the meaning of the words 6 1.5 Are the indicators reliable? 8 1.6 Protecting what? 10 1.7 The evolution of the concept of decline: from a structural to a functional approach 11 1.

8 Communication or misinformation? 13 1.9 At the roots of the sixth extinction 14 Chapter 2 The Promethean Dream: Taking Stock of Biodiversity 17 2.1 The notion of species is misleading! 17 2.2 Hidden biodiversity: cryptic or twin species 20 2.3 Species at the service of genes? 21 2.4 Species inventory: what do we know? 22 2.5 The geographical distribution of biological diversity 23 2.6 In summary 25 Chapter 3 What Can We Learn from the Great Extinctions of the Past? 27 3.

1 A hundred times over, put your work back together 27 3.2 The great mass extinctions 28 3.3 The tree that hides the forest 31 3.4 Evolutionary consequences of extinctions 33 3.5 What is known about the post-extinction processes of the past? 35 3.6 In summary 35 Chapter 4 Biodiversity Decline: "The Worst Is Not Certain" 37 4.1 When scientists cross the yellow line! 37 4.2 The risk of extinction 40 4.

2.1 Endemic species 40 4.2.2 Specialist species 42 4.2.3 Ubiquitous or opportunistic species 42 4.3 Vulnerability of species to risks 42 4.4 Species extinctions in the plant world 44 4.

5 What do we know about species extinctions in animals? 46 4.6 Species extinctions in France 47 4.7 The false trails of globalization: contextualizing erosion! 51 4.8 In summary 53 Chapter 5 Let''s Talk about the Renewal Rate of Biological Diversity 55 5.1 Extinction debt and speciation credit 55 5.2 Speciation processes 57 5.3 The speed of appearance of new species 58 5.4 Is speciation more important in tropical environments? 62 5.

5 Evolution and the role of chance 63 5.6 Is habitat fragmentation a threat to biodiversity? 64 5.7 In summary 66 Chapter 6 Controversies Surrounding the Extinction Rate 67 6.1 The laborious calculation of the extinction rate 68 6.2 The area/species relationship: a highly criticized prospective tool! 71 6.3 Text commentary on the extinction rate of species according to the Sagascience website 74 6.4 A debate confused by ideological concerns 76 6.5 In summary 78 Chapter 7 The Hidden Face of Methods for Assessing Biodiversity Decline 81 7.

1 Who can be trusted to analyze the data? 82 7.2 Questions about the "species" metric 83 7.3 Amalgamation and false leads 84 7.4 Contingency and the problem of changes in scale: global versus local 85 7.5 Losers, but also winners? 86 7.6 Manipulating figures: communication or hijacking? 88 7.7 The health sector taken hostage 89 Chapter 8 Biodiversity and the Functioning of Ecosystems: A Multitude of Preconceived Ideas 91 8.1 The black box of ecological functioning 91 8.

2 The balance of nature is fiction 92 8.3 Disruption does not mean disaster 94 8.4 Are all species needed? 95 8.5 Deterministic or stochastic ecological systems? 96 8.6 The more species there are, the more resilient the ecological system is 97 8.7 The threshold effect or the fall of a paradigm! 98 8.8 Species substitutions and the functioning of ecological systems 99 8.9 In summary 100 Chapter 9 Species Introductions: For Better or For Worse 101 9.

1 The delicate issue of indigenousness 102 9.2 Species introductions: one of the main causes of biodiversity loss? 104 9.3 Species introductions and ecosystem functioning 106 9.4 Why are our trees sick? 107 9.5 Can introductions be controlled? 109 9.5.1 The case of climate migrants 110 9.5.

2 Stowaways 110 9.5.3 Voluntary or accidental introductions 111 9.5.4 Lack of courtesy 112 9.6 Being pragmatic? 112 9.7 Strongly divergent opinions among scientists 114 9.8 In summary 115 Chapter 10 Global Warming: A Catastrophe for Biodiversity? 117 10.

1 Climate uncertainties 119 10.2 The lessons of retrospective ecology 121 10.3 Likely consequences of reduced precipitation 123 10.4 Likely impacts of temperature increase on biodiversity 123 10.5 Rising sea levels 125 10.6 Undergoing or going along with change? 126 10.7 In summary 127 Chapter 11 Is Planning Destroying Biodiversity? 129 11.1 European nature: a reconstructed nature 130 11.

2 "Degraded" ecological systems. really? 131 11.3 When you transform, you lose and you win. 132 11.4 Paradox: destroying biodiversity under the pretext of naturalness 134 11.5 A brief saga of French forests 136 11.6 In summary 139 Chapter 12 The Decline of Insects 141 12.1 The decline of insect populations creates the event 141 12.

2 Is the apocalypse coming? 145 12.3 The difficulty of identifying the causes 146 12.4 Speculation on possible causes 147 12.4.1 Light pollution 148 12.4.2 Pesticides 148 12.4.

3 Diseases 149 12.4.4 Changes in agricultural practices 150 12.5 What is the impact on agriculture? 150 12.6 The case of bees 151 12.7 The case of butterflies 153 12.8 Some remarks on our relationship with insects 156 12.9 In summary 157 Chapter 13 The Decline of Birds 159 13.

1 The red list of threatened species 159 13.2 The decline of bird populations. as early as the 19th century 160 13.3 Monitoring of the STOC program 163 13.4 Focus on the farmland bird guild 164 13.4.1 Different trends for different species 164 13.4.

2 Disparities between regions are a cause for concern 166 13.4.3 A general decline across Europe 169 13.5 The habitat trail 173 13.6 Many other causes 175 13.7 The role of reserves 177 13.8 On what basis can we talk about decline? 179 13.9 Let nature take its course? 179 13.

10 In summary 182 Chapter 14 Reasons to be Positive 183 14.1 Highly resilient ecological systems 183 14.1.1 Oil spills 184 14.1.2 Fires 184 14.1.3 How long does it take for a tropical forest to regenerate? 186 14.

1.4 Pollution of continental aquatic systems 186 14.2 Recovering populations! 187 14.3 Nature conquers the city 191 14.3.1 Reducing pollution 193 14.3.2 "Rewilding" the city? 193 14.

4 Rehabilitation of "degraded" systems 194 14.4.1 Water quarries 194 14.4.2 Slag heaps 195 14.5 What is the future for anthropized nature, left to its own devices? 195 14.6 Let''s talk about the wolf 196 14.7 In summary 198 Chapter 15 From Facts to Extrapolations 199 15.

1 Many inconsistencies and post-truths 201 15.2 Going beyond ecocentrism: what kinds of nature do we want? 203 15.3 Protected areas and the return of colonialism? 205 15.4 Nature, an inexhaustible source of problems 207 15.5 Single-mindedness and anxiety-provoking communication 208 15.6 The business of biodiversity 209 References 213 Index 235.