Mutualistic Networks
Jordi Bascompte and Pedro Jordano
Princeton University Press, £30.95
Behind the plain green cover and unpromising title lie intensely detailed explanations and discussion on the complex relationships that govern the development and diversity of plants and animals on our planet.
It is by no means a light read. Charles Darwin established early recognition of such complex interactions and became fascinated by the intimate links that form between plants and animals and often develop into intriguing bonds of reliance. Despite the complex subject matter, Mutualistic Networks will appeal to a range of readers.
If you don't want to get bogged down in the intense mathematical explanations and biological discussions, then the useful diagrams and handy summaries at the end of each chapter provide accessible overviews for a book that delves into coevolution and mutualism at a level I have not seen before.
