The academic from the Faculty of Forestry Sciences at the University of Concepción and director of the Laboratory of Biological Invasions (LIB), Aníbal Pauchard, is about to publish the Spanish version of the book Ecology and Observation: Broadening the Focus of Science to Understand a Complex World, which he originally wrote with the marine biologist Rafe Sagarin. The text was originally published in English in the USA in 2012 by the publisher Island Press and later released by the Springer online platform. This first Spanish edition is published thanks to the collaboration of the Publishing House of the University of Concepción and will be available in physical format and soon in electronic format.
According to the academic, “Being able to publish this book in Spanish is a second opportunity to do something extraordinary, born from the interest of Spanish-speaking students and colleagues in the text, and the hard work of Consuelo Quevedo, Conservation Engineer at RRNN, who translated it into Spanish.” This edition is also a tribute to the unexpected and tragic death of Rafe Sagarin, who died in 2015 after being run over while riding his bicycle to work in Arizona, USA.
In the original prologue the essence of this text is highlighted: “This book is about harnessing the power of observation to engage with this unique moment in the study of ecology. At its core, all of ecology is primarily about observing nature, but in the reality of academic ecology, observations are rapidly transformed into theories that are tested on a computer or in experimental field treatments or in a laboratory where they are manipulated to test well-defined hypotheses.” According to Pauchard, “This book seeks to reconnect natural history with modern ecology, reflecting on the unlimited opportunities that technological advances give the ecologist, but without losing sight of the essence of the natural world.”
The presentation of this Spanish version will take place at the Annual Meeting of the Ecological Society of Chile (SOCECOL) in the city of Valdivia on November 26. Afterwards, a launch will be held at the University of Concepción, an event that will be open to all public interested in topics of ecology and environmental sciences.
If you are interested in purchasing a copy of the book, write to us at lib@udec.cl for more information. For an overview of the book you can see the first pages (PDF).