Based on a conference held at the American Museum of Natural History in 1995. Includes bibliographical references and index.

The magnitude of global biodiversity and its decline / Nigel E. Stork -- Dimensions of biodiversity: targeting megadiverse groups / Norman I. Platnick -- The medium is the message: freshwater biodiversity in peril / Melanie L.J. Stiassny -- Requiem ternam: the last five hundred years of mammalian species extinctions / Ross D.E. MacPhee and Clare Flemming / Perspective: soil biodiversity- life in soil / Diana H. Wall -- Perspective: Petruchio's paradox: the oyster or the pearl? / G. Carleton Ray -- Regional and global patterns of biodiversity loss and conservation capacity: predicting future trends and identifying needs / Joel Cracraft -- Biodiversity, agricultural productivity, and people / Joel Burnett -- The implications of biodiversity loss for human health / Francesca T. Grifo and Eric Chivian -- Biodiversity loss and its implications for security and armed conflict / Arthur H. Westing -- The economic consequences of biodiversity loss / Dominic Moran and David Pearce -- Perspective: biodiversity in agricultural and forestry systems / David Pimentel -- Saving biodiversity and saving the biosphere / Norman Myers -- The facts of life (on earth) / Thomas E. Lovejoy -- Convention on biological diversity: program priorities in the early stage of implementation / Kalemani J. Mulongoy, Susan Bragdon, and Antonella Ingrassia -- Strange bedfellows: why science and policy don't mesh and what can be done about it / Jeffrey A. McNeely -- Seeing the world as it really is: global stability and environmental change / Peter H. Raven and Joel Cracraft -- Perspective: scientists' public responsibilities / Strachan Donnelly.