Unravelling the algae. The past, present and future of algal systematics. Edited by Juliet Brodie and Jane Lewis
The Systematics Association Special Volume Series 75. CRC Press, Taylor & Francis Group, 2007. 376 pp., ISBN: 978-0-8493-7989-5. £69.99
The book comprises a total of 18 chapters, written by 36 authors and edited by Juliet Brodie and Jane Lewis. The book is based on contributions presented at a symposium in 2006 at the Natural History Museum, London, and gives a comprehensive overview of recent developments in algal systematics. Equally important, it provides a connection line between yesterday's views of algal systematics and the present state of the art.
The book is structured according to the title, and after the introductory chapter it begins with a look at the past. The second chapter gives a description of the most fundamental feature of eukaryotic algae, the evolution of the plastids, which started when a representative of the cyanobacteria was permanently ‘enslaved’ within the cell of a protozoan more than 1 billion years ago. The fact that eukaryotic algae (and higher plants) are chimeras is clearly explained and presented to the reader. The next chapter takes the reader back to the origin of algal taxa, and presents interesting viewpoints on the evolution of algal groups. The fourth chapter discusses the concept of classification through the history of science, and uses diatoms to illustrate the problems of systematics and classification.
The middle and main part of the book contains a range of presentations of different algal groups, starting with the cyanobacteria. The chapters on the different algal groups are written from somewhat different perspectives and appear rather heterogeneous, but this follows from the very heterogeneous nature of ‘algae’, and the different attention the various algal groups have received. For example the abundant and important dinoflagellate group should perhaps have had more space in the book. All chapters address the role molecular biological methods have had in the development of modern algal systematics. Some chapters give a thorough overview of the systematic history of the treated algal taxon, and describe the history of shifting emphasis on different characters. The overviews show that there is no ‘right’ way to phylogenetic resolving of an algal group, but that finding sets of synapomorph characters, together with support from molecular biological analyses, seems to be a good way. The last chapters focus mainly on future development in algal systematics, and appropriately the book ends with the good advice to ‘Ensure training of the next generation of algal systematists to include classical training as well as molecular training.’
For those of us who want to understand the developments in algal systematics, and to get an overview of the changes that have been taking place, this book is a necessity and a treasure. It may disappoint those who look for easy and clear answers, but it gives the reader a very good overview of problems in systematic relationships in many algal groups. Still, we can enjoy the fact that considerable progress has been made in the systematics of many algal taxa, even though others still are ‘in a state of flux and confusion’ (quotation from the concluding remarks on the taxonomy of cyanobacteria, p. 99). The book is well provided with many good and illustrative figures, even though there is room for improvement of some of the illustrations. Also the tables help to give the reader the right overview. A slight drawback is that the colour versions of figures and photographs are assembled in the book too far from the corresponding texts. The book is well structured, but part of it is not easy to read. Some patience, and perhaps also frequent use of the good glossary that the reader finds at the back of the book, is advised.
Kjersti Sjøtun
Associate professor
Department of Biology
University of Bergen
PO Box 7800
5020 Bergen
Norway
Email: [email protected]
© 2009 Kjersti Sjøtun