Biogeography : an ecological and evolutionary approach

As in the previous (fourth) edition, the text integrates the three main threads of biogeography: i) ecological biogeography (how organisms live together where they are today); ii) the analytical biogeography of present day distribution patterns (where they live, in what diversity and how they disperse); and iii) historical biogeography (how they come to live where they are today). However, this new edition has been completely revised and almost represents a total re-write of the fourth edition. Two new themes underly this text. Firstly, the involvement of mankind in almost all aspects of biogeography and, secondly, the global viewpoint, introducing more unity than the isolated, fragmented picture that can emerge from a biome approach. This edition is an enlarged format and, as a result of the thorough revision, is 25 per cent larger than the fourth, and the text is heavily supported by line drawings and photographs. 1. Introduction To Biogeography -- 2. Biodiversity. Gradients Of Diversity. Diversity In Time -- 3. Patterns Of Distribution. Limits Of Distribution. Overcoming The Barriers. The Cosmopolitan Plantain. Patterns Of Dragonflies. Magnolias -- Evolutionary Relicts. Climatic Relicts. Endemic Organisms. Physical Limitations. Environmental Gradients. Interaction Of Factors. Species Interaction. Reducing Competition. Predators And Prey -- 4. Communities, Ecosystems And Biomes. The Ecosystem. Nutrients In The Ecosystem. Global Communities. Climate Diagrams -- 5. The Source Of Novelty. Natural Selection. The Isolating Force Within The Organism. External Isolating Forces. Barriers To Interbreeding. Polyploids. Evolution -- A Summary. Adaptations For Survival. Meeting The Challenge Of The Environment. Clines And 'rules'. Competition For Life. Controversies And Evolutionary Theory. Evolution And The Human Race(s) --^ 6. Islands And Oceans. Problems Of Access. Variety Of Island Habitats. Problems Of Isolation. Hazards Of Island Life. The Theory Of Island Biogeography. The Documentation Of Extinction, Colonization And Equilibrium. Second Thoughts About The Theory. The Theory Of Island Biogeography And The Design Of Nature Reserves. Opportunities For Adaptive Radiation. The Hawaiian Islands. Drawing Lines In The Oceans -- 7. Patterns In The Past. Plate Tectonics. The Evidence For Past Geographies. Changing Patterns Of Continents. Early Land Life On The Moving Continents. One World -- For A While. The Early Spread Of Mammals. The Great Cretaceous Extinction Event. The Rise Of The Flowering Plants. Late Cretaceous And Cenozoic Climatic Changes. Late Cretaceous And Early Cenozoic Floral Changes. Towards Today -- 8. Patterns Of Life Today. Mammals -- The Final Patterns. The Distribution Of Flowering Plants Today. Mammalian Versus Flowering Plant Geography --^ Comparisons And Contrasts. Australia. New Zealand. South America. The Old World Tropics -- Africa, India And South-east Asia. Madagascar. The Cape Flora. The Northern Hemisphere -- Holarctic Mammals And Boreal Plants -- 9. Interpreting The Past. Phylogenetic Biogeography. Cladistic Biogeography. Panbiogeography. Phyletic Tracks. Endemicity And History. Pleistocene Problems. Centres Of Dispersal. Fossils And Historical Biogeography. Palaeobiogeography -- 10. Ice And Change. Climatic Wiggles. Interglacials And Interstadials. Biological Changes In The Pleistocene. The Last Glacial. Causes Of Glaciation -- 11. From The Present Into The Future. The Current Interglacial -- A False Start. Forests On The Move. The Emergence Of Modern Humans. Modern Humans And The Megafaunal Extinctions. Domestication And Agriculture. The Dry Lands. Changing Sea Levels. Time Of Warmth. Climatic Deterioration. The Environmental Impact Of Early Human Cultures. Recorded History. Current And Future Changes. C. Barry Cox And Peter D. Moore. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. "Biologists searching for a resource that explores all of the exciting changes that have occurred recently in the field will turn to this eighth edition. It offers insight into the multidisciplinary nature of the field, presenting a sound historical base, up-to-date coverage, and a look at the latest controversies. The authors evaluate conflicting theories and provide a reasoned judgment as to which is preferable. In a new chapter the authors examine marine biogeography, so that biologists can compare and analyze the data, patterns and problems arising from continental, marine and island biogeography"--