Biogeography
An Ecological and Evolutionary Approach
Blackwell Science Ltd (Publisher)
6th Edition
Published on 27. October 1999
Book
Paperback/Softback
312 pages
978-0-86542-778-5 (ISBN)
Article exhausted; check for reprint
Description
The science of biogeography asks, and seeks to answer, many varied questions. Why are there so many different kinds of animals and plants? Why are some common and some rare? Why are some widely dispersed and others confined to very limited areas? Why are some habitats and parts of the world so much richer in species than others? How have these patterns of distribution and species richness evolved? The answers to these questions, in as far as they are known, are as diverse and varied as the questions themselves. To approach them it is necessary to understand global patterns of climate, as well as the physical barriers to dispersal presented by oceans, mountain chains and deserts. We need to know how species respond to the presence of competitors, predators and parasites, and how they react when their physical environment alters as climate changes and as continents break up and are set adrift. Most important of all, we need to appreciate the impact of our own species upon all others, placing new demands upon the adaptability of the living world.
The questions asked by biogeography themselves evolve over time, and this new edition of a long-established text raises new questions concerned with such topics as global biodiversity, the roles of species in ecosystems, and the degree to which traditional biogeographical concepts can be applied to the extensive, but neglected, realms of the world's oceans. Marine biogeography is a new, but fast developing discipline, and is included here for the first time. The book is intended as the principal text for students taking courses in biogeography, as well as wider degree programmes in which the study of biogeography is important, such as geography, ecology, palaeobiology and evolution.
The questions asked by biogeography themselves evolve over time, and this new edition of a long-established text raises new questions concerned with such topics as global biodiversity, the roles of species in ecosystems, and the degree to which traditional biogeographical concepts can be applied to the extensive, but neglected, realms of the world's oceans. Marine biogeography is a new, but fast developing discipline, and is included here for the first time. The book is intended as the principal text for students taking courses in biogeography, as well as wider degree programmes in which the study of biogeography is important, such as geography, ecology, palaeobiology and evolution.
More details
Edition
6th Revised edition
Language
English
Place of publication
Oxford
United Kingdom
Publishing group
John Wiley and Sons Ltd
Target group
College/higher education
Professional and scholarly
Edition type
Revised edition
Illustrations
320
Dimensions
Height: 246 mm
Width: 189 mm
Weight
868 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-86542-778-5 (9780865427785)
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Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
New editions
Book
01/2005
7th Edition
Wiley-Blackwell
€49.51
Article exhausted; check different version
Previous edition
Book
02/1993
5th Edition
Blackwell Science Ltd
€44.70
Article exhausted; check for reprint
Content
PrefaceIntroduction To BiogeographyBiodiversityPatterns Of DistributionCommunities And EcosystemsThe Source Of NoveltyPatterns In The PastPatterns Of Life TodayInterpreting The PastIce And ChangeThe Making Of TodayProjecting Into The FutureDrawing Lines In The WaterLife (And Death) On Islands