Panbiogeography Tracking the History of Life

by Craw, Robin C.; Grehan, John R.; Heads, Michael J.

• ISBN13: 9780195074413
• ISBN10: 0195074416
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 1999-04-15
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Summary

Biogeography is a diverse subject, traditionally focusing on the distribution of plants and animals at different taxonomic levels, past and present. Modern biogeography also puts emphasis on the ecological character of the world vegetation types, and on the evolving relationship between humans and their environment. Panbiogeography describes a new synthesis of sciences of plant and animal distribution. The book emphasizes that the geographical patterns of animal and plant distribution contribute directly to the understanding and interpretation of evolutionary history. Geographic location is reintroduced as a critical element of both biogeography and evolutionary biology. The authors present chapters exploring the roles of geology, ecology, evolution in panbiogeographic theory, and introduce new methods, modes of classification, and ways of measuring biodiversity.

Table of Contents

1 What Is Panbiogeography?	3	(27)
2 Life as a Geological Layer: Panbiogeography and the Earth Sciences	30	(34)
3 Ecology, History, and the Panbiogeography of Africa	64	(24)
4 Mapping the Trees of Life: Panbiogeography, Phylogenetic Systematics, and Evolutionary Processes	88	(27)
5 Tracking the Trees of Life: Line, Map, and Matrix	115	(30)
6 Toward a New Regional Biogeography: The Revival of Biogeographical Classification	145	(18)
7 Tracks, Nodes, Biodiversity, and Conservation	163	(17)
Glossary	180	(2)
References	182	(39)
Index	221