Island Biogeography Ecology, Evolution and Conservation

by Whittaker, Robert J.

• ISBN13: 9780198500216
• ISBN10: 0198500211
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 1999-02-18
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Summary

Work on evolution on islands has a long-established biogeographical pedigree, stretching back to the work of Darwin and Wallace. Research generated ideas, theories, and models which have played a central role in the development of mainstream ecology, evolutionary biology, and biogeography. Island Biogeography is a new textbook, aimed at advanced undergraduates and graduate students. This is the first comprehensive book to be written on the topic since 1981. It provides a much needed synthesis of recent development across the discipline, linking current theoretical debates with applied island ecology. Some themes that the book covers include: the nature and formation of island environments, island ecological theories concerning species numbers, species assembly, and composition, and an assessment of the human impact on island biodiversity. Written by an author who has been researching and teaching biogeography for many years, Island Biogeography is wide-ranging, authoritative, and accessible to students from across geography and the life sciences. This is the first truly modern textbook on a fascinating and important subject in evolution and ecology.

Table of Contents

Preface and acknowledgements

The natural laboratory paradigm

Island Environments

Biodiversity hot-spots

Speciation and the island condition

Arrival and change

Emergent models of island evolution

Species numbers games

Community assembly and dynamics

Island theory and conservation

The human impact on island ecosystems

Further Reading

Bibliography

Index

Table of Contents provided by Publisher. All Rights Reserved.