Biogeography in a Changing World

Download or read book Biogeography in a Changing World written by Malte C. Ebach and published by CRC Press. This book was released on 2006-11-01 with total page 232 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Hampered by a confusing plethora of approaches and methods, biogeography is often treated as an adjunct to other areas of study. The first book to fully define this rapidly emerging subdiscipline, Biogeography in a Changing World elucidates the principles of biogeography and paves the way for its evolution into a stand-alone field. Drawing on contributions from leading proponents of differing methods within biogeography, the book clearly defines the differing, sometimes conflicting, perspectives in the field and their correspondingly different methodological approaches. This gives readers the opportunity to refocus on a range of issues including the role of biological processes such as vicariance, dispersal and extinction in biogeographical explanation, the possibility of biogeographical pattern, and the role of geological reconstructions in biogeographic explanation. The book also explores the discipline’s current relationship with other disciplines and discusses potential developments.