Panbiogeography

Download or read book Panbiogeography written by Robin C. Craw and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 1999-04-15 with total page 326 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 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.