Biogeography: An Ecological and Evolutionary Approach

"Before starting to outline the structure of biogeography today, it is worthwhile to try to explain how scientists work, and what are their limitations - how far should the student trust what they say and believe? And the best way to learn this is to look at how scientists have behaved in the past, for the research workers of today are no different from them. So history has much to teach us. It is natural to assume that any research worker is free to make any sort of suggestion as to what new idea they might put forward in trying to solve their current problems. The reality is rather different. Just as in the past, the range of what are seen as possible solutions is limited by what contemporary society or science views as permissible or respectable. Attitudes to the idea of evolution (chapter 6) or of continental drift (see below) are good examples of such inhibitions in the 19th and 20th centuries, and the concept of evolution is still controversial today in some societies and communities. The history of scientific debate is rarely, if ever, one of dispassionate, unemotional evaluation of new ideas, particularly if they conflict with one's own. Scientists, like all men and women, are the product of their upbringing and experience, affected by their political and religious beliefs (or disbeliefs), by their position in society, by their own previous judgments and publicly expressed opinions, and by their ambitions-just as "there's no business like show business," there's no interest like self-interest! Very good examples of this, discussed later in this chapter, is the use of the concept of evolution by the rising middle-class scientists of England as a weapon against the 19th-century establishment (see later in this chapter) while, at the individual level, the history of Leon Croizat and his ideas (see later in this chapter) provides an interesting study"--

Through eight successful editions, and over nearly 40 years, Biogeography: An Ecological and Evolutionary Approach has provided a thorough and comprehensive exploration of the varied scientific disciplines and research that are essential to understanding the subject. The text has been praised for its solid background in historical biogeography and basic biology, that is enhanced and illuminated by discussions of current research. This new edition incorporates the exciting changes of the recent years, and presents a thoughtful exploration of the research and controversies that have transformed our understanding of the biogeography of the world. It also clearly identifies the three quite different arenas of biogeographical research: continental biogeography, island biogeography and marine biogeography. It is the only current textbook with full coverage of marine biogeography.It reveals how the patterns of life that we see today have been created by the two great Engines of the Planet - the Geological Engine, plate tectonics, which alters the conditions of life on the planet, and the Biological Engine, evolution, which responds to these changes by creating new forms and patterns of life.