Biogeography, first published in 1983, is one of the most comprehensive text and general reference books in the natural sciences. The fifth edition builds on the strengths of previous editions to provide an insightful and integrative explanation of how geographic variation across terrestrial and marine environments has influenced the fundamental processes of immigration, extinction, and evolution to shape species distributions and nearly all patterns of biological diversity. It is an empirically and conceptually rich text that illustrates general patterns and processes using examples from a broad diversity of life forms, time periods and aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems.

 

Biogeography, Fifth Edition, is written as a primary text for undergraduate and graduate courses, and is also an invaluable reference for biogeographers, ecologists, evolutionary biologists, and conservation biologists. Its fundamental assertion is that patterns in biological diversity make little sense unless viewed within an explicit geographic context. Starting from principal patterns and fundamental principles, and assuming only a rudimentary knowledge of biology, geography, and Earth history, the text explains the relationships between geographic variation in biological diversity and the geological, ecological, and evolutionary processes that have produced them.

 

The use of color illustrations, evaluated and optimized for colorblind readers, has transformed our abilities to illustrate key concepts and empirical patterns in the geography of nature. By providing a description of the historical development of biogeography, evolution and ecology, along with a comprehensive account of the principal patterns, fundamental principles and recent advances in each of these fields of science, our ultimate vision is for Biogeography to serve as the centerpiece of a one- or two-semester core course in biological diversity.

 

• Emphasizes geographical context, demonstrating how patterns in biological diversity are valuable when viewed within an explicit geographic framework.

• Accessible - this text assumes only a rudimentary knowledge of biology, geography, and Earth history and provides students with the basics before moving on to more complex topics.

 

• Enhanced presentation and integration of all subjects, conceptual models, and descriptions of empirical patterns and their applications for understanding and conserving the geography of biological diversity.

• Updated coverage on topics such as the philosophy of science (Ch. 1); conceptual issues in community ecology (Ch. 5); the climatic and biogeographic consequences of plate tectonics (Ch. 8); and climate change research, the biogeography of humanity, and conservation biogeography (Ch. 15).

• Optimized art program has been re-evaluated for colour blind readers and includes numerous new illustrations reflecting recent advances in visualizing the geography of nature.

• Improved box program depicts key concepts, persistent themes, and biogeographic principles.

Mark V. Lomolino is a Professor in the Department of Environmental and Forest Biology at the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry. His research and teaching focus on biogeography, community ecology, and conservation of biological diversity. He is a cofounder and past President of the International Biogeography Society. Dr. Lomolino received the American Society of Mammalogists Award for his dissertation studies on the ecology, evolution, and biogeography of insular mammals.

 

Brett R. Riddle is a Professor in the School of Life Sciences at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. His research focuses primarily on the history of biodiversity in western North America, with ongoing projects including: historical assembly of the warm desert biotas; phylogeography of Great Basin cold desert and montane island biotas; and molecular systematics and biogeography of a diverse cadre of North American rodent groups. He is a cofounder and past President of the International Biogeography Society.

 

Robert J. Whittaker is Professor of Biogeography in the School of Geography and the Environment at the University of Oxford and holds a part time Professorial position at the Centre for Macroecology, Evolution and Climate in the University of Copenhagen. He is a cofounder and past President of the International Biogeography Society. He is coauthor of Island Biogeography: Ecology, Evolution, and Conservation (OUP, 2007). His research interests span island biogeography, diversity theory, macroecology, and conservation biogeography.