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Biogeography considers the distribution of biological units over a wide range of scales. The units range from genotypes, populations and species to families and higher taxa. Processes can be local, such as the isolation on islands due to sea-level fluctuations, or large-scale tectonic processes that separates continents and creates oceans. In all processes time is an important factor and by combining data on recent patterns with paleontological data the understanding of the distribution of extant taxa can be improved. This volume focuses on speciation due to isolation in island-like settings, and the evolution of large-scale diversity as the result of origination, maintenance and extinction.
List of contents
Global Disjunctions and Flying Insects.- Zoogeography of Freshwater Invertebrates of Southeast Asia, with Special Reference to Odonata.- Distribution and Speciation of Megapodes (Megapodiidae) and Subsequent Development of their Breeding.- The Influence of Land Barriers on the Evolution of Pontoniine Shrimps (Crustacea, Decapoda) Living in Association with Molluscs and Solitary Ascidians.- Delineation of the Indo-Malayan Centre of Maximum Marine Biodiversity: The Coral Triangle.- Fauna Development of Larger Benthic Foraminifera in the Cenozoic of Southeast Asia.- The Role of Spain in the Development of the Reef Brachiopod Faunas During the Carboniferous.- Contrasting Patterns and Mechanisms of Extinction during the Eocene-Oligocene Transition in Jamaica.- Long-Lived Lake Molluscs as Island Faunas: A Bivalve Perspective.- Patterns in Insular Evolution of Mammals: A Key to Island Palaeogeography.- Islands from a Snail's Perspective.- Morphological and Genetical Differentiation of Lizards (Podarcis bocagei and P. hispanica) in the Ria de Arosa Archipelago (Galicia, Spain) resulting from Vicariance and Occasional Dispersal.
About the author
Willem Renema:
2002 Ph.D. Free University of Amsterdam
2002- present: Researcher at the National Natural History Museum of the Netherlands.
Dr. Renema is an expert on the (paleo)ecology of large benthic foraminifera in Southeast Asia and the processes leading to the origination and maintenance of high diversity in the Indo-West Pacific.
Summary
Biogeography considers the distribution of biological units over a wide range of scales. The units range from genotypes, populations and species to families and higher taxa. Processes can be local, such as the isolation on islands due to sea-level fluctuations, or large-scale tectonic processes that separates continents and creates oceans. In all processes time is an important factor and by combining data on recent patterns with paleontological data the understanding of the distribution of extant taxa can be improved. This volume focuses on speciation due to isolation in island-like settings, and the evolution of large-scale diversity as the result of origination, maintenance and extinction.
Additional text
From the reviews:
"This volume of the series ‘Topics in Geobiology’ focuses on speciation due to isolation in island-like settings, and the evolution of large-scale diversity as the result of origination, maintenance and extinction. … Biogeography is seen here mainly in the context of paleontology, zoology, plate tectonics, and evolutionary processes resulting in genetic isolation and morphological differentiation on islands. … A fascinating, outstanding and highly recommendable contribution to biogeography." R. Gerstmeier, Entomofauna, Vol. 29 (9), 2008.
"Willem Renema … presents a balanced collection of chapters on a diversity of taxa, aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems, and biogeographic phenomena. … Each chapter is well laid out, following a structural format which is held consistent throughout the book. … this is a rich collection of contributions that provides an eclectic sampling of current research on the responses of ancient biotas to the dynamics of barriers, dispersal routes, and islands. … recommend highly to all scientists interested in the temporal and geographic dynamics of life." Mark V. Lomolino, Journal of Mammal Evolution, Vol. 16, 2009.
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From the reviews:
"This volume of the series 'Topics in Geobiology' focuses on speciation due to isolation in island-like settings, and the evolution of large-scale diversity as the result of origination, maintenance and extinction. ... Biogeography is seen here mainly in the context of paleontology, zoology, plate tectonics, and evolutionary processes resulting in genetic isolation and morphological differentiation on islands. ... A fascinating, outstanding and highly recommendable contribution to biogeography." R. Gerstmeier, Entomofauna, Vol. 29 (9), 2008.
"Willem Renema ... presents a balanced collection of chapters on a diversity of taxa, aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems, and biogeographic phenomena. ... Each chapter is well laid out, following a structural format which is held consistent throughout the book. ... this is a rich collection of contributions that provides an eclectic sampling of current research on the responses of ancient biotas to the dynamics of barriers, dispersal routes, and islands. ... recommend highly to all scientists interested in the temporal and geographic dynamics of life." Mark V. Lomolino, Journal of Mammal Evolution, Vol. 16, 2009.
