Speciation and Patterns of Diversity
Bringing together the viewpoints of leading ecologists concerned with the processes that generate patterns of diversity, and evolutionary biologists who focus on mechanisms of speciation, this book opens up discussion in order to broaden understanding of how speciation affects patterns of biological diversity, especially the uneven distribution of diversity across time, space and taxa studied by macroecologists. The contributors discuss questions such as: Are species equivalent units, providing meaningful measures of diversity? To what extent do mechanisms of speciation affect the functional nature and distribution of species diversity? How can speciation rates be measured using molecular phylogenies or data from the fossil record? What are the factors that explain variation in rates? Written for graduate students and academic researchers, the book promotes a more complete understanding of the interaction between mechanisms and rates of speciation and these patterns in biological diversity.
- Brings together leading ecologists and evolutionary biologists, allowing the reader to see new connections between the disciplines
- Chapters on prokaryotes, protists, plants and animals allow readers to integrate ideas across the full range of taxa
- Introduction gives an overview of the current problem, helping readers see the connections among chapters
Reviews & endorsements
'The volume has the potential to stimulate large numbers of interdisciplinary collaborations and new research projects.' Basic and Applied Ecology
Product details
January 2009Paperback
9780521709637
346 pages
247 × 175 × 18 mm
0.7kg
22 b/w illus.
Available
Table of Contents
- 1. Introduction: Speciation and patterns of diversity Roger K. Butlin, Jon R. Bridle and Dolph Schluter
- 2. On the arbitrary identification of real species Jody Hey
- 3. The evolutionary nature of diversification in sexuals and asexuals Timothy G. Barraclough, Diego Fontaneto, Elisabeth A. Herniou and Claudia Ricci
- 4. The poverty of the protists Graham Bell
- 5. Theory, community assembly, diversity and evolution in the microbial world Thomas P. Curtis, Nigel C. Wallbridge and William T. Sloan
- 6. Patterns of biodiversity and limits to adaptation in time and space Jon R. Bridle, Jitka Polechova and Timothy H. Vines
- 7. Dynamic patterns of adaptive radiation: evolution of mating preferences Sergey Gavrilets and Aaron Vose
- 8. Niche dimensionality and ecological speciation Patrik Nosil and Luke Harmon
- 9. Progressive levels of trait divergence along a 'speciation transect' in the Lake Victoria cichlid fish Pundamilia Ole Seehausen
- 10. Rapid speciation, hybridization and adaptive radiation in the Heliconius melpomene group James Mallet
- 11. Investigating ecological speciation Daniel J. Funk
- 12. Biotic interactions and speciation in the tropics Douglas W. Schemske
- 13. Ecological influences on the temporal pattern of speciation Albert B. Phillimore and Trevor D. Price
- 14. Speciation, extinction, and diversity Robert E. Ricklefs
- 15. Temporal patterns in diversification rates Andy Purvis, C. David L. Orme, Nicola H. Toomey and Paul N. Pearson
- 16. Speciation and extinction in the fossil record of North American mammals John Alroy.