Cladistic Biogeography: Interpreting Patterns of Plant and Animal Distributions (Oxford Biogeography Series)

Cladistic biogeography uses the distribution patterns of species to study their historical and evolutionary relationships. Revised extensively to reflect new research, this book is a concise exposition of the history, methods, and current applications in this field. The first edition, published in 1986, received excellent reviews and was widely used as a textbook. This new edition should prove equally popular. It draws on a wide range of animals and plants, from marine, terrestrial, and freshwater habitats, and incorporates the latest advances in this dynamic field. "The distribution and classification of life on earth has long been of interest to biological theorists, as well as to travellers and explorers. Cladistic biogeography is the study of the historical and evolutionary relationships between taxa, based on their particular distribution patterns across the earth. Analysis of the distribution patterns of the taxa in different areas of the world can tell us how the areas are related, what regions or larger groups of areas exist, and what their shared history might be." "Cladistic Biogeography (second edition) provides a concise exposition of the history, methods, applications of, and prospects for cladistic biogeography, together with a comprehensive bibliography."--Jacket