Plants on Islands


Book Description

This thorough and meticulous study, the result of nearly a quarter-century of research, examines the island biogeography of plants on continental islands in Barkley Sound, British Columbia. Invaluable both because of its geographical setting and because of the duration of the study, Plants on Islands summarizes the diversity, dynamics, and distribution of the approximately three hundred species of plants on more than two hundred islands. Martin Cody uses his extensive data set to test various aspects of island biogeographic theory. His thoughtful analysis, constrained by taxon and region, elucidates and enhances the understanding of the biogeographic patterns and dynamics. He provides an overview of the basic theory, concepts, and analytical tools of island biogeography. Also discussed are island relaxation to lower equilibrium species numbers post-isolation, plant distributions variously limited by island area, isolation and climatic differences, adaptation to local abiotic and biotic environments within islands, and the evolution of different island phenotypes. The book concludes with a valuable consideration of equilibrium concepts and of the interplay of coexistence and competition. Certain to challenge, Plants on Islands is among the first books to critically analyze the central tenets of the theory of island biogeography.




Islands


Book Description

Oceanic islands represent a set of systems in which biological diversity varies as a consequence of remoteness or size, not environment; they are also generally simpler than continental ecosystems. Islands therefore provide an opportunity to determine the direct effects of biological diversity on ecosystem function. The volume addresses the components of biological diversity on islands and their patterns of variation; the modern threats to the maintenance of biological diversity on islands; the consequences of island biology and its modification by humanity regarding aspects of ecosystem function; the global implications of islands for conservation; and how islands can help one to understand the processes inducing changes throughout the world.




Encyclopedia of Islands


Book Description

"Islands have captured the imagination of scientists and the public for centuries - unique and rare environments, their isolation makes them natural laboratories for ecology and evolution. This authoritative, alphabetically arranged reference, featuring more than 200 succinct articles by leading scientists from around the world, provides broad coverage of all the island sciences. But what exactly is an island? The volume editors define it here as any discrete habitat isolated from other habitats by inhospitable surroundings. The Encyclopedia of Islands examines many such insular settings - oceanic and continental islands as well as places such as caves, mountaintops, and whale falls at the bottom of the ocean. This essential, one-stop resource, extensively illustrated with color photographs, clear maps, and graphics will introduce island science to a wide audience and spur further research on some of the planet's most fascinating habitats." --Book Jacket.




Conservation Biogeography


Book Description

CONSERVATION BIOGEOGRAPHY The Earth’s ecosystems are in the midst of an unprecedented period of change as a result of human action. Many habitats have been completely destroyed or divided into tiny fragments, others have been transformed through the introduction of new species, or the extinction of native plants and animals, while anthropogenic climate change now threatens to completely redraw the geographic map of life on this planet. The urgent need to understand and prescribe solutions to this complicated and interlinked set of pressing conservation issues has lead to the transformation of the venerable academic discipline of biogeography – the study of the geographic distribution of animals and plants. The newly emerged sub-discipline of conservation biogeography uses the conceptual tools and methods of biogeography to address real world conservation problems and to provide predictions about the fate of key species and ecosystems over the next century. This book provides the first comprehensive review of the field in a series of closely interlinked chapters addressing the central issues within this exciting and important subject.




International Encyclopedia of Geography, 15 Volume Set


Book Description

Representing the definitive reference work for this broad and dynamic field, The International Encyclopedia of Geography arises from an unprecedented collaboration between Wiley and the American Association of Geographers (AAG) to review and define the concepts, research, and techniques in geography and interrelated fields. Available as a robust online resource and as a 15-volume full-color print set, the Encyclopedia assembles a truly global group of scholars for a comprehensive, authoritative overview of geography around the world. Contains more than 1,000 entries ranging from 1,000 to 10,000 words offering accessible introductions to basic concepts, sophisticated explanations of complex topics, and information on geographical societies around the world Assembles a truly global group of more than 900 scholars hailing from over 40 countries, for a comprehensive, authoritative overview of geography around the world Provides definitive coverage of the field, encompassing human geography, physical geography, geographic information science and systems, earth studies, and environmental science Brings together interdisciplinary perspectives on geographical topics and techniques of interest across the social sciences, humanities, science, and medicine Features full color throughout the print version and more than 1,000 illustrations and photographs Annual updates to online edition




The Conservation and Biogeography of Amphibians in the Caribbean


Book Description

An expansive and detailed review of the biology of Caribbean amphibians, considering their threats, conservation and outlook in a changing world. Amphibians are the group of vertebrates undergoing the fastest rate of extinction; it is urgent that we understand the causes of this and find means of protecting them. This landmark illustrated volume brings together the leading experts in the field. As well as offering an overview of the region as a whole, individual chapters are devoted to each island or island-group and the measures used to protect their amphibians through legislation or nature reserves. The biological background of insular biogeography, including its methods, analysis and results, is reviewed and applied specifically to the problems of Caribbean amphibians – this includes a re-examination of patterns and general ideas about the status of amphibians in the Anthropocene. The Conservation and Biogeography of Amphibians in the Caribbean offers an important baseline against which future amphibian conservation can be measured in the face of climate change, rising sea level and a burgeoning human population. Covers over 300 species.




Evolution in Isolation


Book Description

Tests for repeated patterns in evolution of island plants, which together comprise an 'island syndrome' analogous to animals.




The Theory of Ecology


Book Description

Despite claims to the contrary, the science of ecology has a long history of building theories. Many ecological theories are mathematical, computational, or statistical, though, and rarely have attempts been made to organize or extrapolate these models into broader theories. The Theory of Ecology brings together some of the most respected and creative theoretical ecologists of this era to advance a comprehensive, conceptual articulation of ecological theories. The contributors cover a wide range of topics, from ecological niche theory to population dynamic theory to island biogeography theory. Collectively, the chapters ably demonstrate how theory in ecology accounts for observations about the natural world and how models provide predictive understandings. It organizes these models into constitutive domains that highlight the strengths and weaknesses of ecological understanding. This book is a milestone in ecological theory and is certain to motivate future empirical and theoretical work in one of the most exciting and active domains of the life sciences.




Nature-Inspired Computation in Engineering


Book Description

This timely review book summarizes the state-of-the-art developments in nature-inspired optimization algorithms and their applications in engineering. Algorithms and topics include the overview and history of nature-inspired algorithms, discrete firefly algorithm, discrete cuckoo search, plant propagation algorithm, parameter-free bat algorithm, gravitational search, biogeography-based algorithm, differential evolution, particle swarm optimization and others. Applications include vehicle routing, swarming robots, discrete and combinatorial optimization, clustering of wireless sensor networks, cell formation, economic load dispatch, metamodeling, surrogated-assisted cooperative co-evolution, data fitting and reverse engineering as well as other case studies in engineering. This book will be an ideal reference for researchers, lecturers, graduates and engineers who are interested in nature-inspired computation, artificial intelligence and computational intelligence. It can also serve as a reference for relevant courses in computer science, artificial intelligence and machine learning, natural computation, engineering optimization and data mining.