E-Book Overview
Fundamentals of Biogeography offers a fresh, uptodate, introduction to biogeography, explaining the ecology, geography and history of animals and plants. The book defines and examines populations, communities and ecosystems - examining where different animals and plants live and how they came to be living there, investigating how populations grow, interact and survive.Stressing the role of ecological, geographical, historical and human factors in fashioning animal and plant distributions, Huggett reveals how life has and is adapting to its biological and physical surroundings. The book includes several sections on human attitudes to Nature differ, and how biogeography can affect conservation practice. As well as explaining key concepts and interactions, Huggett tackles many topical and controversial environmental and ethical concerns including: animal rights, species exploitation, habitat fragmentation, biodiversity, metapopulations, patchy landscapes and chaos.Illustrated throughout with informative diagrams and photos, and including chapter summaries, guides to further reading and an extensive glossary of key terms, Fundamentals of Biogeography presents an engaging introduction for students.
E-Book Content
TA F BIOGEO Fzlndamen~als of ~ ~ o g e o g ~presents a ~ ~ y an engaging and comprehensive introduction to biogeography, explaining the ecology, geography, and history of animals and plants. Defining and explaining the nature of populations, communities and ecosystems, the book examines where different animals and plants live and how they came to be living there; investigates how populations grow, interact, and survive, and how communities are formed and change; and predicts the shape of communities in the twenty-first century. Illustrated throughout with informative diagrams and attractive photos (many in colour), and including guides to further reading, chapter summaries, and an extensive glossary of key terms, Fzlndamentals of ~ ~ o g e o g ~ a ~ ~ explains y clearly key concepts, life systems, and interactions. The book also tackles the most topical and controversial environmental and ethical concerns including: animal rights, species exploitation, habitat fragmentation, biodiversity, metapopulations, patchy landscapes, and chaos. F,mdamentals o f ~ ~ o g e o g presents ~ a ~ ~ y an appealing introduction for students and all those interested in gaining a deeper understanding of the key topics and debates within the fields of biogeography, ecology and the environment. Revealing how life has and is adapting to its biological and physical surroundings, Huggett stresses the role of ecological, geographical, historical and human factors in fashioning animal and plant distributions and raises important questions concerning how humans have altered Nature, and how biogeography can affect conservation practice. Richard John Huggett is a Senior Lecturer in Geography at the University of Manchester ROUTLEDGEFUNDAMENTALS OF PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY SERIES Series Editor: John Gerrard Thls new series of focused, introductory textbooks presents comprehensive, up-to-date introductlons to the fundamental concepts, natural processes and humadenvironmental impacts wlthin each of the core physical geography sub-disciplines: Biogeography, Climatology, Hydrology, Geomorphology and Soils. Uniformlydesigned, each volumeincludesstudent-friendly features: plentifulillustratlons, studies, key concepts and summaries, further reading guides and a glossary. boxed case FUNDAMENTALS OF BIOGEOGRAPHY Richard John Huggett Routledge Fundamentals of Physical Geography London and New York First published 1998 by Routledge 11 New Fetter Lane. London EC4P 4EE Simultaneously published In the USA and Canada by Routledge 29 West 35th Street, New York, NY 10001 0 1