Fundamentals of Biogeography

by Richard Huggett

This textbook provides a fresh, up-to-date, introduction to biogeography. Examining where different animals and plants live and how they came to be living there it investigates how populations grow, interact and survive. It explores how equilibrium communities are formed, how communities change and looks at the likely shape of communities in the twenty-first century.
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 how human attitudes to nature differ, and how biogeography can affect conservation practice. Huggett tackles many topical and controversial environmental and ethical concerns
* animal rights
* species exploitation
* habitat fragmentation
* biodiversity
* metapopulations
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.

Genres: Geography

288 pages, Paperback

First published April 30, 1998

About the author

Richard Huggett is a retired university lecturer and huge fan of science fact, fantasy, and fiction. He lives in Cheshire and spends most of his time writing. And directing amateur musicals and concerts. And drinking coffee. He has written about twenty academic books. The Multiversal Chronicles is his first venture into fiction, going boldly where he has never gone before.

Reviews

[Ryan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Rather odd mash up of concepts you will find in a standard text on ecology such as populations, communities, ecosystems, energy and chemical cycles etc. with a bit of bioethics thrown in at the end. The detailed case studies were Eurocentric (mainly British), I suppose expected from a British author, but in any case less interesting for me. Actual content on biogeography itself fills less than half of the book. One could do better with a book like 'The Monkey's Voyage', which covers the history of the discipline and the latest debates and controversies in great detail.