Species Diversity in Space and Time

Species diversity is marked by some interesting facts--such as larger areas have more species, and diversity is particularly high near the equator. Other factors to consider are what reduces diversity in ecologically productive places and across what scales of space and time diversity patterns hold. This book examines these questions and many others, the author employing both theory and data in his search for answers. Surprisingly, many of the questions have reasonably likely answers. By identifying these, attention can be turned toward life's many still-unexplained diversity patterns. As evolutionary ecologists race to understand biodiversity before it is too late, this book will help set the agenda for diversity research into the next century and will be useful to graduate students and researchers in ecology and evolutionary and conservation biology.

"This is a milestone, or perhaps more of a buoy on a turbulent sea, that defines...one man's position on his life's work." G. Stevens, Choice"In what may be the most important book on this subject since MacArthur's Geographical Ecology, Rosenzweig combines theory with a huge body of empirical observations on terrestrial, aquatic, and marine organisms living today as well as in the geological past to produce a coherent account that brings together several previously separate research traditions ranging from experimental ecology to ecosystems analysis, paleontology, biogeography, and macroevolution...Rosenzweig confronts the complexity of diversity directly, convincing the reader that a predictive understanding can come about only when we study the phenomenon at all scales of space and time...More clearly than anyone else, Rosenzweig shows why we cannot employ small-scale patterns of diversity uncritically as models to explain larger scale patterns of diversity among biogeographical provinces over geological time." Geerat J. Vermeij, Science"I recommend the book...It provides one of the clearest and best accounts of species-area relationships I have read, and it shows how scale matters if we are to understand these relationships...It will give us much to think about, and should generate some lively debates." John H. Lawton, Nature"...a comprehensive synthesis and analysis of a whole range of biological inquiry, centred on patterns of species diversity, richness and abundance...By providing a detailed analysis and suggesting what we know and what we do not, Rosenzweig provides valuable input to a revised research agenda for diversity research." Stephen Woodley, Environments"Species Diversity in Space and Time is both an indispensable review of work on patterns of species diversity and a template for organizing future work...He has shared his deep thoughts on complex topics, and the book will be of great value to those who pursue this fundamentally important subject." Peter S. White, American Scientist"In a clear, almost conversational style, the author addresses a broad range of topics...Rosenzweig combines empirical data, simulation model results, and ecological theory to address topics such as the scale dependence of the slopes of species-area curves, the coevolution of habitat diversity with species diversity, and paleobiological patterns...The focus of this book is on ecological theory and it does not directly address management applications, but it should be accessible to a broad readership that includes natural area managers and nonscientists...The rare difficult sections may be skipped without loss of continuity, though, and the reader should be rewarded, as I was, with an enhanced multiscale perspective on species diversity." Don McKenzie, Natural Areas Journal"...a sweeping and far ranging book...instructful and insightful...[Rosenzweig] is thorough in both his description of the pattern and in his discussion of factors...this book covers a tremendous breadth of material and thus gives a fine starting place to begin to answer the question, why are there this many species here?" M.H.H. Stevens, Plant Science Bulletin

A lively account of the big questions about biodiversity being posed by ecologists today.

Why do larger areas have more species? What makes diversity so high near the equator? Has the number of species grown during the past 600 million years? This book examines these questions and many others, providing a foundation upon which to set the agenda for diversity research into the next century.

Employing theory and data, this analysis seeks to answer questions relevant to the many still-unexplained species diversity patterns. As evolutionary ecologists race to understand biodiversity, this book will help set the agenda for diversity research into the next century.

Includes bibliographical references (p. [385]-421) and index.

Preface; 1. The road ahead; 2. Patterns in space; 3. Temporal patterns; 4. Dimensionless patterns; 5. Speciation; 6. Extinction; 7. Evolution of the relationship between habitat diversity and species diversity; 8. Species-area curves in ecological time; 9. Species-area curves in evolutionary time; 10. Paleobiological patterns; 11. Other patterns with dynamic roots; 12. Energy flow and diversity; 13. A hierarchical dynamic puzzle; References; Index.