Speciation and Patterns of Diversity

The diversity of species of plants and animals is the net result of the origin of new species by the splitting of existing lineages (speciation) and the loss of species through extinction. Why there are more species in some groups of organisms, in some places or at some times depends on the balance of these processes. This book explores the interaction between mechanisms and rates of speciation and these patterns of biological diversity, and is unusual in that it brings together the viewpoints of ecologists interested in the processes that generate patterns of diversity and evolutionary biologists who focus on mechanisms of speciation. It is intended to stimulate dialogue between these groups and so promote a more complete understanding of biological diversity.

Roger Butlin is Professor of Evolutionary Biology, Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, at the University of Sheffield. He has held a prestigious Royal Society Research Fellowship at the University of Cardiff and his work has been recognized by honorary fellowships at the Natural History Museum, the Zoological Society of London and the Royal Belgian Academy of Natural Sciences. Jon Bridle is a Lecturer in Biology in the School of Biological Sciences at the University of Bristol. He has conducted research in quantitative genetics and evolutionary biology at University College London, the University of Cardiff and the Universidad Autonoma de Madrid. He was awarded a Fellowship at the Zoological Society of London in 2002. Dolph Schluter is Professor and Canada Research Chair in the Biodiversity Research Centre and Zoology Department at the University of British Columbia. He works on speciation and adaptive radiation, particularly using stickleback. He is a former President of the Society for the Study of Evolution and recipient of the Sewall Wright Award from the American Society of Naturalists. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of London and of Canada.