![]() Quammen traces the origins of island biogeography to the pioneering work by Charles Darwin and the lesser known but equally important Alfred Wallace, both of whom based their theories on research performed on islands. Looking at what species survive or go extinct and how species evolve and change on islands can provide, in theory, practical information on what a species requires to remain viable into the future. Islands make useful case studies, Quammen explains, because their isolation and size make it possible to examine the entire system. Island biogeography is the study of the distribution of species in island habitats. Part scientific explanation and part travelogue, Quammen escorts his readers through the sometimes bitter infighting among ecologists and takes them island hopping around the globe to look at real cases of ecosystem decay. The Song of the Dodo is David Quammen's journalistic account of the development of the branch of ecology called island biogeography and an examination of how its theories might be applied to modern conservation efforts. ![]()
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