Wallace Island Life

1. Auflage 2018
ISBN: 978-1-4554-0584-8
Verlag: Seltzer Books
Format: EPUB
Kopierschutz: 0 - No protection

E-Book, Englisch, 398 Seiten

'THE PHENOMENA AND CAUSES OF INSULAR FAUNAS AND FLORAS,INCLUDING A REVISION AND ATTEMPTED SOLUTION OF THE PROBLEM OF GEOLOGICAL CLIMATES ' According to Wikipedia: 'Alfred Russel Wallace, OM, FRS (8 January 1823 - 7 November 1913) was a British naturalist, explorer, geographer, anthropologist and biologist. He is best known for independently proposing a theory of evolution due to natural selection that prompted Charles Darwin to publish his own theory. Wallace did extensive fieldwork, first in the Amazon River basin and then in the Malay Archipelago, where he identified the Wallace Line that divides the Indonesian archipelago into two distinct parts, one in which animals closely related to those of Australia are common, and one in which the species are largely of Asian origin. He was considered the 19th century's leading expert on the geographical distribution of animal species and is sometimes called the 'father of biogeography'. Wallace was one of the leading evolutionary thinkers of the 19th century and made a number of other contributions to the development of evolutionary theory besides being co-discoverer of natural selection. These included the concept of warning colouration in animals, and the Wallace effect, a hypothesis on how natural selection could contribute to speciation by encouraging the development of barriers against hybridization.'

Autoren/Hrsg.

Wallace, Alfred Russel

Leseproben

ISLAND LIFE OR THE PHENOMENA AND CAUSES OF INSULAR FAUNAS AND FLORAS,  INCLUDING A REVISION AND ATTEMPTED SOLUTION OF THE PROBLEM OF GEOLOGICAL CLIMATES BY ALFRED RUSSEL WALLACE
  AUTHOR OF "THE MALAY ARCHIPELAGO," "THE GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION OF ANIMALS," "DARWINISM," ETC.   ________________   Published by Seltzer Books. seltzerbooks.com established in 1974, as B&R Samizdat Express offering over 14,000 books feedback welcome: [e-mail] ________________   SECOND AND REVISED EDITION   MACMILLAN AND CO.London AND NEW YORK   1895   The Right of Translation and Reproduction is Reserved   Richard Clay and Sons, Limited,
LONDON AND BUNGAY.   First Edition printed 1880 (Med. 8vo).
Second Edition 1892 (Extra cr. 8vo). Reprinted 1895.   TO SIR JOSEPH DALTON HOOKER, K.C.S.I., C.B., F.R.S., ETC., ETC.   WHO, MORE THAN ANY OTHER WRITER,   HAS ADVANCED OUR KNOWLEDGE OF THE GEOGRAPHICAL   DISTRIBUTION OF PLANTS, AND ESPECIALLY   OF INSULAR FLORAS,   I Dedicate this Volume;   ON A KINDRED SUBJECT, AS A TOKEN OF ADMIRATION AND REGARD.   PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION   PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION   PART I THE DISPERSAL OF ORGANISMS; ITS PHENOMENA, LAWS, AND CAUSES   CHAPTER I INTRODUCTORY   Remarkable Contrasts in the Distribution of Animals—Britain and Japan—Australia and New Zealand—Bali and Lombok—Florida and Bahama Islands—Brazil and Africa—Borneo, Madagascar, and Celebes—Problems in Distribution to be found in every Country—Can be Solved only by the Combination of many distinct lines of inquiry, Biological and Physical—Islands offer the best Subjects for the Study of Distribution—Outline of the Subjects to be discussed in the Present Volume.   CHAPTER II THE ELEMENTARY FACTS OF DISTRIBUTION.   Importance of Locality as an Essential Character of Species—Areas of Distribution—Extent and Limitations of Specific Areas—Specific Range of Birds—Generic Areas—Separate and Overlapping Areas—The Species of Tits as illustrating Areas of Distribution—The Distribution of the Species of Jays—Discontinuous Generic Areas—Peculiarities of Generic and Family Distribution—General Features of Overlapping and Discontinuous Areas—Restricted Areas of Families—The Distribution of Orders   CHAPTER III CLASSIFICATION OF THE FACTS OF DISTRIBUTION.—ZOOLOGICAL REGIONS   The Geographical Divisions of the Globe do not Correspond to Zoological Divisions—The Range of British Mammals as Indicating a Zoological Region—Range of East Asian and North African Mammals—The Range of British Birds—Range of East Asian Birds—The Limits of the Palæarctic Region—Characteristic Features of the Palæarctic Region—Definition and Characteristic Groups of the Ethiopian Region—Of the Oriental Region—Of the Australian Region—Of the Nearctic Region—Of the Neotropical Region—Comparison of Zoological Regions with the Geographical Divisions of the Globe   CHAPTER IV EVOLUTION AS THE KEY TO DISTRIBUTION   Importance of the Doctrine of Evolution—The Origin of New Species—Variation in Animals—The amount of Variation in North American Birds—How New Species Arise from a Variable Species—Definition and Origin of Genera—Cause of the Extinction of Species—The Rise and Decay of Species and Genera—Discontinuous Specific Areas, why Rare—Discontinuity of the Area of Parus Palustris—Discontinuity of Emberiza Schœniclus—The European and Japanese Jays—Supposed examples of Discontinuity among North American Birds—Distribution and Antiquity of Families—Discontinuity a Proof of Antiquity—Concluding remarks   CHAPTER V THE POWERS OF DISPERSAL OF ANIMALS AND PLANTS   Statement of the General Question of Dispersal—The Ocean as a Barrier to the Dispersal of Mammals—The Dispersal of Birds—The Dispersal of Reptiles—The Dispersal of Insects—The Dispersal of Land Mollusca—Great Antiquity of Land-shells—Causes Favouring the Abundance of Land-shells—The Dispersal of Plants—Special Adaptability of Seeds for Dispersal—Birds as Agents in the Dispersal of Seeds—Ocean Currents as Agents in Plant Dispersal—Dispersal along Mountain Chains—Antiquity of Plants as Effecting their Distribution   CHAPTER VI GEOGRAPHICAL AND GEOLOGICAL CHANGES: THE PERMANENCE OF CONTINENTS   Changes of Land and Sea, their Nature and Extent—Shore-Deposits and Stratified Rocks—The Movements of Continents—Supposed Oceanic Formations; the Origin of Chalk—Fresh-water and Shore-deposits as Proving the Permanence of Continents—Oceanic Islands as Indications of the Permanence of Continents and Oceans—General Stability of Continents with Constant Change of Form—Effect of Continental Changes on the Distribution of Animals—Changed Distribution Proved by the Extinct Animals of Different Epochs—Summary of Evidence for the General Permanence of Continents and Oceans.   CHAPTER VII CHANGES OF CLIMATE WHICH HAVE INFLUENCED THE DISPERSAL OF ORGANISMS: THE GLACIAL EPOCH   Proofs of the Recent Occurrence of a Glacial Epoch—Moraines—Travelled Blocks—Glacial Deposits of Scotland: the "Till"—Inferences from the Glacial Phenomena of Scotland—Glacial Phenomena of North America—Effects of the Glacial Epoch on Animal Life—Warm and Cold Periods—Palæontological Evidence of Alternate Cold and Warm Periods—Evidence of Interglacial Warm Periods on the Continent and in North America—Migrations and Extinctions of Organisms Caused by the Glacial Epoch   CHAPTER VIII THE CAUSES OF GLACIAL EPOCHS   Various Suggested Causes—Astronomical Causes of Changes of Climate—Difference of Temperature Caused by Varying Distances of the Sun—Properties of Air and Water, Snow and Ice, in Relation to Climate—Effects of Snow on Climate—High Land and Great Moisture Essential to the Initiation of a Glacial Epoch—Perpetual Snow nowhere Exists on Lowlands—Conditions Determining the Presence or Absence of Perpetual Snow—Efficiency of Astronomical causes in Producing Glaciation—Action of Meteorological Causes in Intensifying Glaciation—Summary of Causes of Glaciation—Effect of Clouds and Fog in Cutting off the Sun's Heat—South Temperate America as Illustrating the Influence of Astronomical Causes on Climate—Geographical Changes how far a Cause of Glaciation—Land Acting as a Barrier to Ocean-currents—The Theory of Interglacial Periods and their Probable Character—Probable Effect of Winter in aphelion on the Climate of Britain—The Essential Principle of Climatal Change Restated—Probable Date of the Last Glacial Epoch—Changes of the Sea-level Dependent on Glaciation—The Planet Mars as Bearing on the Theory of Excentricity as a Cause of Glacial Epochs   CHAPTER IX ANCIENT GLACIAL EPOCHS, AND MILD CLIMATES IN THE ARCTIC REGIONS   Mr. Croll's Views on Ancient Glacial Epochs—Effects of Denudation in Destroying the Evidence of Remote Glacial Epochs—Rise of Sea-level Connected with Glacial Epochs a Cause of Further Denudation—What Evidence of Early Glacial Epochs may be Expected—Evidences of Ice-action During the Tertiary Period—The Weight of the Negative Evidence—Temperate Climates in the Arctic Regions—The Miocene Arctic Flora—Mild Arctic Climates of the Cretaceous Period—Stratigraphical Evidence of Long-continued Mild Arctic Conditions—The Causes of Mild Arctic Climates—Geographical Conditions Favouring Mild Northern Climates in Tertiary Times—The Indian Ocean as a Source of Heat in Tertiary Times—Condition of North America During the Tertiary Period—Effect of High Excentricity on Warm Polar Climates—Evidences as to Climate in the Secondary and Palæozoic Epochs—Warm Arctic Climates in Early Secondary and Palæozoic Times—Conclusions as to the Climates of Secondary and Tertiary Periods—General View of Geological Climates as Dependent on the Physical Features of the Earth's Surface—Estimate of the Comparative Effects of Geographical and Physical Causes in Producing Changes of Climate.   CHAPTER X THE EARTH'S AGE, AND THE RATE OF DEVELOPMENT OF ANIMALS AND PLANTS   Various Estimates of Geological Time—Denudation and Deposition of Strata as a Measure of Time—How to Estimate the Thickness of the...