It is becoming clear that the Mediterranean region is one of the "hottest" of the biodiversity hotspots on the planet. There is also an increasing concern for the conservation, adaptive management, and restoration of the unique natural ecosystems and cultural landscapes that characterize this area. The region's biological and cultural heritage as well as its huge wealth of biodiversity is now at real risk. This brings a further urgency to the task of communicating detailed but readily accessible information on the Mediterranean biota, and an ecological, historical and evolutionary perspective to the changing contexts in which the region's flora and fauna continue to evolve.
There is no other recent textbook devoted solely to Mediterranean evolutionary ecology, and a synthesis of the many recent advances is now overdue. This new work builds on the success and reputation of the first edition, although the text has been updated and expanded to document recent changes to biodiversity, new ecological and evolutionary insights, and the challenges for the future. These changes include the addition of two new chapters devoted to the Mediterranean Sea itself, and especially the coastal areas. Throughout the book, the pressing issues of global change (especially climate warming) are addressed, in conjunction with changing land use, and in terms of their potential impact on biota, communities, ecosystems, and landscapes.
Author(s): Jacques Blondel, James Aronson, Jean-Yves Bodiou, Gilles Boeuf
Edition: 2
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
Year: 2010
Language: English
Pages: 401
Contents......Page 8
Foreword......Page 11
Preface......Page 14
1.1 The birth of the Mediterranean......Page 18
1.2 The physical background......Page 22
1.3 Climate......Page 29
1.4 Mapping the limits of the region......Page 33
1.5 Adjacent and transitional provinces......Page 36
Summary......Page 38
2.1 Drivers of biodiversity......Page 40
2.2 Composition of the flora......Page 49
2.3 The insect fauna......Page 55
2.4 Vertebrates......Page 56
2.5 Marine fauna and flora......Page 66
Summary......Page 68
3.1 Flora......Page 69
3.2 Invertebrates......Page 75
3.3 Freshwater fish......Page 78
3.4 Reptiles and amphibians......Page 80
3.5 Birds......Page 85
3.6 Mammals......Page 87
3.7 Convergence and non-convergence among mediterranean-type ecosystems......Page 89
Summary......Page 93
4 Present-Day Marine Biodiversity......Page 95
4.1 Flora......Page 97
4.2 Invertebrates......Page 104
4.3 Fish......Page 108
4.4 Marine birds......Page 111
4.5 Whales......Page 112
Summary......Page 115
5.1 A succession of life zones......Page 116
5.2 Transects......Page 120
5.3 Small-scale, within-landscape diversity......Page 130
Summary......Page 134
6.1 Forests and woodlands......Page 135
6.2 Matorrals......Page 139
6.5 Cliffs and caves......Page 142
6.7 Wetlands......Page 144
6.8 Diversity of marine habitats......Page 150
Summary......Page 153
7.1 East–west vicariance patterns......Page 154
7.2 Life on islands......Page 157
7.3 Community dynamics in heterogeneous landscapes......Page 163
7.4 Adaptation, local differentiation, and polymorphism......Page 165
7.5 Species turnover in time: migrating birds......Page 176
Summary......Page 181
8.1 Evergreenness and sclerophylly......Page 182
8.2 Autumn-flowering geophytes: a strategy for surviving competition and drought......Page 186
8.3 Annuals in highly seasonal environments......Page 188
8.4 Herbivory and plant defences......Page 189
8.5 Pollination......Page 192
8.6 Fruit dispersal by birds......Page 196
8.7 Decomposition and recomposition......Page 199
Summary......Page 202
9.1 Marine life specificities......Page 203
9.2 Pelagos......Page 204
9.3 Benthos......Page 206
Summary......Page 218
10.1 Human history and Mediterranean environment......Page 219
10.2 Plant and animal domestication......Page 224
10.3 Forest destruction, transformation, and multiple uses......Page 233
10.4 In search of a long-lasting and convivial living space......Page 241
10.5 Traditional landscape designs......Page 246
Summary......Page 250
11 Biodiversity Downs and Ups......Page 252
11.1 Losses......Page 253
11.2 Gains......Page 269
11.3 Fire: a threat and a driving force......Page 275
Summary......Page 278
12 Biodiversity and Global Change......Page 279
12.1 Human demography......Page 280
12.2 Habitat degradation and pollution......Page 281
12.3 Biological invasions......Page 282
12.4 Climate change......Page 298
Summary......Page 302
13.1 A microcosm of world problems......Page 303
13.2 Conservation sciences......Page 308
13.3 Steps towards sustainability......Page 316
13.4 Present threats and conservation efforts in the marine environment......Page 321
13.5 International cooperation......Page 326
13.6 Alternative futures......Page 328
Summary......Page 329
C......Page 330
G......Page 331
M......Page 332
P......Page 333
T......Page 334
References......Page 335
A......Page 374
B......Page 376
C......Page 377
D......Page 379
E......Page 380
G......Page 381
H......Page 382
L......Page 383
M......Page 384
N......Page 385
P......Page 386
Q......Page 388
S......Page 389
U......Page 392
Z......Page 393
