Amazonia: Landscape and Species Evolution (eBook)

A Look into the Past

Carina Hoorn, Frank Wesselingh (Herausgeber)

eBook Download: PDF

2010
John Wiley & Sons (Verlag)
978-1-4443-0641-5 (ISBN)

Infos

The book focuses on geological history as the critical factor in determining the present biodiversity and landscapes of Amazonia. The different driving mechanisms for landscape evolution are explored by reviewing the history of the Amazonian Craton, the associated sedimentary basins, and the role of mountain uplift and climate change. This book provdes an insight into the Meso- and Cenozoic record of Amazonia that was characterized by fluvial and long-lived lake systems and a highly diverse flora and fauna. This fauna includes giants such as the ca. 12 m long caiman Purussaurus, but also a varied fish fauna and fragile molluscs, whilst fossil pollen and spores form relics of ancestral swamps and rainforests. Finally, a review the molecular datasets of the modern Amazonian rainforest and aquatic ecosystem, discussing the possible relations between the origin of Amazonian species diversity and the palaeogeographic, palaeoclimatic and palaeoenvironmental evolution of northern South America. The multidisciplinary approach in evaluating the history of Amazonia has resulted in a comprehensive volume that provides novel insights into the evolution of this region.

Autor

Carina Hoorn is a paleoecologist who studied geology and holds a PhD from the University of Amsterdam (The Netherlands) and an MSc in Science Communication (Imperial College, London). Currently she is liaised to the University of Amsterdam and her main research interests are Amazonia, the Himalayas, Tibet, and the coastal lagoons of Oman. Frank Wesselingh is a molluscan palaeontologist who studied geology at the Vrije Universiteit (Amsterdam, The Netherlands) and holds a PhD from the University of Turku (Finland). Frank works at Naturalis, the Natural History Museum in Leiden (The Netherlands), and his research interests are fossil molluscan faunas of long-lived lakes, the North Sea Basin and the Indo-West Pacific.

Rezensionen

"The volume edited by Hoorn & Wesselingh is a must read for
everyone studying geology and palaeontology of Amazonia . . .
Therefore, the reviewer feels it necessary to recommended this
volume strongly for all specialists in Cenozoic
palaeoenvironments." (Zentralblatt fur Geologie und Palaontologie,
1 January 2011)



"In this comprehensive book, a wealth of detailed information
integrates what we know of geological and climatic processes and
the evolution of the tremendous biodiversity of the Amazonian
region . . . This book will be a vital reference for Amazonian
researchers and aficionados for many years to come. Current
Amazonian researchers and any student contemplating graduate study
in Amazonian geology, paleontology, phylogeography, or evolution
should read this volume from cover to cover." (The Quarterly Review
of Biology, 1 June 2011)

"Recommenced. Academic audiences, upper-division
undergraduates." (Choice, October 2010)

Produkt-Details

• Erscheint lt. Verlag: 5.1.2010
• Sprache: englisch
• Themenwelt: Naturwissenschaften ► Biologie ► Evolution
• Themenwelt: Naturwissenschaften ► Biologie ► Ökologie / Naturschutz
• Themenwelt: Naturwissenschaften ► Geowissenschaften ► Allgemeines / Lexika
• Themenwelt: Naturwissenschaften ► Geowissenschaften ► Geologie
• Themenwelt: Technik
• Schlagworte: Amazonia • Amazonian • biodiversity • Book • Critical • earth sciences • Evolution • extent • following aims • Future Research • geological • Geomorphologie • geomorphology • Geowissenschaften • Point • prequaternary • processes • Research • species
• ISBN-10: 1-4443-0641-3 / 1444306413
• ISBN-13: 978-1-4443-0641-5 / 9781444306415