Land Bridges
Ancient Environments, Plant Migrations, and New World Connections
9780226544298
9780226544151
9780226544328
Land Bridges
Ancient Environments, Plant Migrations, and New World Connections
Land bridges are the causeways of biodiversity. When they form, organisms are introduced into a new patchwork of species and habitats, forever altering the ecosystems into which they flow; and when land bridges disappear or fracture, organisms are separated into reproductively isolated populations that can evolve independently. More than this, land bridges play a role in determining global climates through changes to moisture and heat transport and are also essential factors in the development of biogeographic patterns across geographically remote regions.
In this book, paleobotanist Alan Graham traces the formation and disruption of key New World land bridges and describes the biotic, climatic, and biogeographic ramifications of these land masses’ changing formations over time. Looking at five land bridges, he explores their present geographic setting and climate, modern vegetation, indigenous peoples (with special attention to their impact on past and present vegetation), and geologic history. From the great Panamanian isthmus to the boreal connections across the North Atlantic and North Pacific Oceans that allowed exchange of organisms between North America, Europe, and Asia, Graham’s sweeping, one-hundred-million-year history offers new insight into the forces that shaped the life and land of the New World.
In this book, paleobotanist Alan Graham traces the formation and disruption of key New World land bridges and describes the biotic, climatic, and biogeographic ramifications of these land masses’ changing formations over time. Looking at five land bridges, he explores their present geographic setting and climate, modern vegetation, indigenous peoples (with special attention to their impact on past and present vegetation), and geologic history. From the great Panamanian isthmus to the boreal connections across the North Atlantic and North Pacific Oceans that allowed exchange of organisms between North America, Europe, and Asia, Graham’s sweeping, one-hundred-million-year history offers new insight into the forces that shaped the life and land of the New World.
See the supplementary appendices and tables for the book.
288 pages | 88 halftones | 6 x 9 | © 2018
Biological Sciences: Botany, Conservation, Ecology, Natural History, Paleobiology, Geology, and Paleontology
Reviews
Table of Contents
Abbreviations, Time Scale, and Conversions
Preface
Part I: Boreal Land Bridges
Bering Land Bridge
Part II: Equatorial Land Bridges
Four / Antillean Land Bridge
Part III: Austral Land Bridge
Six / Magellan Land Bridge: Cono del Sur and Antarctica
Index
Preface
Protocols and Organization
References
Introduction References
References
Additional References
Part I: Boreal Land Bridges
Bering Land Bridge
Beringia
Background
Background
References
Additional References
One / West Beringia: Siberia and Kamchatka Siberia
Geographic Setting and Climate
Geology
Modern Vegetation
Indigenous People
Geology
Modern Vegetation
Indigenous People
Kamchatka
Geographic Setting and Climate
Modern Vegetation
Indigenous People
Modern Vegetation
Indigenous People
References
Additional References
Two / East Beringia: Alaska, Northwestern North America, and the Aleutian Connection Geographic Setting and Climate
Geology
Modern Vegetation
Indigenous People
Utilization of the Bering Land Bridge
Peopling of America (from the West)
References
Geology
Modern Vegetation
Indigenous People
Utilization of the Bering Land Bridge
Peopling of America (from the West)
References
Additional References
Three / North Atlantic Land Bridge: Northeastern North America, Greenland, Iceland, Arctic Islands, Northwestern Europe Geographic Setting and Climate
Geology
Modern Vegetation
Utilization of the North Atlantic Land Bridge
Geology
Modern Vegetation
Utilization of the North Atlantic Land Bridge
Modernization of the Flora
Biodiversity and Vegetation Density
Floristic Relationships between Eastern Asia and Eastern North America
Geofloras and the Madrean-Tethyan Hypothesis
Biodiversity and Vegetation Density
Floristic Relationships between Eastern Asia and Eastern North America
Geofloras and the Madrean-Tethyan Hypothesis
Indigenous People
Peopling of America (from the East)
References
Peopling of America (from the East)
References
Additional References
Part II: Equatorial Land Bridges
Four / Antillean Land Bridge
Stepping Stones or Lost Highway
Geographic Setting and Climate
Geology
Modern Vegetation
Indigenous People
Utilization of the Antillean Land Bridge
References
Geographic Setting and Climate
Geology
Modern Vegetation
Indigenous People
Utilization of the Antillean Land Bridge
References
Additional References
Five / Central American Land Bridge South and North of the CALB
Geographic Setting and Climate
Forging the Final Link: Geology
Modern Vegetation
Indigenous People
Utilization of the CALB
References
Geographic Setting and Climate
Forging the Final Link: Geology
Modern Vegetation
Indigenous People
Utilization of the CALB
References
Additional References
Part III: Austral Land Bridge
Six / Magellan Land Bridge: Cono del Sur and Antarctica
Cono del Sur
Geographic Setting and Climate
Geology
Modern Vegetation
Indigenous People
Peopling of South America (from the North)
Geology
Modern Vegetation
Indigenous People
Peopling of South America (from the North)
Antarctica
Geographic Setting and Climate
Geology
Geology
Land Bridges and Island Biogeography
Utilization of the Magellan Land Bridge
Utilization of the Magellan Land Bridge
Cono del Sur
Antarctica
Antarctica
References
Additional References
Seven / Case Studies Ferns and Allied Groups
Gymnosperms
Angiosperms
Gymnosperms
Angiosperms
Monocotyledons
Dicotyledons
Dicotyledons
References
Additional References
Eight / Summary and Conclusions Events, Processes, and Responses
Bering Land Bridge
North Atlantic Land Bridge
Antillean Land Bridge
Central American Land Bridge
Magellan Land Bridge
North Atlantic Land Bridge
Antillean Land Bridge
Central American Land Bridge
Magellan Land Bridge
Conceptual Issues and Future Needs
References
References
Additional References (Conservation)
Additional References (Selected Classical Literature)
AcknowledgmentsAdditional References (Selected Classical Literature)
Index
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