THE EVOLUTIONARY UNDERPINNINGS OF MACROECOLOGY

Abstract

Review of: Butlin, R., Bridle, J. and Schluter, D. 2009. Speciation and Patterns of Diversity. Cambridge University Press. 346 pp. ISBN 978-0-521-70963-7 Paper. The fields of adaptive speciation and macroecology have made many significant advances in recent years. Research in adaptive speciation has elucidated the mechanisms of ecological speciation and sought to explain how selection can divide a single lineage into multiple independent lineages (e.g., Schluter 2000; Rundle and Nosil 2005; Nosil et al. 2009). Concomitantly, macroecologists have characterized the large-scale distributional patterns of the earth’s biodiversity and advanced theory to explain the turnover of taxa within space and time (e.g., Gaston and Blackburn 2000; Blackburn and Gaston 2003; Smith et al. 2008). Although seemingly directed at the same goal, understanding the origin and maintenance of diversity, these two fields have developed along somewhat independent lines. There is an obvious connection between the two and no evolutionary biologist would doubt the importance of ecology in facilitating speciation and no ecologist would doubt the importance of speciation in facilitating diversity. Beyond that, however, there has been little dialogue about how these two fields can integrate and form a much stronger understanding of the genesis of biodiversity. Butlin, Bridle, and Schluter designed the book, Speciation and Patterns of Diversity, to stimulate thought and discussion about the interconnectedness of macroecology and evolutionary biology. The book is a result of the 2007 Annual Symposium of the British Ecological Society entitled Speciation and Ecology. The goal of the symposium was to foster ties between the fields of macroecology and adaptive speciation. The resulting edited volume goes a long way toward enlightening the reader of the importance of blending evolution with macroecology. The main thesis of the book is to take the evolutionary mechanisms that are responsible for generating species and examine their consequences for patterns of diversity—a melding of mechanism and pattern that will lead to an understanding of process. The editors assembled leaders in the fields of macroecology and adaptive speciation to provide perspectives of where we are both ecologically and evolutionarily with regards to patterns of diversity. This is no small feat given that the topic encompasses all of the earth’s biodiversity—past and present. These leaders have offered their views and challenges for understanding the evolutionary ecology of speciation and how mechanisms of speciation may determine patterns of diversity. The result is a careful examination of the key issues currently being studied with regards to speciation and its role in generating patterns of diversity. This book is not an in-depth look at one particular aspect of diversity, nor is it a cursory look at all topics. Instead, it is a well-balanced book that explores mechanisms of speciation and the consequences for the patterns of diversity that we observe. The taxa discussed in the book range from microbes to mammals. If I have one complaint about the breadth of taxa, it is that plants are sorely missing. They are featured on the cover, but are only mentioned in passing in one of the chapters. As has historically been the case in the development of speciation theory, plant speciation mechanisms and patterns have rarely been integrated with animal speciation. Perhaps one day that will be remedied.