Frontiers Of Biogeography Research Articles

Lots of good fish in the sea

book reviews ISSN 1948-6596 Lots of good fish in the sea Fishes: A Guide To Their Diversity. Philip A. Hastings, Harold Jack Walker Jr. and Grantly R. Gal- land, 2014, University of California Press. 336pp. £24.95 (Paperback) / $34.99 (eBook) ISBN: 9780520283534 / 9780520959330; http://www.ucpress.edu/ There is a range of excellent guide books out there for the budding non-academic ichthyologist, young student and more wizened academic. The majority however have been developed as field guides, with excellent colour photographs of the species in their natural habitat (where available) or at least with an apt description of their ecology. Hastings et al’s ‘Fishes A Guide to their Diversity’ is different, and has been developed for those stu- dents (and lecturers) that are interested in devel- oping their knowledge of the morphology and tax- onomy of fishes. In this respect, this book is an excellent and exceptionally accessible part of the ‘toolbox of taxonomists’ (Pante et al 2015). A new student in taxonomy (or any new graduate student of ichthyology and morphology), will find a wealth of vital information on how to accurately describe and compare the various mor- phological characteristics that synonymise differ- ent families of fishes. For beginners, however, I would argue that there is utility in using this guide in conjunction with a well-illustrated field guide to provide a full sense of the major colour patterns that help to identify fish groups. More experienced graduate student and early academics can use it a stepping stone to fur- ther their knowledge of the higher level taxonomy of fishes. In this respect, this was the first time I have seen the full oral and pharyngeal morpholo- gy of different fishes provided, which makes this is an excellent resource for examining the morphol- ogy of fishes by way of dissection. The book also makes excellent use of x-rays, with a range of full fish skeletons provided. While this guide may not provide a substan- tial amount of new information for the senior ich- thyologist, Hastings et al have included a much higher diversity of fishes than is usually encom- passed within a guide book. The sheer diversity of deep water fishes, as well as descriptions and pic- tures of several obscure groups that are found in very specific habitats, makes this guide a useful jumping off point for further research into such taxa. While not shying away from using taxonom- ic language, the authors have provided excellent descriptions of each term, as well as clear pictures to illustrate where necessary. In this respect I found the book exceedingly useful – I remember being a young scientist starting out examining the morphology and ecology of small tripterygiid fish- es in New Zealand and spending weeks searching obscure papers to compile a valid list of morpho- logical characteristics (including internal bony structures) that could be used to compare be- tween highly similar species. The authors done the work for us in this guidebook, providing an exten- sive array of morphological characters that can be usefully and easily utilised to compare the mor- phology of different fish species. This book remains strictly within the con- fines of describing the adult form of all fishes listed. There would have been value in also illus- trating and describing the body form, morphology and distinguishing characteristics of the juvenile and larval phases of all the fishes listed. I under- stand why the authors have chosen to restrict themselves to the adult life stage; juveniles have been woefully under-described, and are logistical- ly harder to capture and curate (the same prob- lems also manifest in curating and describing the larval forms of fishes). However, a guide to the diversity of fishes is lacking if it does not provide some description of their non-adult forms. Indeed, it is the larval stage on which the vast majority of research on tropical and temperate fishes has been focused, especially when attempting to un- derstand the connectivity and dispersal of popula- tions. There is an acknowledged dearth of new, well trained and enthusiastic morphologists who can provide the necessary balance to the over- whelmingly use of molecular methods being used to determine the evolutionary relationships of frontiers of biogeography 7.3, 2015 — © 2015 the authors; journal compilation © 2015 The International Biogeography Society

Biogeography of a fragmenting world

editorial ISSN 1948-6596 Biogeography of a fragmenting world Part of the value of biogeography as a multidiscipli- nary transversal science is its wide applicability to processes that occur at multiple scales. One such process is the extinction of species resulting from the disappearance of their habitats. Habitat loss and fragmentation are widespread, and, together with habitat degradation and other human im- pacts, they probably constitute the aspect of global change that contributes the most to current extinc- tion rates (see, e.g., Sandom et al. 2014), although climate change and biological invasions also play significant roles in changing the ecological dynam- ics of species (see the book reviews by Hinsley 2015 and Cassey 2015 in this issue). Island biogeography is particularly useful for understanding the complex effects of habitat loss and fragmentation on biodiversity, for it provides a solid theoretical background to study and model extinction trends (Harris 1984). Using this concep- tual framework, Matthews (2015) studied different aspects of biodiversity variation in habitat frag- ments, finding that trends in these habitat islands are complex and change from one system to an- other, with traditional island biogeographic rela- tionships only being applicable to a very limited extent. Importantly, some of this lack of transfera- bility can be attributed to the effects of non-native species or the characteristics of human disturb- ance, rather than to a lack of generality of the prin- ciples of island biogeography. Further, the nature and extent of habitat degradation in the matrix surrounding the habitat islands turn out to be im- portant in Matthews’ (2015) research, adding a new dimension to island biogeographic enquiry. High-quality datasets such as the one provided by Bergamin et al. (2015) for the vegetation of the highly fragmented Brazilian Atlantic forest will fur- ther enhance our knowledge about the effects of habitat transformation on biodiversity loss. Islands can also contribute to the study of habitat change and extinctions in that they can act as natural experiments, where isolation has result- ed in the existence of many (pseudo)replicates of limited size with similar ecological conditions and similar but, at the same time, independent evolu- tionary processes and species pools. The work of Lavery (2015) on northern Melanesian mammals is a nice example of how the distribution, ecology and evolution of several groups and lineages can be studied from a holistic, multidisciplinary per- spective in archipelagos and island complexes. This integrative perspective is also adopted for the study of particular biomes, such as the South Afri- can Fynbos (Ojeda 2015), but is particularly difficult when these biomes occupy large areas or are locat- ed in areas with considerable biotic interchange. Some of the complexity of continental set- tings can be untangled by studying areas of inter- mediate isolation, such as peninsulas, and explicitly addressing temporal patterns. The combination of data on past (through pollen) and current distribu- tion of species with macroecological and multivari- ate analyses allow Gavin (2015) to study the stabil- ity of habitats in the Olympic Peninsula (Washington, USA) throughout the end of the Pleistocene and the Holocene. At a larger temporal scale, the macroevolutionary study of extinction risk allows understanding of which species may be more prone to extinction, although habitat loss continues to play a major role in determining which species may be finally lost (DeNeve et al. 2015). Here, the important development of statisti- cal tools to analyse temporal and spatial data (Dale & Fortin 2015, Hartig 2015) allows understanding of trends and drivers from multiple sources of da- ta. A multidisciplinary approach, using transversal frameworks and addressing topics of broad inter- est to biogeographers, can perhaps best account for the many facets of the impacts of global change. This major strength of biogeography is nicely encapsulated by the papers within this issue of Frontiers of Biogeography. Joaquin Hortal 1 and Richard Field 2 Frontiers of Biogeography editors-in-chief Departament of Biogeography and Global Change, Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales (MNCN-CSIC), 28006 Madrid, Spain. jhortal@mncn.csic.es School of Geography, University of Nottingham, NG7 2RD, UK. richard.field@nottingham.ac.uk frontiers of biogeography 7.2, 2015 — © 2015 the authors; journal compilation © 2015 The International Biogeography Society

Birds on the brink?

book reviews ISSN 1948-6596 Birds on the brink? Birds and Climate Change: Impacts and Conservation Responses. James W. Pearce-Higgins and Rhys E. Green, 2014, Cambridge University Press. 467 pp. £75 (hardback) / £40 (paperback) ISBN: 9780521114288 / 9780521132190; http://www.cambridge.org This is a very readable book. With many academ- ic texts, best value is obtained by a selective ap- proach, dipping in and out, but this book can be easily and profitably read from cover to cover. The overall structure is logical. After a short sum- mary of how the climate is changing, the first part of the book deals with potential impacts of climate change on bird distributions, abundance and productivity and the second part on how conservation efforts (including negative aspects as well as positive ones) might respond to the challenges. Each chapter usually ends with dis- cussion of overall conclusions in addition to an actual summary. This could tend towards repeti- tion, but it is well done and serves to cement the main points and maintain the narrative. Similar- ly, statistical descriptions and results of particu- lar analyses are included within separate boxes so you don’t lose the plot or get lost in the de- tail—all of which contributes to excellent reada- bility and comprehension. In temperate Europe at least, most peo- ple's perception of climate change in relation to birds is probably linked with phenology, the ten- dency for birds to start breeding earlier and for spring in general to be earlier. This book howev- er makes it clear that climate fundamentally shapes all aspects of bird ecology. At all scales from global to local, temperature and rainfall patterns have direct effects on bird survival and breeding success, and indirectly influence habitat type, structure and composition. While much has been made of early breeding by some species, others have not changed their timing (or have even shifted later). Phenological responses also differ for residents, and short and long distance migrants, depending on the cues used to time migration and breeding behavior (e.g. local tem- perature, vegetation changes, changes in food abundance). Thus bird communities will change with the potential to alter resource use and com- petitive interactions. The complexities of climate change effects on birds are illustrated by the groups currently identified as most at risk, that is, seabirds, upland birds, long distance migrants, some forest birds and specialists. Changes in ocean temperatures, fronts and circulation pat- terns are altering the abundance and distribution of food resources for seabirds, rising tempera- tures are changing habitat suitability for upland birds, some forest species may be at risk from phenological mismatch and the fine tuning of specialists may be challenged by rapid changes in habitats and bird communities. Long distance migrants stand to face a triple whammy with temperature, rainfall and habitat changes in both their breeding and wintering ranges and at all points in between. The book makes it clear that despite great interest and concern over climate change and its effects on birds, clear hard evidence of deleteri- ous (or beneficial) effects is as yet relatively scarce. This is probably not surprising as real change has yet to occur; the next 100 years or so could amount to ‘interesting times’. The book deals in some detail with the currently best- researched aspect, i.e. phenology, and its corol- lary of mismatching, and gives a well-balanced account of a sometimes contradictory literature. It then takes the very sensible approach of exam- ining how climate and weather currently affect bird demographic rates (and population sizes) and hence what the impacts of future changes might be. This highlights the potential im- portance of changes in rainfall, and in particular of drought, especially in the tropics. As with most aspects of bird ecology, there is a notable lack of research in the tropics, with most studies being in north temperate and boreal regions. The book then continues down the chain from direct climate and weather effects to indi- rect influences on habitats and land use change. frontiers of biogeography 7.2, 2015 — © 2015 the authors; journal compilation © 2015 The International Biogeography Society

A continent invaded

book reviews ISSN 1948-6596 A continent invaded Invasion Biology and Ecological Theory: Insights from a Continent in Transformation. Herbert H. T. Prins & Iain J. Gordon (editors), 2014, Cambridge University Press. 540 pp. £65.00 (hardback) ISBN 9781107035812; http://www.cambridge.org/ There is little doubt that Invasion Biology has come of age. Look inside any volume of your fa- vourite ecological journal and you will find studies of the dynamics and impacts of alien and invasive species. Entire research laboratories focus their research specifically on mitigating the problems caused by invasive pests, weeds and pathogens. As well as preventing new invasions, there has always been considerable ecological insight gained from studying the behaviour of alien spe- cies in novel recipient communities and environ- ments. Australia has an illustrious (perhaps nefari- ous) history of biological invasions and (as any international visitor knows) now boasts one of the most enviable quarantine and biosecurity enforce- ment programs in the world. In this book, the editors return to the foun- dations of ecological theory and examine our cur- rent understanding of invasion biology through a series of 11 hypotheses (or insights). Together, these 11 hypotheses provide a reference to the fundamental ideas behind invasion biology as a discipline. In each of the empirical chapters the au- thors have been asked to evaluate the support for these hypotheses, from their own examples and perspectives. The book draws its examples una- shamedly, and exclusively, from Australia, and is divided into two discrete sections. The first section ‘Ancient invaders’ considers (mostly) the pre- human biotic invasion of Gondwanan Australia, while the second ‘Modern invaders’ deals with hu- man-mediated introductions. There is no obvious link developed between the two sections, other than that invasions (whatever their flavour) may be expected to share certain ecological commonalities. The editors claim that ‘The book is quite simply organised’. Yet, they have made little at- tempt to explain why we are reading about any of the particular species (or clades) included in the book, or to explain the order in which the chapters are grouped. The majority of the chapters are ter- restrial, with a great predominance of mammal and bird studies; from the diverse Meliphagid hon- eyeaters and endemic Australian parrots to Charadriiforme waders. Bird invasions have attract- ed considerable scientific research effort (Blackburn et al. 2009). Nevertheless, I was surprised by the large number and variety of avian examples includ- ed in the book, at the expense of many other taxa. Two particularly interesting chapters consider mi- gratory tendency in birds; an important trait linked to the success of natural colonisation, and the fail- ure of human-assisted translocations. Australia is popularly known for its marsupi- als, which arrived in the Australian part of the southern supercontinent Gondwana around 65 Mya and then underwent a spectacular evolution- ary radiation that led to seven orders and at least 31 families. Less well-known, I suspect, are the in- vasion histories of the murine rodents and ptero- podid bats, also included in this book. The single aquatic (marine mammal) example is the phyloge- ography of sirenians, and the invasion of the du- gong (Dugong dugon) into Northern (tropical) Aus- tralia at the transition of the Oligocene to the Mio- cene (about 25 Mya) following the arrival (invasion) of its tropical food source, seagrass. Plants are fur- ther considered through comparisons of the an- cient (and modern) invasion of species in the flow- ering Clade Mimosoideae, and a single chapter on the modern global invasions of Australian Eucalyp- tus, Acacia and Casuarina species, and Melaleuca quinquenervia, outside of Australia. Two chapters on Australia’s geological and climatic history provide a good reference to the tectonic movement and changing climates of Aus- tralia. I found it disappointing, however, that the definitions for these stages of invasion were framed (in one case) around Australia’s mammal fauna and not more generally across a broader set of flora and fauna. I was also unsure why these defining chapters were not placed before the frontiers of biogeography 7.2, 2015 — © 2015 the authors; journal compilation © 2015 The International Biogeography Society

A second look at fynbos biodiversity

book reviews ISSN 1948-6596 A second look at fynbos biodiversity Fynbos: Ecology, Evolution and Conservation of a Megadiverse Region. Nicky Allsopp, Jonathan F. Colville & G. Anthony Verboom (Editors), 2014, Oxford University Press. 395 pp. £65.00 (hardback) ISBN 978-0-19-967958-4; http://global.oup.com/ The exceptional levels of plant diversity and ende- mism of the Cape Floristic Region (CFR) in the southwestern corner of Africa continue to capti- vate scientists and naturalists from all over the world. Fynbos is the dominant vegetation type of the CFR—or the second-dominant if the CFR and the adjacent succulent karoo region are consid- ered together under the Greater Cape Floristic Region (GCFR). Either way, fynbos is renowned as the epitome of plant biodiversity in this region. This by itself explains the title of this book, as the editors point out in their preface, and although the book deals with five major vegetation types within the GCFR, fynbos receives the main focus throughout. The title also highlights the connection of this volume to Cowling’s (1992) influential book The Ecology of Fynbos: Nutrients, Fire and Diversi- ty, published more than 20 years ago and focused on ecological, evolutionary and biodiversity patterns of the CFR. The present book not only synthesises the knowledge gained on the topic since then, but it puts more emphasis on process- es than on patterns. By taking advantage of the rapid advances in DNA sequencing and molecular phylogenetic analyses in the last two decades, it aims at understanding how ecological and evolu- tionary processes affect the outstanding biodiver- sity of the CFR (or the GCFR) and how this can be preserved. It would be difficult, however, and probably unwise, to ignore the earlier book (Cowling 1992) in the review of this new volume. The new book describes the five major veg- etation types of the GCFR (fynbos, renosterveld, succulent karoo, thicket and forest) and the main environmental factors that determine their geo- graphical distribution: soils, topography, climate and fire. Although it is a very detailed description, complemented with a multivariate analysis to ex- plore floristic similarities between vegetation types, little is added to what was already known from the first book. However, thanks to more re- cent phylogenetic studies, the more recent book provides compelling new insights into the evolu- tionary history of the GCFR flora and vegetation. For instance, long-distance dispersal rather than vicariance can now explain the Australasian con- nections of the fynbos flora. Also, unlike the an- cient thicket and forest floras, a significant phylo- genetic clustering has been detected in fynbos, renosterveld and succulent karoo floras, sug- gesting either a recent origin or greater isolation through their evolutionary histories. While recent, rapid speciation seems to account for the high species richness of succulent karoo and renoster- veld vegetation, fynbos biodiversity is explained by less rapid speciation coupled with low extinc- tion due to long-term climatic and topographic stability. The extremely high species diversity of these vegetation types, particularly fynbos and succulent karoo, contrasts with their low levels of functional and structural diversity. Unquestionably the main novelty of this book, compared to the first fynbos book, is the incorporation of a rich body of knowledge on the evolutionary processes underlying the high biodi- versity of the GCFR flora through both phyloge- netic and population-level approaches. Several causes of plant speciation have been suggested, from topographic and edaphic (micro)habitat spe- cialisation to pollinator-driven diversification. Add to this the key role of fire in boosting plant diversi- fication in fynbos, which surprisingly was hardly mentioned in Cowling’s (1992) book. Fire in that book was only used to explain the transition from fynbos to forest or thicket in fire refugia, to ac- count for key reproductive traits in fynbos plants and, at the end of the book, in a chapter on CFR ecosystem management. Another new aspect of this new book, alt- hough less resolved, is the incorporation of faunal data to explore consistencies of both flora and frontiers of biogeography 7.2, 2015 — © 2015 the authors; journal compilation © 2015 The International Biogeography Society

Monotypic species and extinction risk: looking at lagomorphs

news and update ISSN 1948-6596 commentary Monotypic species and extinction risk: looking at lagomorphs Innovative perspectives in meta-analyses, like the study of lagomorph diversity produced by Verde Arregoitia et al. (2013), are clarifying the poorly understood relationship between biodiversity and ecosystem function. As a result, maintaining cur- rent ecosystem function relies on the preservation of as much biodiversity as possible, especially for rare or unusual clades that may have specialized roles in their environments. Species-poor verte- brate clades are more common than predicted to occur by chance (Ricklefs et al. 2007), suggesting that non-random mechanisms promote the persis- tence of relict species, members of once-large clades that rarely generate new species (Fig. 1). These species-poor clades, which have low net diversification, are thought to be at greater extinc- tion risk in the anthropogenic world because of their propensity to contain species with marginal, specialized niches (Verde Arregoitia et al. 2015; Ricklefs et al. 2007). Loss of these clades would disproportionately impact global biodiversity, due to their evolutionary uniqueness, and potentially ecosystem function if evolutionary uniqueness is also related to both unusual and important func- tional characteristics (Hampe and Petit 2005). In Lagomorpha, unlike other mammalian orders (such as Rodentia), there is a direct correla- tion between genus size and extinction risk, where species-poor clades are more likely to include threatened species (Verde Arregoitia et al. 2013). This correlation may explain why an unusually high proportion of lagomorphs overall is under threat of extinction. In a follow-up study, Verde Arregoitia et al. (2015) seek to explain the poten- tial underlying causes of this pattern. They find that lagomorph diversity tends to be low in bioti- cally diverse areas like the tropics, and high in are- as with low richness of other mammal species. They find that lagomorphs are most diverse in temperate latitudes, opposing the latitudinal di- versity gradient that predominates in most taxa. Sensitivity to high temperatures restricts the geo- graphic ranges of many of these species (Rolland et al. 2014). Verde Arregoitia et al. (2015) also find that evolutionary distinctiveness does not corre- late with biogeographic patterns like range size. These counterintuitive results may also have im- plications for niche breadth, which is often related to range size. Classic ecological studies of species and their habitats offer snapshots of species’ current niches. However, they may not provide broad- enough information about a species’ extinction risk or whether relatives should be expected to share similar risks. In conjunction with fossils and paleoenvironmental data, phylogenetics can be used to reconstruct within-clade evolutionary re- lationships, providing historical and evolutionary insight into potential threats (Cavender-Bares et al. 2012). Measures of extinction risk can often be informed by study of processes that have driven extinction in a clade in the past or through analy- sis of risk to related species by highlighting ecolog- ical, biogeographic, and evolutionary similarities and differences between family members (Ricklefs Contrary to expectations, Verde Arregoitia et al. (2015) found that there may not be a direct relationship between evolutionary distance and extinction risk for species-poor lagomorph genera. Rather (p.9), “...threatened and species-poor gen- era... occur in productive megadiverse areas that currently experience strong habitat degrada- tion...” and increasing anthropogenic pressure, whereas species in more diverse genera tend to live in harsher environments that have much low- er overall mammalian diversity. Thus, the correla- tion between genus size and extinction risk is driv- en by a relationship between genus size and habi- tat quality, in which high-productivity and at-risk habitats contain a disproportionately large num- ber of species-poor lagomorph genera. Further work is necessary to determine whether this rela- tionship is due to lagomorphs’ ability to exploit nutrient-poor habitats (Hirakawa 2002 Hacklander et al. 2008), or due to neutral processes. This relationship between genus size and habitat quality contradicts a common explanation frontiers of biogeography 7.2, 2015 — © 2015 the authors; journal compilation © 2015 The International Biogeography Society

Seven up! Frontiers of Biogeography, 2015

editorial ISSN 1948-6596 Seven up! Frontiers of Biogeography, 2015 Since publication of the first issue 1 of Frontiers of Biogeography in September 2009, and movement to eScholarship 2 —the University of California’s open access publishing system—in March 2012, the readership and content of the journal have gone from strength to strength. As of February 2015 (the latest month for which statistics are available), Frontiers’ articles have been viewed almost 46,000 times. The readership per issue has grown ~325%, from ~2,000 views in the three month period following publication of the first fully online issue in early 2012 to over 6,500 views in the three month period following publication of the most recent issue in December 2014 (Fig. 1). The top ten articles have so far been viewed a to- tal of ~12,500 times; the next 10 most-popular articles have been viewed a total of ~5,000 times to date. These online views translate into citations. Six of the ten most viewed articles are also in the top ten cited articles. Using Harzing’s Publish or Perish software (Harzing 2007) drawing from the Google Scholar database, we can estimate a statis- tic that approximates Thomson Reuters’ Impact Factor TM —i.e. the mean number of citations in 2014 to research papers published in 2012 and 2013—for Frontiers at around 2.9, which im- proved upon the 2013 citation rate of 2.6. The ten most cited articles have garnered a mean of nine citations each (ranging 5–14 citations per article) in other quality, peer-reviewed journals, including leading journals in biogeography (e.g., Journal of Biogeography, Diversity and Distributions), popu- lation genetics (Molecular Ecology), applied and basic ecology (Biological Invasions, Oikos), multi- disciplinary sciences (e.g., PNAS), and systematics (e.g., Taxon). These kinds of achievements, while still small steps, cannot be accomplished by a journal alone; they take a community. More than 200 bio- geographers from over 28 countries have au- thored or co-authored articles submitted to Fron- tiers of Biogeography since September 2009. Over 125 biogeographers have reviewed articles for Frontiers of Biogeography since January 2012. Ap- proximately 40 biogeographers have served on the editorial team. Together we have published 239 articles on biogeography. Thank you all! Thus, we are en route to our goal: to be a leading forum for the dissemination of ideas and understanding in biogeography among members of a broad audience. In part, this is because Fron- tiers of Biogeography is biogeography's only libre open access, peer-reviewed, society journal, a status that embodies our belief that biogeography by biogeographers (sensu lato) provides the best model for disseminating quality information to scientists of all kinds (Dawson et al. 2014). While the trend of other societies partnering with for- profit publishing houses continues (Inouye and McCarter 2015), we are free to focus on benefits to the scientific community. In the coming year, we look forward to again bringing you even more Figure 1. Number of views of Frontiers of Biogeography articles during the three month period following publi- cation of each issue, since moving to eScholarship in March 2012. The total number of views is now approxi- mately 46,000. 1 http://www.biogeography.org/html/fb/FBv1i1.html 2 http://escholarship.org/uc/search?entity=fb;volume=4;issue=1 frontiers of biogeography 7.1, 2015 — © 2015 the authors; journal compilation © 2015 The International Biogeography Society

Advances in the biogeography of littoral environments: a multidisciplinary perspective

news and update ISSN 1948-6596 conference summary Advances in the biogeography of littoral environments: a multidisciplinary perspective 8 th Spanish Congress of Biogeography – Seville, Spain, 23–26 September 2014 A multidisciplinary perspective The Spanish Congress of Biogeography has con- vened biennially since 2000 as a spin-off of the Spanish Fieldtrip Workshops in Biogeography— held regularly since 1991—under the scope of Physical Geography. These meetings have brought together geographers dealing with biogeography at scientific, scholarly or professional levels and likewise are open to disciplines related to bio- geography. The number of contributions to this eighth congress exceeded those of previous meet- ings (Table 1). Applied biogeography had the high- est number of contributions, followed by struc- tural studies of animal and plant communities, and dynamic biogeography (Table 1). This rank- order appears a persistent trend through years, whereas fluctuating ratios between these areas indicate varying emphases in the research efforts of geographers within the field of biogeography. Vegetation and faunal systems in littoral environments was the leitmotif of the 8 th Con- gress, which centered on the progress made in their characterization, dynamics and conservation criteria. Littoral environments are especially vul- nerable to degradation due to urban sprawl aligned to tourism development (Malavasi et al. 2013). In Spain this situation was denounced in 2009 by the European Parliament on the Auken report (Auken 2009) which drew attention to these environments, or at least what remains of them. Key contributions in this congress focused on structural and dynamic studies of vegetation systems, and new conservation proposals 1 . Above all, two aspects were noteworthy: the utility of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and the application of pioneering methods of inventory and conservation models. In addition to the main theme, there were contributions on non-littoral environments (including Caatinga and Atlantic Forest), which emphasized the potential for insights from inter- disciplinary approaches and paleo studies, and the relevance of disciplines such as Pedoanthracology, Palynology and Paleobiogeography. The main re- search on fauna (primarily amphibians and birds) discussed modelling techniques for species distri- bution models (SDMs) and ecological niche mod- els (ENMs), and advanced monitoring systems us- ing high-frequency GPS data-loggers. Biogeography of littoral environments The keynote speaker Jose Ojeda (University of Seville) talked about the principal trends in the access, management and dissemination of spatial information supporting biogeography, highlighting data quality, homogenization and accessibility (Vitolo et al. 2015). Over the last few decades Geographic Information Technologies (GIT) and ultimately GIS have proved to be a key point for studying and monitoring vegetation and fauna of different ecosystems (Guisan et al. 1998, Rodriguez et al. 2012). There are still few studies, however, developed in coastal dune systems. Levi Garcia (University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria [ULPGC] Spain) presented a comparison of auto- mated versus manual methods for establishing the distribution of vegetation cover in arid sandy systems; the automated method led to a more objective, cost-effective and efficient analysis than the manual approach. The implementation of GIS has proved to be consistent in analysing the mo- bility of arid sandy systems (Rodriguez et al. 2009) and also the associated survival strategies of their vegetation cover. Antonio Hernandez (ULPGC) discussed the strategy of Tamarix canariensis to cope with burial by sand: the survival of young seedlings is higher in taller plants and in plants that are further away from the front of dunes. Advances in methodologies include a com- bination of phytosociological methods with new 1 See program abstract and 8 th Congress' Book for further information: http://congreso.us.es/viiiceb/en/programme.html frontiers of biogeography 7.1, 2015 — © 2015 the authors; journal compilation © 2015 The International Biogeography Society

How to live in the north

book reviews ISSN 1948-6596 How to live in the north Tundra–Taiga Biology: Human, Plant, and Animal Survival in the Arctic. Robert M.M. Crawford, 2013, Oxford University Press. 288 pp. £75.00 (hardback) / £37.50 (paperback). ISBN: 978-0-19- 955940-4 / 978-0-19-955941-1; http://oup.com This book presents a comprehensive survey of the organisms that live at our northern high latitudes and the environmental challenges that these organisms face in their attempts to survive, grow, and reproduce as individuals, and as elements of populations and communi- ties. The book begins appropriately by defin- ing the Arctic which, as Crawford notes, given the multitude of different definitions used among various groups, “presents problems.” Crawford provides several of these definitions from which the readers can choose their fa- vourite, or most reasonable with regard to their interests. I was disappointed however that Crawford does not inform the reader which definition is being used as the context for the book, which would certainly have been helpful. At the extremes, one definition of the Arctic might include no (or very few) taiga habitats, whereas another definition could include several biome types in addition to tundra and taiga, making the scope of the book highly dependent on defining the Arctic. Following the discussion of the Arctic's extent, Crawford describes the physical attributes of our Earth that drive the unique properties of polar climates, and then presents the history of the Arctic climate since the Cretaceous. Although the biota do appear in Chapter 1 in the form of ancient forests, a freshwater aquatic fern, and a cyanobacteria, they be- come more prevalent in Chapter 2, as Craw- ford discusses the period since the Last Glacial Maximum, the refugia of Arctic plants and animals during the last Ice Age, and the dy- namics of some of these species during the Holocene to form their present distributions. Chapter 3 is a nice chronicle of human migra- tion to and across the Arctic, and the different groups of indigenous peoples that have and still do reside on Arctic lands. The bulk of the remainder of the book (Chapters 4-9) leads a tour of the wide variety of species (including humans) that live in the Arctic, discussing their distribution across the Arctic, and how they have evolved to survive and reproduce in the harsh polar environment. The final chap- ter (10) discusses recent environmental changes in the Arctic (largely anthropogenic), and the impacts that these changes might have on the conservation of Arctic species, with a focus on some of the more charismatic Arctic megafauna, such as polar bears, mus- koxen, and caribou. The back cover of the book provides a note from the publisher, briefly summarising the text in addition to noting the potential utility of the book for students, scientists, and practitioners. I had a somewhat differing opinion on the practicality of the book. While I am sure that this book could “appeal to re- searchers new to the field,” I am less confi- dent that those with some experience in the Arctic would see it as a “concise but authori- tative overview of the biome” (actually more than one biome – tundra and taiga) – concise, maybe, but I would hesitate to call it authori- tative, certainly not from a scientific perspec- tive. In an attempt to cover the generalities of the physical environment and the biota of the Arctic, Crawford has a tendency to oversim- plify; simplification of course is necessary in a text such as this one, however, in places it leads to misinformation. To provide some ex- amples, I was discouraged immediately by the first paragraph of the Preface, which set the frontiers of biogeography 7.1, 2015 — © 2015 the authors; journal compilation © 2015 The International Biogeography Society

Training in emerging palaeoenvironmental methods to study East African ecosystem dynamics

news and update ISSN 1948-6596 Workshop summary Training in emerging palaeoenvironmental methods to study East African ecosystem dynamics Introduction Palaeoecology is an increasingly important disci- pline for understanding East African ecosystem dynamics, particularly as environmental gradi- ents are steep and cultural and biological diver- sity high. Over 50 years of palaeoecology is now revealing a good understanding of the spatio- temporal variability of ecosystems in the region and providing insights into questions such as: why do certain mountain ranges have greater biological diversity than others (Fjeldsa et al. 1997)? how important are fires in shaping eco- system composition (Schwilk et al. 1997)? and, how has the historical decline of elephant popu- lations, associated with the rise of caravan trades, impacted ecosystems (Hakansson 2004)? Combined with a rich tradition of archaeological studies in the region we are starting to contextu- alize and unravel past human-environment inter- actions. Yet, the complexity of socio-ecological issues demands the synergy of international and multi-disciplinary collaborations for appropriate solutions. During 17–20 March 2014, a joint workshop between the National Museums of Kenya (NMK) and the training component of a multi-institutional Marie Curie Initial Training Network (ITN) entitled ‘Resilience in East African Landscapes’ (REAL) was held at NMK, Nairobi, Kenya. The workshop was developed as a forum for international networking across institutions, disciplines, and nations, and for capacity devel- opment in palaeoenvironmental research. There were 17 participants that included early-stage researchers (ESRs) from REAL and NMK who are working in archaeology, geology, palaeobotany, palaeoanthropology and palaeontology (Figure 1). Participants’ experience ranged from interns, postgraduates, junior and senior researchers. The workshop included a speech from the Direc- tor General of NMK, who discussed the strate- gies of the museum to further develop multi- disciplinary collaboration within the institution, government institutions, and to further interna- tionalise with external partners. Figure 1. Participants of the joint REAL project and National Museums of Kenya palaeoenvironmental science work- shop, March 2014. frontiers of biogeography 6.4, 2014 — © 2014 the authors; journal compilation © 2014 The International Biogeography Society

President’s note to IBS members

editorial ISSN 1948-6596 President’s note to IBS members The international Biogeography is a young, vibrant, and growing society. Now in its second decade of life, the embryonic society held its inaugural meeting in Mesquite, Nevada, in January 2003, the outcome of an effort led by Jim Brown, Mark Lomolino and Dov Sax which also resulted in the publication Founda- tions of Biogeography (University of Chicago Press). Since that giddy time of its debut, the society has started to grow up, with meetings held every other year, and alternating between North America (Shepherdstown, WV, USA 2005; Yucatan, Mexico 2007; Miami, FL, USA 2013) and Europe (Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain 2007; Crete, Greece 2011; Bayreuth, Germany 2015). I am only the seventh President of the society, following a celebrity line-up starting with Jim Brown, and followed by Mark Lo- molino, Brett Riddle, Vicki Funk, Rob Whittaker, and Larry Heaney. As the society has increased its follow- ing and importance, and as we approach the seventh biennial conference, we now have the challenge of how best to manage our growth, specifically how to reach our international audiences, how to encompass the breadth of the discipline of biogeography, and how to make ourselves more relevant to applied ar- eas of global change and policy. One important element that is universally val- ued by our members is the intimacy of our society and conferences – being able to discuss issues with our peers, including both leaders in the field as well as eager students, in an informal and friendly setting. As we grow, our ability to foster such interactions has become increasingly challenging, yet we have held this as a high priority through all of our discussions on future planning. In terms of our geographic scope, a key ques- tion has been: how do we become more interna- tional? We know that scientific endeavors are often removed from the biodiversity action. For example, while >90% of the world’s major universities are in temperate areas, 80% of biodiversity is in the tropics; we all need to work towards building local capacity. To develop a globally informed understanding of biodi- versity, the society has initiated small, more focused, satellite workshops and meetings, the first held in Ox- ford, England, September 2012, and more recently in Montreal, Canada, November 2013, and Canberra, Australia, January 2014. We plan another next year in Beijing, China, and are investigating additional loca- tions responding to needs of members, and emerging topics. One clear benefit of these workshops is the informality that is so fundamental to rewarding inter- actions. Other avenues we are exploring to enhance our global reach are to include an expanded, dynamic, and more globally accessible web site with direct links to research tools, new media for communication with younger students and researchers, and online access to presentations from meetings. A second major issue is our conceptual reach and relevance. The conceptual diversity of the field of biogeography is enormous, including basic sciences (historical biogeography, macroecology, physiological biogeography, remote sensing, paleobiogeography, ecoinformatics, etc.) but also social sciences (linguistics, cultural biogeography, etc.), and applied disciplines (global change biology, invasion biogeogra- phy, disease ecology, environmental health, etc.). Though the society has developed with a focus on the basic sciences, there is an increasing necessity for rele- vance, especially in developing countries. One possible avenue here is to partner with other societies through occasional joint meetings, so as to bring biogeography into the spotlight in fields such as Conservation Biol- ogy, Remote Sensing, etc. We are also looking for ways to enhance our relevance and accessibility to groups interested in policy and management. Being still a very young society, the coffers of IBS are not exactly vast! We continue to be limited in our ability to support student travel and to initiate society-led activities and we must be cautious with the vicissitudes of holding workshops and confer- ences, while also exploring the potential of these for budgetary augmentation. However, there is one im- portant things we do have - a very active, keen, and hard-working board. But to achieve our goals of be- coming more global in scope, and conceptually di- verse and relevant, we now need more. For this, we will be seeking input from you, our members. We plan to open additional roles and positions within the society and will solicit nominations and input. I look forward to our discussions in Bayreuth. Rosemary Gillespie IBS President frontiers of biogeography 6.4, 2014 — © 2014 the authors; journal compilation © 2014 The International Biogeography Society

Going once, going twice, sold - it’s auction time again at the IBS meeting!

Announcements ISSN 1948-6596 Going once, going twice, sold - it’s auction time again at the IBS meeting! Want to help IBS raise funds to help students get to IBS meetings, improve funding for the IBS jour- nal Frontiers of Biogeography, or provide mem- berships for developing country scientists? By popular demand, the wildly entertaining (and fi- nancially successful) auction at the IBS 2013 meet- ing in Miami, Florida will be repeated at the up- coming conference on 8–11 January 2015 in Bayreuth. This time, veteran auctioneer and past IBS President Brett Riddle has promised to appear in lederhosen for the auction, a sight not to be missed. The auction festivities will be held during the evening of the conference banquet, including both open bidding for some items and a silent auction for others. What can you do to help? Bring new or used books, artwork, cool posters, useful field gear or clothing, or anything else that anyone might bid on, when you come to the 7 th Interna- tional Biogeography Society Conference in Ger- many; drop off your donation at the membership table. If you can’t make it, send the stuff with friends or mail it to the address below. Get crea- tive—gag items often sell as well as serious ones. Do you have Alexander von Humboldt’s plant press in the back of your closet? Bring it! Vicki Funk’s field magnifier that you borrowed and for- got to return? Bring it! Rob Whittaker’s first field t -shirt, still carefully pressed? Bring it! A first edi- tion of A.R. Wallace’s Island Life? Bring it! And all of those copies of biogeography-related books that you have published—bring them! Get creative, and get involved to help with IBS goals by contributing to the Second IBS Confer- ence Auction. And make certain that you bring your wallet, and a willingness to help the IBS by bidding up the price on useful and useless objects. Every purchase you make will go straight to the IBS, and help us to help the membership. Mail in address: Prof. Carl Beierkuhnlein, Depart- ment of Biogeography, Universitaetsstr. 30, 95440 Bayreuth, Germany frontiers of biogeography 6.4, 2014 — © 2014 the authors; journal compilation © 2014 The International Biogeography Society

Emerging patterns and emerging challenges of comparative phylogeography

news and update ISSN 1948-6596 commentary Emerging patterns and emerging challenges of comparative phylogeography Biogeographic studies commonly amass distri- bution datasets for hundreds of species in an attempt to describe biogeographic patterns and their underlying processes (e.g., Keith et al. 2013). In contrast, phylogeographic studies are almost always limited to a small number of species and, while able to detect patterns at a population level, lack the replicative power of biogeography to describe those patterns in terms of relevant processes. This is particularly disadvantageous in phylogeographic studies of marine species, because the ocean contains few conspicuous geographic features that might explain population breaks (Horne 2014). Large, comparative phylogeographic datasets have long been the daydream of mo- lecular ecologists but have previously not been possible because the data didn't exist and rig- orous phylogeographic analyses do not scale well with large datasets (Andrew et al. 2013). For instance, coalescence-based phy- logeographic model fitting is able to accurately assess population patterns amid stochastic sig- nals and other noise in the data (Beaumont et al. 2010) but is computationally intensive and can become overwhelmingly time consuming as datasets grow larger and modelled scenarios become more complex. Even while data remain limited and coa- lescence analyses continue to be computation- ally burdensome, some research groups are expanding the boundaries of comparative phy- logeographic and population genetic research. Specifically, a recent paper, published earlier this year, by Selkoe and colleagues, jointly ana- lyzed population genetic patterns in 35 coral reef-associated species across the main and northwest Hawaiian islands. By biogeography standards this is a tiny dataset, but for a phy- logeographic study 35 species is impressive. Selkoe et al. (2014) did not include coa- lescence-based analyses, instead relying on multivariate analyses (principal components analysis and redundancy analysis) of popula- tion genetic summary statistics, k-means clus- ters, and ecological variables to assess four types of population structuring: long-term pan- mixia across the 2400-km-long archipelago, chaotic genetic heterogeneity, isolation-by- distance (IBD), and regional genetic structure. The multivariate approach used was based, in part, on another comparative study of 27 high- alpine plants (Miermans et al. 2011). Since we can probably expect more studies like these to arise in the future, it seems timely to comment on these comparative methods, their draw- backs and their merits. First, the entire approach rests upon a foundation of summary statistics (e.g., F ST ), which suffer from well-known shortcomings. For example, several of the datasets in Selkoe et al. did not have enough genetic polymor- phism to statistically reject a null hypothesis of panmixia using gene frequencies. At the other extreme, some of the datasets had too much polymorphism to reject panmixia, because if each individual has a unique genetic variant the maximum attainable F ST value is 0. Issues of polymorphism might be addressed with addi- tional sampling, which could uncover additional genetic signal (e.g., Horne et al. 2013). Alterna- tively, one could collect more loci. Regardless, insufficient data is the underlying problem. Ample amounts of genetic variation are the sine qua non of this method; a problem, considering that researchers are generally forced to rely on available datasets from past surveys, many of which were kept small by the costs of Sanger DNA sequencing. Furthermore, species that are too sparsely sampled, or con- tain too few individuals at each location, may not capture enough genetic variation. Selkoe et al. rightly point out that comparative studies demand substantial rigor in sampling coverage frontiers of biogeography 6.4, 2014 — © 2014 the authors; journal compilation © 2014 The International Biogeography Society

Introducing Research Articles

editorial ISSN 1948-6596 Introducing Research Articles As Frontiers of Biogeography has begun to flour- ish, increasing submissions have made authors’ predilections more clear, and our view of the jour- nal’s role has matured. Last issue we announced that Frontiers will meet the previously unfulfilled need for Monographs in biogeography (Lomolino and Field 2014). This issue, we publish our first full -length Research Articles (Pompe et al. 2014, Schweiger and Beierkuhnlein 2014). This means Frontiers now has a full range of article types re- porting original research, having earlier provided the community with a venue for Correspondence on matters arising in biogeography, and Research Letters for original scientific research that is of particular note and most effectively communi- cated quickly. We have published updated Infor- mation for Authors 1 , which reflects these new ad- ditions and clarifies some issues related to com- mon problems, so please check these guidelines when preparing a contribution to the journal. Research Articles are full-length articles, similar to the majority of papers regularly pub- lished in Diversity & Distributions, Ecography, Global Ecology & Biogeography, and Journal of Biogeography. Our goal is not to compete with these ‘big four’ biogeography journals, or other established titles that regularly publish biogeogra- phy, but rather to provide a versatile alternative for good science by authors who would like a little extra helping hand and/or to join our non-profit, society-based, open-access community (see Daw- son et al. 2014). You might view our Research Arti- cles as a stepping stone to the big four (a place to cut your teeth). Or they might be an option if your good research didn’t strike lucky at your first- choice venue—in which case send your prior edi- torial decision, reviews, and responses to the edi- tor-in-chief to request expedited handling at Fron- tiers. You may desire the freedom to write in a more engaging way than some journals allow (we encourage clear, lively writing styles). Increasingly, perhaps, it will be your first choice; if you’re con- sidering ‘gold’ open access, we hope you’ll find Frontiers more and more difficult to beat. Michael N Dawson 1 , Richard Field 2 and Joaquin Hortal 3 Frontiers of Biogeography editors-in-chief mdawson@ucmerced.edu richard.field@nottingham.ac.uk ibs@mncn.csic.es References Dawson, M.N, Field, R. & Hortal, J. (2014) Guides, not gate- keepers. Frontiers of Biogeography, 6, 2–4. Lomolino, M.V. & Field, R. (2014) Re-articulation and re- integration of publications: monographs in biogeogra- phy. Frontiers of Biogeography, 6, 57–59. Pompe, S., Hanspach, J., Badeck, F.W., Klotz, S., Bruelheide, H. & Kuhn, I. (2014) Using ecological and life-history characteristics for projecting species responses to climate change. Frontiers of Biogeography, 6, 119– Schweiger, A.H. & Beierkuhnlein, C. (2014) Water tempera- ture and acidity regime shape dominance and beta- diversity patterns in helocrenic spring plant communi- ties. Frontiers of Biogeography, 6, 132–143. 1 http://escholarship.org/uc/search?entity=fb;view=authorinformation, last accessed 23/09/2014 Your participation in frontiers of biogeography is encouraged. Please send us your articles, com- ments and/or reviews. We are also open to suggestions on content and/or structure. Please check http://www.biogeography.org/html/fb.html for more information, or contact us at ibs@mncn.csic.es and frontiersofbiogeography@gmail.com. frontiers of biogeography 6.3, 2014 — © 2014 the authors; journal compilation © 2014 The International Biogeography Society

Guides, not gatekeepers

editorial ISSN 1948-6596 Guides, not gatekeepers The 7th annual #OpenAccess Week 1 begins 20th October, so we thought we would take some time to reflect on the current publishing landscape, to recognize our editors’ and reviewers’ important contributions, and to encourage young authors who may be daunted by seemingly bleak terrain; we are a community. That editors are ‘gatekeepers’ (Crane 1967, Simon & Fyfe 1994), abetted by reviewers (de Grazia 1963, Hojat et al. 2003), has become a common motif in critiques of modern for-profit scientific publishing (Marusic 2010). The proposition is, roughly, that editors restrict access of meritorious science to journals of perceived higher value (Hojat et al. 2003) under the guise of providing content expertise (Powell 2010), while in fact of- ten erring in judgment (Smith 2006) and being motivated by the journal’s not authors’ interests 2 . Disappointing enough in its own right, when true, capricious (editorial) review takes on added sig- nificance as simple indices of publication rates and short-term impact grow in influence 3 . In an age of rapidly multiplying journals it seems increasingly possible to publish and perish. There are two broader threats too: that risky ‘high impact’ pa- pers are favored over thorough but less head- turning science, and conversely that innovations are filtered out prior to publication because they are kicking the shins, rather than standing on the shoulders, of giants. In the first case, science gains a reputation for being fundamentally flawed 2,4 . In the second case, incremental advances trap disci- plines within a detrimental cycle of confirmation bias (de Grazia 1963 in Crane 1967). Editors incar- nated as gatekeepers protect corrupt and crum- bling empires. Open Access (OA) journals such as PLoS ONE and PeerJ, that intend to review only “scientific and methodological soundness” and take editorial decisions without determining “‘impact’, ‘novelty’ or ‘interest’” 5 , are promoted as possible solutions. The perception that such review should increase the flow of data, for exam- ple by reducing under-reporting of negative re- sults (the ‘file drawer problem’ [Rosenthal 1979]), contributes to backing of these journals by advo- cates of Open Science and Big Data. Publication, in droves, by and for the masses, the logic goes, should democratize data, speed science, and en- hance knowledge. Carried to its logical end, PLoS Currents and rOpenSci for example, provide tools practically for self-publishing. In these models, the sorting of science occurs after, not before, publi- cation and is done through social media, com- menting, and citation. Laudable intentions not- withstanding, the intended objectivity may be un- attainable: review is susceptible to ‘unconscious bias’ (e.g., Englund et al. 1999, Moss-Racusin et al. 2012), social networks may coalesce around and amplify shared values (McPherson et al. 2001, Saez-Trumper et al. 2013), commenting is shaped by a subset of active network members 6 , and cita- tions are used selectively (Greenberg 2009). Amid the clamor of clashing publication models, few have asked “what are [academic jour- nals] for”? (Whittaker 2014:2). Simply, they should make science both more accessible and better (Whittaker 2014). Critics imply that tradi- tional for-profit non-OA publishers do neither. Does pay-to-publish OA necessarily do either? Re- moving financial barriers to reading scientific pa- pers is a ‘common good’ but alone is not synony- mous with greater access. Fees conceivably could prohibit some authors from publishing; others may publish so much that if the proverbial needle is in a haystack, it becomes harder to find among the burgeoning pile of chaff. Yet pay-to-publish 1 http://openaccessweek.org/, last accessed 25/09/2014 2 http://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/02/health/02docs.html?pagewanted=all, last accessed 25/09/2014 3 http://www.economist.com/blogs/babbage/2013/12/whats-wrong-science, last accessed 25/09/2014 4 http://www.economist.com/news/briefing/ 21588057-scientists-think-science-self-correcting-alarming-degree-it-not-trouble, last accessed 25/09/2014 5 https://peerj.com/about/aims-and-scope/, last accessed 25/09/2014 6 e.g. https://www.facebook.com/groups/6908354463/, last accessed 25/09/2014 frontiers of biogeography 6.3, 2014 — © 2014 the authors; journal compilation © 2014 The International Biogeography Society

The challenges of long-term monitoring

book reviews ISSN 1948-6596 The challenges of long-term monitoring Biodiversity and Environmental Change: Monitoring, Challenges and Direction. David Lindenmayer, Emma Burns, Nicole Thurgate & Andrew Lowe (Editors), 2014, CSIRO Publishing. 624 pp. AU$120.00 (hardback) ISBN:9780643108561; http://www.publish.csiro.au/ At a time of intense and innovative use of eco- logical datasets, obstacles to acquisition and archiving of fundamental long-term data re- main as pervasive as ever. As pointed out in this volume, effective long-term monitoring should extend over 10 years or more, have a well designed structure, a carefully thought out resampling strategy and secure funding. Cur- rent trends in how science is done work against this ideal. Public agencies and research institu- tions, which used to do the bulk of long-term monitoring, are now under great pressure to achieve efficiencies and to devote more effort and resources to immediate concerns. Univer- sity scientists, as a whole, are disinclined to invest in monitoring other than on a limited and short-term scale: the pressures to publish are too great and the rewards for basic data collection too meagre. Research funding agen- cies and highly ranked journals are fixated on innovative, ground-breaking research and of- ten explicitly exclude projects and papers mainly concerned with basic data or observa- tions. None of this can be wished away. The current situation is the product of thousands of individual decisions made by policy makers, managers and scientists. The consequence? ‘The recent and current reality of envi- ronmental reporting and environmental deci- sion making is that supporting data and evi- dence are rarely used.’ (from the Preface). The implications of this astounding state- ment should give us pause. Is evidence really regarded as irrelevant? While the multiple en- vironmental crises that afflict the globe may eventually force a radical rethink of our atti- tudes to ecological data, the immediate chal- lenge is how to sustain biodiversity monitoring in the meantime. This handsome, beautifully produced vol- ume shows how Australian ecologists have risen to the challenge. It is based in large part on work coordinated through the Australian Government’s Terrestrial Ecosystem Network – an Australia-wide collaboration between land management agencies, government depart- ments and universities. Within the TERN net- work is LTERN (Long Term Ecological Research Network) a collaborative enterprise that coor- dinates and makes available the data from 35 core studies comprising nearly 3000 long term plots and which forms a part of the Interna- tional Long Term Ecological Research (ILTER) network. Once a scientific monitoring group joins LTERN, they agree to share data and as- pire to certain standards while pursuing the diverse goals, targets and approaches appropri- ate to their sites and problems. It is a prag- matic response to the huge task of monitoring the vast Australian landscape and its hyperdi- verse biota. This book showcases the results of these independent approaches. David Lindenmayer, who led the editorial team, is an international figure in long term monitoring. Over the past 30 years he has pub- lished prolifically on the subject, deriving much of his inspiration from his own practical in- volvement in the day to day challenges of monitoring. The general overview chapters he leads here are impressive summaries of the LTERN enterprise and reflect his sustained thinking on the hows and whys of monitoring. They are essential reading for anyone contem- plating a monitoring project. The bulk of the book consists of a series of chapters setting the Australian scene and then moving systemati- cally through nine terrestrial biomes ranging from alpine communities to tropical rainforest. Each biome chapter is clearly set out with an overview, conceptual model of the major proc- esses and drivers, exposition of threatening processes, major trends and cases studies from the LTERN core sites. Extra material is included as boxes on a wide variety of other topics and frontiers of biogeography 6.3, 2014 — © 2014 the authors; journal compilation © 2014 The International Biogeography Society

IBS biennial meeting: abstract deadline is 10th October

Announcements ISSN 1948-6596 IBS biennial meeting: abstract deadline is 10 th October The 7 th Biennial Meeting will be held 8–12 th Janu- ary 2015 in Bayreuth Germany 1 . The local hosts at the University of Bayreuth and the program com- mittee are completing the details of the meeting as we approach the deadline for abstract submis- sion (10 th October); review of abstracts will begin shortly after that date. Also, remember that although the deadlines for early registration and student travel award applications were 30th September, you can still register (regular fee) and add or remove supple- mental activities (field trips and workshops). Field trip registration is open until 30 th November. Workshop registration will remain open until the workshops fill. The meeting The format of IBS’s biennial meetings is centered on four plenary symposia. At this meeting, we are introducing two minor variations to the original format of two days of plenary symposia followed by one day of contributed talks. First, we are breaking up the symposia to span all three days, so that on two days there will be a plenary sympo- sium in the morning, followed by contributed talks in the afternoon, and a poster session in the eve- ning. Second, prior to each poster session, and convened in the large auditorium, there will be one hour of “lightning talks” of about 40 rapid-fire presentations of the highlights of certain posters. If you wish to participate in this, select “poster with lightning talk” when submitting an abstract. We can accommodate only 40 such presentations each day. For the Bayreuth conference, IBS also has increased the capacity for oral contributed pres- entations (15 minutes in length), while maintain- ing only four concurrent sessions. Abstracts will be reviewed by small committees assigned to each of the disciplinary themes. These committees will make every attempt to achieve fair and quick de- cisions. For workshops, we recommend visiting the conference web pages for an updated description of the BioGeoBEARS workshop, which is on meth- ods and software for historical biogeographic analyses. Attendees of this workshop will learn how to build and test models in BioGeoBEARS, as well as necessary basic skills in R and statistical model choice. A second pre-conference workshop will fo- cus on the ‘next generation’ in species-distribution modelling. It will provide an introduction to emerging themes that represent current frontiers in SDM research. Theoretical overviews and prac- tical examples will be related to these emerging fields. Intense exercises will allow hands-on ex- perience with data and software and provide use- ful R scripts for future use. After the conference, on Monday 13 th a workshop is aiming to link the Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services 2 (IPBES) and biogeography. IPBES participants will present insights into the first set of assessments to be presented and voted on during the same week at the plenary of IPBES-3, in Bonn. Structure, tasks, and perspectives of IPBES will be discussed. Upcoming calls for working groups will be pre- sented. Furthermore, the review process and the political nature of IPBES will be addressed. The fourth workshop is on the integrative analysis of spatial biodiversity data and the ‘Map of Life 3 . Participants will consider pitfalls of (and solutions for) spatial biodiversity data analysis in fields encompassing biodiversity and ecological informatics, species distribution modeling, species niche characterization, species richness analyses, trait biogeography, and conservation assess- ments. Particular emphasis will be given to occu- pancy-based and Bayesian models. New tools in the Map of Life infrastructure will be introduced. The surroundings The city of Bayreuth offers a setting of historical 1 http://www.bayceer.uni-bayreuth.de/ibs2015/, last accessed 26/09/2014 2 http://www.ipbes.net/, last accessed 26/09/2014 3 http://www.mappinglife.org/, last accessed 26/09/2014 frontiers of biogeography 6.3, 2014 — © 2014 the authors; journal compilation © 2014 The International Biogeography Society

A much needed compilation of studies of a Neotropical elevation gradient

book reviews ISSN 1948-6596 A much needed compilation of studies of a Neotropical elevation gradient Ecological Gradient Analyses in a Tropical Landscape: Ecological Bulletins 54. Grizelle Gonzalez, Michael R. Willig & Robert B. Waide (editors), 2013, Wiley-Blackwell. 252 pp. £37.50 (Hardback) ISBN: 9781118659328; http://eu.wiley.com/ Since Humboldt’s studies of mountain regions (Humboldt and Bonpland 1807), altitudinal gra- dients have served as a foundation for many ecological processes documenting biodiversity and species distributions. The Luquillo moun- tains in Puerto Rico are perhaps one of the most studied tropical montane forests, where tree distributions across the gradients have been well documented (Weaver and Murphy 1990). Studies in these mountains have gener- ated foundational knowledge about tropical ecology, such as the transition and classifica- tion of ecosystems or “life zone systems” in a landscape (Holdridge 1947), the importance of cloud cover on tropical montane forests (Te Linde et al. 2001), and the impacts of hurri- canes on forest structure (Scatena and Larsen When studying elevational gradients we generally have two choices. Start description and observations of lesser-known mountains, the species occurring in them, and the hydrol- ogy and geology of sites across the gradients; or, build on previous knowledge of the few mountain ranges that are well studied and de- sign experiments based on findings that date from the 1940s. There are advantages in each approach but there is unique value in studying a well known mountain range: previous knowl- edge enables the range to be used as a natural experiment in which species’ distributions and microclimatic and habitat transitions are known. Thanks to researchers including Leslie Holdridge, Fred Scatena, Ariel Lugo, Grizelle Gonzalez, Tamara Heartsil, Michael Willig, Robert Waide and others who devoted their lives to studying many climatological, ecologi- cal and geological aspects across the Luquillo mountains, we can further develop theories about elevation gradients and ask more com- plex questions about these processes. This book is a beautiful hard cover edition including a well-balanced compilation of 15 stud- ies describing the Luquillo mountains. The book is organized in four sections, preceded by an intro- duction of the current knowledge of the area and ending with an insightful conclusion. The compila- tion serves as a testament to the breadth of ques- tions one can pose in a mountain range that is well studied. It is a must-read for researchers planning to work in the Luquillo mountains, or any tropical mountains, since it will bring them up to speed with what has been studied and will pro- vide many insights to what still needs to be under- stood about tropical mountain ranges. Since the Luquillo mountains have been a center of attention for ecologists since 1947, cur- rent studies included in this book have been able to start looking at the diversity gradients of organ- isms that typically are neglected, like snails (Willig et al., p. 117), those dwelling in under-explored microhabitats such as soil, and epiphytes (Richardson and Richardson, p. 101). This book also describes how elevation affects less known aspects of ecology such as nutrient gradients and soil carbon (Medina et al., p. 157). The book in- cludes a study on changes in ecological function- ing across elevation which reveals that the gradi- ent in biogeochemistry (i.e., the REDOX gradient) does not have a linear relationship with elevation, forest type, or net primary productivity (NPP). In- stead, it is shown to be tied to the physical prop- erties of the soil, such as its bulk density (Whendee et al., p. 195). An important read for biogeographers and macroecologists is the study by Harris and collabo- rators (p. 233) who test the maximum power hy- pothesis. They clarify the balance between photo- synthesis and respiration to define the elevation at which the net power flow of the forest is maxi- mized. This elevation band corresponds to where vegetation complexity is at its highest and there frontiers of biogeography 6.3, 2014 — © 2014 the authors; journal compilation © 2014 The International Biogeography Society

On inter-species co-evolution and the impact of human self-perception on conceptions of nature

correspondence ISSN 1948-6596 On inter-species co-evolution and the impact of human self-perception on conceptions of nature Gnothi seauton [Know thyself] – Ancient Greek proverb The story begins at dawn on the cliffs of the Porto Conte National Park in Sardinia (Italy), trying to catch a first glimpse of their winged resident, the rock dove (Columba livia). It will take many morn- ings, and much patience, until dusk to satisfacto- rily observe the birds. However, it soon became evident that the initial idea to get closer to the rock doves for behavioral observations was illu- sionary. The ensuing frustration gradually turned into astonishment: how could such a cryptic ani- mal as the rock dove evolve into one the most common species among humans, the urban pi- geon? One would promptly answer that toler- ance for humans was selected during the rock dove’s domestication, making modern feral pi- geons (domestics’ descendants) so well adapted to human proximity. However, given the species’ rocky and inaccessible habitat, it stands to reason that humans were only able to come close to the birds, and subsequently to domesticate them, when rock doves first moved towards humans and fed on their agricultural fields (Johnston and Janiga 1995). Rock doves’ synanthropic foraging behavior seems hence to be a condition preceding their domestication. Reindeer (Rangifer tarandus) attracted by human urine and coming close to human settlements, thus initiating the process of their domestication (Digard 1988), may constitute a similar example. The most famous, however, are wolves (Canis lupus), coming out from their con- cealment in order to scavenge on human refuse and thus providing the starting point for their se- lective breeding and the emergence of the dog species. Domestication, in the sense of human benefits from non-human animals (Delort 1984, Clutton-Brock 1994, Baratay 2009), constitutes only one side of a larger reciprocity bond between humans and their surrounding animals, the latter taking advantage of humans before and after (through being fed) their domestication. This sym- biosis between humans and animals represents a major factor in evolution 1 since the reciprocity relates not only to the mutual benefit provided by humans and by animals to each other. Indeed, this reciprocal relation is further anchored in the mu- tual impact humans and animals had on the evolu- tion of one another. On one side there is the emergence of new animal species in the course of natural history. On the other is the shaping of the human species itself and the development of most of what is considered today as human civilization, since animal domestication and food production were accompanied by changes in human settle- ment patterns, demography, social organization and technology (Crabtree 1993). This is not a novel idea. According to Wilson (1984), humans evolved the way they are through their affiliation with other species, which constitute the matrix in which the human mind originated and is perma- nently rooted. Similarly, Shepard (1978, 1993) ar- gued that interactions with animals and sustained contact with nature were fundamental to the de- velopment of human cognition. Having spent most of our natural and social history interacting with other species through hunting and gathering ac- tivities, humans are evolutionarily dependent on these for proper emotional and psychological growth and development. One could hypothesize that this symbiotic co-evolution may have influenced current classifi- cations of animals according to their (more or less explicit) uses for humans (at least in Western soci- ety) and commercial potential: animals as prod- ucts, company, and recently also the observation of “wild” animals as a means to escape the rou- tine of modern life. In return, the relatively nega- tive image of feral animals in public opinion, which are commonly thought to benefit from hu- mans without giving anything in return, could be interpreted as the reaction to the breaking of the 1 As early as 1902, in his book Mutual Aid: A Factor of Evolution, P. Kropotkin already had proposed cooperation among animals of the same or different species as a survival mechanism instead of the conception of exclusive competition. frontiers of biogeography 6.3, 2014 — © 2014 the authors; journal compilation © 2014 The International Biogeography Society

Ecology of Australian Temperate Reefs

book reviews ISSN 1948-6596 Ecology of Australian Temperate Reefs Ecology of Australian Temperate Reefs: The Unique South. Scoresby Shepherd & Graham Edgar (editors), 2013, CSIRO Publishing. 520 pp. AU$130.00 (hardback) ISBN: 9781486300099; http://www.publish.csiro.au/ This book is a lavishly-produced text that links geological history, oceanography, and biogeogra- phy with future threats to Australian temperate marine ecosystems and their biodiversity. The Preface claims that the book is directed at three audiences. One, marine ecologists who want to broaden their background knowledge; the book certainly would be useful in this regard. Two, un- der- or post-graduate students; the book would be a useful main or supplemental text for a course. Three, as a reference work for “skilled amateur divers and underwater photographers (page xi)”; I disagree, as it's perhaps a bit too de- tailed for the most part, despite what may have been a Publisher’s imperative to sell copies. There are five main parts to the book. A pot- ted summary of the geology, oceanography and biogeographic history of the Southern Ocean. The ecologies of each of the three main taxa: the algae, the invertebrates, and the vertebrates. The last sec- tion covers ecosystems and their conservation. Part One, the backdrop to modern biodiver- sity, was very informative and unusual in a text on marine ecology, providing (in the book’s Table 1.1) a useful summary of the events from 100 Mya to the present, in terms of climatic, tectonic, oceano- graphic and biotic events. Given the current con- cerns about ocean acidification, the section on carbon dioxide in a historic context was very use- ful in terms of past impacts. The rapid summaries of marine taxa in terms of their evolution and his- toric constraints quickly gets the reader up to speed, and includes all key fossil taxa that remain today. Table 3.2 lists the main marine taxa, with information on species diversity, endemism and dispersal potential. However, boundaries of the area of endemism are not stated, and whether they are the same for each taxon is unclear, which would be important to know since endemism is related to habitat area. Also, some of the calcula- tions appear to be in error. For instance, the per- centage of global species richness in temperate Australia for molluscs is given as ca. 8% of 96,850 species, but this should be 20% (19,000 Southern Australian species). And 71 of 1250 species of pycnogonids is 6% not 11%. Evolution and radia- tion of taxa are examined in some detail for many well known—for instance Haliotis abalones and cowries—and less well known taxa—such as the odacine marine fishes. Despite the preface claiming that modeling is not a focus of the volume, Part One ends with several pages comparing the expectations of two key models of southern biodiversity. This may be too much for lay readers but I feel rounds off the section nicely. Parts Two to Four address higher taxa, in turn algae, invertebrates and vertebrates. In Part Two, the algae chapters, case studies fol- low two key habitat formers, Ecklonia radiata and the giant kelp Macrocystis pyrifera. Each case study considers morphology and growth forms, then demographic parameters and their spatial variation. Table 4.1 is a very useful com- parison of growth, biomass and survival charac- teristics around southern Australia for the ubiquitous Ecklonia radiata. The relationship between depth and biomass is explored further in Figure 4.3 however the potential confound- ing effect of latitude (the shallowest sites ap- pear to be at lower latitudes) isn’t discussed. The giant kelp’s role in the ecosystem is em- phasised including interesting facts such as its ability to enhance lobster puerulus (larvae) re- tention. Pages 99—104 contain an extensive examination of the role of exposure and water movement on algal species distribution across the region. While interesting, I felt that it probably could have been summarised in a ta- ble and in shorter prose. As in previous parts, there is a synthesis and modelling section at the end, although the very simplistic state- change model shown in Fig 5.16 could probably have been described in a sentence instead. frontiers of biogeography 6.3, 2014 — © 2014 the authors; journal compilation © 2014 The International Biogeography Society