Plants of Oceanic Islands: Evolution, Biogeography, and Conservation of the Flora of the Juan Fernandez (Robinson Crusoe) Archip

Description

Bringing together results from over 30 years of research on the Juan Fernandez Archipelago off the coast of Chile, this book offers comprehensive coverage of the plants of these special islands. Despite its remote setting in the southeastern Pacific Ocean, the Juan Fernandez Archipelago is in many ways an ideal place to ask and attempt to answer basic questions regarding the evolution of vascular plants in an oceanic island environment. By building upon a firm taxonomic base for the flora, a new level of understanding regarding evolution, biogeography, and conservation of the plants is presented. This book is an extensive investigation of the origin and evolution of the flora of an oceanic archipelago, and it serves as a valuable resource for researchers and scholars of island biology as well as for conservation biologists worldwide.

Tod F. Stuessy is Professor Emeritus, Ohio State University and University of Vienna. His interests include principles of classification, island biology, and plant genetic variation and speciation. He is the author or editor of thirteen books and over three hundred scientific papers. He has won the Engler Medal in Gold and was co-recipient of the Stebbins Medal for Plant Taxonomy from the International Association. He has also won the Asa Gray Award for the American Society of Plant Taxonomy, the Merit Award and Centennial Awards from the Botanical Society of America. A former President of the American Society of Plant Taxonomists, Secretary-General of the International Association for Plant Taxonomy, and Vice President of the International Botanical Congress 2005 Vienna, Austria. He is also a former Director of the Ohio State Herbarium and Museum of Biological Diversity. Daniel J. Crawford is Adjunct Professor in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Kansas. He is the author and editor of three prior books and is author/co-author of over 220 publications, including twenty book chapters and fourteen invited review papers in addition to primary research papers. His research is centered on the origin, evolution and reproductive biology of island plants and on the evolution of tribe Coreopsideae of Asteraceae. He served as President of the American Society of Plant Taxonomists and the Botanical Society of America. He has received the Asa Gray Award from the American Society of Plant Taxonomists and the Merit Award (now named Distinguished Fellow of the Botanical Society of America) from the Botanical Society. Patricio Lopez-Sepulveda is Assistant Professor of Botany at the University of Concepcion, Chile. He is a doctor in Natural Resources and postdoctoral studies at the University of Vienna. He is editor of the journal Gayana Botanica and head of the Biology Career of the University of Concepcion. His research interests include island biology, speciation and taxonomy of vascular plants, especially using molecular tools. Additionally, he is the author and co-author of papers related to the Chilean flora and the Juan Fernandez Archipelago. He is also co-investigator of an international project with the Japanese government and head of a Fondecyt project related to the Juan Fernandez Archipelago in Chile. Carlos M. Baeza studied biology at the University of Concepcion, Chile. He is a doctor of Sciences at the University of Concepcion with a two-year pre-doctoral stay at the Ludwig Maximilian University in Munich, Germany. He gained his postdoctoral qualification at the Los Angeles County Museum of Natural History in island biology and Quedlinburg, Germany in plant cytogenetics. He is Professor Titular and Chair of the Department of Botany, University of Concepcion and has participated in five expeditions to the Juan Fernandez Islands. He received the Dr Robert Donoso Barros prize from the Biological Society of Concepcion. His research interests include island biology and cytotaxonomy of Chilean vascular plants, especially Alstroemeriaceae and Amaryllidaceae. Eduardo Ruiz is a doctor in Biological Sciences from the University of Concepcion. He is Associate Professor and Vice Dean of the Faculty of Natural and Oceanographic Sciences, University of Concepcion. He holds a membership in the Chilean Botanical Society and Chilean Genetic Society. Professional interests include island biology and molecular systematics and population genetics of Chilean endangered species with special research emphasis on the evolution and conservation of the flora of the Juan Fernandez Islands. Beginning in 1984, he collaborated on six research expeditions to the Archipelago with many contributions on genetic variation within and among natural populations. He has participated in numerous international scientific conferences and has produced 67 publications.

'... the overall conclusion highlights the value of biogeographical studies of islands. This well-illustrated book is a valuable ... contribution to the subject.' A. M. Mannion, The Biologist