Pressestimmen
Abundance of illustrations ... superb series of nine plates by Douglas Pratt that, for the first time, depict many of the forms in colour ... This definitive volume will inspire a new set of studies based on genetics and DNA, before too many of the unique island forms disappear. It will remain the ultimate work on island speciation. The Quarterly Review of Biology A unique and powerful data set with which to examine critical issues in ecology and evolution. Nature
Kurzbeschreibung
Ernst Mayr is one of the principal architects of the 'neo-Darwinian synthesis', which has been the dominant perspective in 20th century evolutionary biology. Jared Diamond is one of the most wide-ranging minds in biology, and winner of the Pulitzer Prize for "Guns, Germs, and Steel". Mayr and Diamond decided in 1970 to collaborate on an authoritative monograph presenting their data and interpretations of the evolution of the birds of the Solomon and Bismark Islands. Mayr's numerous expeditions to do fieldwork in this area, beginning in 1929 and continuing through 1976, form the core of his scientific work. Diamond has made four expeditions to the region since 1970 to fill in gaps in the data.
