The Birds of Northern Melanesia by Ernst Mayr and Jared Diamond,Oxford University Press, 拢45, ISBN 0195141709
IN THIS landmark book, two of the world鈥檚 most distinguished biologists shine a spotlight on one of the most fascinating aspects of evolution. They consider speciation, the process by which new 鈥渄aughter鈥� species evolve. Darwin himself referred to speciation as the 鈥渕ystery of mysteries鈥�, and more than a century later biologists still disagree about how it occurs.
Studies of the faunas of islands have provided some of the most important answers to questions about evolution. No islands are more suited to the study of speciation than the Bismarck Archipelago and the Solomon Islands. Both are located in Melanesia, to the east of New Guinea, and are the perfect setting for this book.
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And no one is better qualified than the two authors to address this subject area. Ernst Mayr, now 98 years old and still hard at work, is one of the chief architects of the modern synthesis of systematic zoology, genetics and palaeontology that has proved so vital in advancing our knowledge of the evolutionary process over the past 50 years. Jared Diamond is one of the most able and wide-ranging minds in biology, as well as being a great populariser through his bestselling books, such as The Third Chimpanzee.
As well as having long records of museum and university-based research, both Mayr and Diamond are highly experienced field biologists. Mayr has made many field trips to northern Melanesia since 1928, discovering more than 100 new bird species and subspecies. Four of Diamond鈥檚 19 expeditions to the region have plugged gaps in the data. The two men have collaborated on this book for more than 30 years.
As the authors point out in their lucid introduction, the information presented for all 195 breeding land and freshwater species of northern Melanesian birds is the basis for the most comprehensive study to date of speciation in a rich fauna. Their detailed data set makes this book of huge importance to ecologists, biogeographers and population biologists, as well as those studying speciation.