1. Auflage - Januar 2010
129,- Euro
2010. 464 Seiten, Hardcover
ISBN-10: 1-4051-8113-3
ISBN-13: 978-1-4051-8113-6 - John Wiley & Sons

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Probekapitel

Langtext
The book focuses on geological history as the critical factor in determining the present biodiversity and landscapes of Amazonia. The different driving mechanisms for landscape evolution are explored by reviewing the history of the Amazonian Craton, the associated sedimentary basins, and the role of mountain uplift and climate change.

This book provdes an insight into the Meso- and Cenozoic record of Amazonia that was characterized by fluvial and long-lived lake systems and a highly diverse flora and fauna. This fauna includes giants such as the ca. 12 m long caiman Purussaurus, but also a varied fish fauna and fragile molluscs, whilst fossil pollen and spores form relics of ancestral swamps and rainforests.

Finally, a review the molecular datasets of the modern Amazonian rainforest and aquatic ecosystem, discussing the possible relations between the origin of Amazonian species diversity and the palaeogeographic, palaeoclimatic and palaeoenvironmental evolution of northern South America. The multidisciplinary approach in evaluating the history of Amazonia has resulted in a comprehensive volume that provides novel insights into the evolution of this region.

Aus dem Inhalt
Introduction.

Amazonia in its wider context: Delimitations, river, vegetation and landscapes.

Amazonia: Configuration of the sedimentary basins, the Andean foreland, and the significance of Andean tectonics on Amazonia's sedimentary record and the Amazon Fan.

Stratigraphy of Amazonia (synthesis of Neogene formations).

Neogene sedimentary environments (Early Miocene E-W fluvial system; Middle Miocene paleo-Amazon wetland (W-E flow); Late Miocene to Pliocene with inferences based on Amazon Fan/Ceara Rise data; the extent of fluvial and/or tidal environments and marine incursions).

The ancestral tropical rainforest and its evolution: A reconstruction based on a comparison of palynological data from Neogene to Present.

Origin and evolution of the (unique) endemic mollusc fauna of the paleo-Amazon wetland.

Ostracod speciation in the paleo-Amazon wetland.

A reconstruction of Neogene water chemistry and it implications for the climate in Amazonia.

Amazonia's fish fauna: Origins and distribution patters in relation to Andean tectonics, past marine incursions, and the paleo-Amazon wetland.

Vertebrate fauna in Neogene Amazonia: Evidence from the fossil record.

Molecular studies of present fauna groups and implications of the dynamic geological past on present distribution patterns.

Synthesis: Paleogeography of Amazonia with reference to the Amazon Fan and northern and southern South America.Discussion of Neogene to Present landscape evolution in Amazonia linked to species evolution and diversity.