Primate Biogeography: Progress and Prospects (Developments in Primatology: Progress and Prospects)

Biogeography is a vital component in many aspects of Primatology, including studies of evolution, speciation systematics, population genetics, and community ecology. Despite its integral position in studies of primate evolution and ecology and the broad representation of research on this subject in journals, field guides, and edited volumes on different regions of the world, Primate Biogeography is a subject that is rarely addressed as a discipline in its own right.

This comprehensive source introduces the reader to Primate Biogeography as a discipline, highlights the many factors that may influence the distribution of primates, and reveals the wide range of approaches that are available to understanding the distribution of this order.

Biogeography, the study of the distribution of organisms over the surface of the earth, plays a central role in our understanding of virtually all aspects of the biology of primates and other animals, including systematics, mechanisms of speciation, population genetics and demography. The distribution of primates relative to aspects of climate and habitat, including altitude, forest type, and food availability, forms the basis for our understanding of ecological and behavioral adaptations. The biogeography of primates in the past is a major component of our understanding of their evolutionary history and is an essential component of conservation biology.

This volume, which brings together these papers on the biogeography of primates, past and present, provides an introduction to Primate Biogeography as a discipline, illustrates the many factors that may influence the distribution of primates, and demonstrates the wide range of methodological approaches that are available to understanding the distribution of this order.