Fundamentals of Biogeography presents an engaging and comprehensive introduction to biogeography, explaining the ecology, geography, and history of animals and plants. Defining and explaining the nature of populations, communities and ecosystems the book examines where different animals and plants live and how they came to be living there. It also investigates how populations grow, interact and survive, and how communities are formed and change, and predicts the shape of communities in the twenty-first century. Illustrated throughout with informative diagrams and attractive photos (many in colour) and including guides to further reading, chapter summaries and an extensive glossary of key terms Fundamentals of Biogeography clearly explains key concepts, life systems and interactions. The book also tackles the most topical and controversial environmental and ethical concerns including: animal rights, species exploitation, habitat fragmentation, biodiversity, metapopulations, patchy landscapes and chaos.Fundamentals of Biogeography presents an appealing introduction for students and all those interested in gaining a deeper understanding of the key topics and debates within the fields of biogeography, ecology and the environment. Revealing how life has and is adapting to its biological and physical surroundings this text stresses the role of ecological, geographical, historical and human factors in fashioning animal and plant distributions and raises important questions concerning how humans have altered Nature and how biogeography can affect conservation practice.