The Origin of the Fittest; Essays on Evolution

This study represents a comprehensive and quantitative examination of the paleoecological evidence for forest community development in the Temperate Zone of Eastern North America since the last glacial maximum 20,000 years ago. A computerized fossil-pollen data set, compiled from 162 radiocarbon-dated paleoecological sites were used. Their fossil pollen spectra were transformed into an estimate of past dominance for 19 major tree taxa. Ecological ordination of the data allowed evaluation of the degree of persistence. Measurement of the rates of spread along major migration routes give new insights into the biogeography of temperate and boreal trees. These extensive studies are of interest to graduate students and researchers in all fields of ecology, as well as biogeography.