ABSTRACT
Evolution takes place in space, time, and form. Aspects of evolution in space and over time have been discussed in the previous chapters, with reference to centers of origin, dispersal, vicariance, and extinction. This chapter and the next three concentrate on evolution in form-morphological evolution and adaptation-and on synthesizing these with biogeography. This chapter gives a general discussion of trends in structural evolution. Chapter 14 deals with a particular trend in plants and animals-reduction and fusion. Chapters 15 and 16 consider aspects of morphology in New Zealand’s birds and mammals in conjunction with their biogeography.
