This book is the first in a new series devoted to synthetic works in the fields of ecology and evolution. These fields synthesis. Recent examples of synthetic activities include the establishment of the National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis at the University of California Santa Barbara and Deep Green, a worldwide collaboration among angiosperm systematists to determine the phylogenetic structure of the flowering plants. In ecology some of the most important research challenges concern global climate change and the loss of diversity. Meeting these challenges requires data and expertise from areas as disparate as geology, climatology, economics, and public policy
