Migration

Abstract

Abstract Migration is a wonderfully diverse biological phenomenon that has fascinated scientist and layman alike for centuries. Most attention has focused on the “charismatic megafauna” of the larger and more spectacular animals that undertake it, but it is not limited to these. Enormous numbers of tiny, fragile, and inconspicuous ous animals migrate as well, and-as I shall argue in this book-so do many plants and fungi when, as propagules, they move to new germination sites. In spite of the diversity of migratory phenomena, however, most books on the subject are confined to a particular taxon. Thus we have a plethora of excellent single-authored books and symposium volumes on bird migration, several on the movements of fish, some on mammals, some on butterflies, a few on insects in general, and a smattering of others, including books that cover a range of taxa. Although there have recently been some first-rate, very attractive popular books on migration that are not taxon limited, the past two decades have seen only two major scientific publications with broad taxonomic perspective. R. R. Baker’s huge 1978 work is not only dated now, but its highly eclectic approach has had limited acceptance among biologists. The outstanding volume edited by M. A. Rankin (1985), that derived from a 1983 symposium at Port Aransas, Texas, revealed clearly that the important “how” and “why” questions concerning migration transcended taxonomic boundaries, but its papers are based on information that is now more than 10 years old.