The initial establishment of a species in a new area.
Biogeographic regions: Various regions around the world exhibit unique patterns of biotic diversity, and understanding these regions is crucial to understanding colonization and biogeography.
Island biogeography: As islands are essentially natural experiments in colonization and speciation, studying their biotic communities helps us understand the dynamics of biogeography.
Dispersal mechanisms: Organisms have a variety of ways to move from one place to another, and understanding these mechanisms is key to understanding colonization patterns.
Geological history: The history of the earth’s continents and oceans shapes the distribution and diversity of organisms, and studying that history can help explain current biogeographic patterns.
Evolutionary history: The evolutionary history of groups of organisms can explain their current biogeographic distributions and can help reveal patterns of colonization.
Biogeographic barriers: Physical barriers, such as mountain ranges, deserts, or rivers, can create distinct biotic regions, as well as serve as barriers to colonization.
Habitat requirements: Different species require different types of habitats, and understanding these requirements can help explain patterns of colonization.
Human influence: Human activity, such as habitat destruction or the introduction of invasive species, can have significant impacts on biogeography.
Climate change: Climate change has the potential to dramatically alter biogeographic patterns, and studying how organisms have responded to past climate change can help predict future impacts.
Biogeographic modeling: Using computer models, scientists can simulate the colonization of new areas or predict how species distributions will shift in response to environmental changes.
Founder effect colonization: It occurs when a population descends from a small number of individuals who carry only a fraction of the genetic variation present in the original population.
Primary colonization: This happens when new land is formed due to volcanic activity or when soil is deposited near the coast by rivers, and species occupy it for the first time.
Secondary colonization: It occurs when a habitat has been cleared by natural or human-made disturbances, allowing species to colonize it again.
Island colonization: Island biogeography is a specific form of biogeography, which studies the distribution of species on islands and their relationships with the subgroups.
Fragmented habitat colonization: This happens when a previously homogeneous habitat is divided into smaller fragments due to human activities, such as deforestation or building roads.
Rim effect colonization: Rim effect refers to the edge of a natural community and describes how the edges contain a different microclimate and species from the center of the community.
Corridor colonization: Corridors are narrow strips that connect otherwise isolated areas of habitat, and they allow for interconnectivity between different ecosystems.
Anthropogenic colonization: This happens when humans introduce species to a new area, deliberately or accidentally.
Metapopulation colonization: Metapopulations are a group of spatially separated populations of the same species that interact with each other by migration and recolonization.
Dispersal colonization: This happens when a population performs long-distance colonisation as a result of movement of animals or spores by wind, water, or birds.