"Biogeography is the study of the distribution of species and ecosystems in geographic space and through geological time."
The study of the distribution and evolution of species in the past based on fossil records.
Historical geology: This involves learning about the different geological periods and their respective characteristics, including the fossil record and rock formations.
Plate tectonics: Plate tectonics is the process that describes how the Earth's crust moves and shapes the planet's landscape. To study paleobiogeography, one needs to understand how this process has impacted the distribution of species over time.
Geographical isolation: This concept explores the role of physical barriers, such as mountains, rivers, and oceans, in shaping the distribution of living organisms and how they evolved over time.
Fossil record: The study of fossils is a critical aspect of paleobiogeography. It entails examining the location, age, and evolution of different species and how they relate to each other.
Biodiversity: Understanding how biodiversity arises and how it changes over time is an essential aspect of paleobiogeography. It involves studying the interaction between various species and their environment and how this contributes to evolutionary processes.
Biogeography methods: There are different methods used to study biogeography, such as classical biogeography, cladistics, and molecular biogeography. Understanding these methods is essential for making accurate inferences about the evolution and distribution of living organisms.
Migration: Migration is an important factor that shapes the biogeography of species. Understanding this concept is crucial for studying the evolution of species, including human migration.
Climate change: Climate change is a critical factor that impacts the biogeography of species, both in the past and the present. Studying the effects of climate change can provide insight into future trends in biogeography.
Phylogenetic relationships: Phylogenetic relationships refer to the evolutionary history of different species. Understanding how different species are related is essential for understanding their distribution and evolution over time.
Island biogeography: The study of island biogeography investigates how the isolation of an island environment shapes the evolution and distribution of species. This concept has significant implications for conservation biology and management.
Historical Biogeography: Study of the historical processes that gave rise to present-day patterns of biodiversity.
Island Biogeography: Study of the distribution and diversity of organisms on islands and how they are influenced by factors such as island size, distance, and age.
Continental Biogeography: Study of the distribution and diversity of organisms across different continents and how they are influenced by factors such as geography, climate, and historical events.
Oceanic Biogeography: Study of the distribution and diversity of organisms in the world's oceans and their connections to landmasses and ocean currents.
Phylogeography: Study of the evolutionary history of species and how it relates to their geographic distribution.
Biogeography of Extinctions: Study of how patterns of extinction and survival have shaped the distribution and diversity of life on Earth.
Biogeography of Dispersal: Study of how organisms have dispersed and colonized different regions of the world, often through natural means such as migration or dispersal by wind, water or other vectors.
Biogeography of Invasions: Study of how non-native species have colonized new regions and potentially caused ecological and environmental impacts.
Biogeography of Endemism: Study of how species unique to particular regions have evolved and are maintained through various mechanisms, including geographic isolation and adaptation to local conditions.
"Phytogeography is the branch of biogeography that studies the distribution of plants. Zoogeography is the branch that studies distribution of animals. Mycogeography is the branch that studies distribution of fungi, such as mushrooms."
"Knowledge of spatial variation in the numbers and types of organisms is as vital to us today as it was to our early human ancestors, as we adapt to heterogeneous but geographically predictable environments."
"Biogeography is an integrative field of inquiry that unites concepts and information from ecology, evolutionary biology, taxonomy, geology, physical geography, palaeontology, and climatology."
"Modern biogeographic research combines information and ideas from many fields, from the physiological and ecological constraints on organismal dispersal to geological and climatological phenomena operating at global spatial scales and evolutionary time frames."
"The short-term interactions within a habitat and species of organisms describe the ecological application of biogeography."
"Historical biogeography describes the long-term, evolutionary periods of time for broader classifications of organisms."
"Early scientists, beginning with Carl Linnaeus, contributed to the development of biogeography as a science."
"The scientific theory of biogeography grows out of the work of Alexander von Humboldt (1769–1859), Francisco Jose de Caldas (1768–1816), Hewett Cottrell Watson (1804–1881), Alphonse de Candolle (1806–1893), Alfred Russel Wallace (1823–1913), Philip Lutley Sclater (1829–1913), and other biologists and explorers."