Biogeography

Chapter 1

Diversity on the Earth
Between 5 50 million species of plants,
animals, and microbes on the Earth
Less than 2 million have been formally
described
Biogeography
Biogeography is the science that attempts
to document and understand spatial
patterns of biodiversity.
It is the study of the distribution of
organisms, both past and present, and of
related patterns of variation over the Earth
in the numbers and kinds of living things.
Questions Asked by Biogeographers
Fundamental Biogeographic Question: How
are organisms distributed, over the surface
of the Earth and over the history of the
Earth?
Interested in more process based issues of
how natural systems function rather than
simple distribution.
My Questions in Biogeography
What role does disturbance play in
succession?
What drives biodiversity?
How will the natural systems react to global
climatic and environmental change?
What is necessary for ecosystem health?
Starts dealing with conservation biology issues
and rebuilding and maintaining ecosystems and
biodiversity.
Specializations in Biogeography
Phytogeography The study of plants
Zoogeography The study of animals
Microbial Biogeography Little Studied

Approaches to Biogeography
Historical Biogeography Reconstruct the origins,
dispersal, and extinctions of taxa and biotas
Ecological Biogeography Accounts for the present
distributions in terms of interactions between organisms
and their physical and biotic environments
Paleoecology Bridges the gap between these two
fields, investigating the relationships between communities
(abundance, distribution, and diversity of species) and
abiotic conditions (climate, soils, water quality, etc.).
Analytical Biogeographers - Develop general
mathematical rules of how geography effects the evolution
and distribution of plants and animals
Conservation Biogeography - Work on the protection
and restoration of natural environments

Methods of Biogeographers
Field Based
Descriptive Document ranges of species
Process Driven Examine the processes of a
system
Conceptual Using theoretical models
Experimental Manipulating the system to
test hypotheses
Relationship to Other Sciences
Biogeography is a synthetic discipline
Draws from Geography, Ecology, Population
Biology, Systematics, Evolutionary Biology,
Genetics, and Geology

Philosophy of Science
Scientists try to understand the natural
world by explaining its enormous diversity
and complexity in terms of general patterns
and basic laws.
Examine the relationship between pattern and
process
Pattern Non-random, repetitive organization
The occurrence of pattern implies causation by some
general process.
Searching for mechanistic explanations
Philosophy of Science
Inductive Reasoning From specific observations
to general principles.
Deductive Reasoning From general constructs to
specific cases.
Karl Popper (1968) introduced
Hypothetico-Deductive Reasoning A good
scientific theory contains logical assumptions and
consequences, and if these can be proven wrong,
then the theory itself must be flawed.
Theories can be tested by setting up alternative,
falsifiable hypotheses.
If a theory has withstood the severest empirical tests,
then it is considered corroborated but can never be
proven true.
Famous Biogeographers
Charles Darwin
Alfred Russel Wallace
Joseph Dalton Hooker
George Gaylord Simpson
Ernest Mayr
Robert MacArthur
Edward O. Wilson
Growth of the Field
33
358
1238
0
200
400
600
800
1000
1200
1400
1975 1985 1995
Publications
Many early writers did not refer to their
work as Biogeography. We can see the
development of Biogeography as a field of
study through its publications (per Biosis).
Biogeography Search
36
9763
86002
55200
0
10000
20000
30000
40000
50000
60000
70000
80000
90000
100000
1900-1975 1976-1985 1986-1995 1996-2005
Publications
Searched on Biogeography in Biological
Abstracts database 1/16/05
Biogeographic Techniques
Simulation modeling
GIS
Statistical Analysis
multivariate and geospatial statistics
Remote Sensing
Submersible vessels
Automated ground-based data collection systems
Radioisotopes
Stable isotopes
Molecular biological techniques
Genetic tools
Scale Issues
Fluid Dynamics
Patterns on the Landscape
Gross Primary Productivity
Levels of GPP
Red (highest), Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue (lowest)