Biological Geography: Definition and Contributions

The Biological geography Or biogeography is the study of the distribution of species and ecosystems in geographic and geological time.

Living organisms and biological communities frequently and systematically vary along geographical gradients of latitude, elevation, isolation, and natural habitat.

Biogeography investigates scientifically and determines the range of a species, analyzes the causes of this distribution, its history and the processes that generated it. It also studies the successive modifications and, predictably, the causes that could cause certain species to become extinct.

In this sense, for biological geography, knowledge and spatial variation, in the quantity and type of organisms, remains of vital importance as it was for the first human ancestors in the process of adaptation to heterogeneous environments.

Biogeography, as an integrative research field, combines knowledge from other disciplines and links concepts and information from ecology, evolutionary biology, study of Geological phenomena And physical geography. It also includes geomorphological and climatological phenomena as they operate at global spatial scales and evolutionary time frames.

Biogeography is a synthetic science, related to geography, biology, soil science, geology, climatology, ecology and evolution. The study of comparative biogeography can follow two main lines of research:

• Systematic biogeography: This is the study of biotic area relationships, hierarchical distribution and classification.
• Evolutionary biogeography: Understands evolutionary mechanisms responsible for the distributions of organisms. Such possible processes include generalized taxa interrupted by continental rupture.

Contributions of biological geography

Historical biogeography describes evolutionary periods for the classification of organisms. By the middle of the eighteenth century, Europeans explored the world and discovered biodiversity.

Carl Linnaeus and other precursors, contributed theories that contributed to the development of biogeography as a science. In this way, the main representatives and contributors this discipline in order of time were:

• 1744 - Carlos Linneo: First Great Biogeographic Theory. It proposes an updated version of the myth of Genesis.
• 1749 - Georges Louis Leclerc: History Naturally . Beginning of historical biogeography, it presents the origin of the fauna in the American continent.
• 1805 - Baron de Humboldt and Aimé Bonpland: Law of the distribution of forms . It includes the determinants for this science: altitude, latitude and climate.
• 1820 - Agustín P. de Candolle: Deepens the line of Linnaeus.
• 1825 - Leopold von Buch: Defines the theory of geographic isolation for the formation of new species.
• 1830 - Charles Lyell: Principles of geology. Inspiration for Melville, Tennyson and Darwin.
• 1856 - Wollaston: Species of Coleoptera (Canary Islands).
• 1858 - Philip Sclater: ornithologist, divided the continents into six regions from the distribution of birds.
• 1860 - Joseph D. Hooker: Discover how tectonic changes explain Antarctic biotic distribution patterns.
• 1872 - Charles Darwin: Endemism of taxa . He studied the organic distribution.
• 1890 - Alfred Russel Wallace: Precursor of the Vicariousness, (Degree of difference between two distinct species and one variety).
• 1964 - León Croizat: A Trace analysis. He demonstrated the relationships between the biota of the continents.
• 1966 - Willi Henning: Elements of a phylogenetic systematics - Genealogical relationships .
• 1976 - Brundin and Ball: Adhere to phylogenetic biogeography. Beyond neo-Darwinism, this theory integrates the process of evolution into time / space.
• 1981 - Nelson and Plantick: They proposed 3 stages 1) Classic period (pre-Darwinian biogeography 2) Wallacene period (biogeography of Darwin-Wallace). 3) Modern (contemporary) period.

Modern Biogeography

Biogeography employs the use of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to understand the factors that affect the distribution of organisms and to predict future distribution trends.

Mathematical models and GIS are used to solve ecological problems. In this line, the islands are ideal for biogeographic research since these habitats are areas of study more manageable by the condensation of ecosystems.

In addition, these environments allow scientists to study the habitats colonized by new invasive species, observe their behavior and generate patterns applicable to other continental habitats.

References

1. Biogeography . Recovered at wikipedia.org.
2. Brown University. Biogeography. Retrieved from biomed.brown.edu.
3. Dansereau, P. (1957). Biogeography: an ecological perspective. New York, Ronald Press Co. Retrieved wikipedia.org/wiki.
4. Cox, B.; Moore. P. (2005). Biogeography: an ecological and evolutionary approach . Malden, MA, Blackwell Publications. Retrieved wikipedia.org.
5. López Pacheco, A (2015). Historical synthesis of Biogeography. Recovered in line.does.
6. Whittaker, R. (1998). Island Biogeography: Ecology, Evolution, and Conservation . New York: Oxford University Press. Recovered at wikipedia.org.
7. Nicolson, D. (1991). A history of botanical nomenclature . Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden. Vol. 78, No. 1, pp. 33-56. Missouri Botanical Garden Press. Retrieved from jstor.org.
8. Browne, J. (1983). The secular ark: studies in the history of biogeography . New Haven: Yale University Press. Recovered at wikipedia.org.