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62-452: The Antarctic realm is one of eight terrestrial biogeographic realms . The ecosystem includes Antarctica and several island groups in the southern Atlantic and Indian oceans. The continent of Antarctica is so cold that it has supported only 2 vascular plants for millions of years, and its flora presently consists of around 250 lichens , 100 mosses , 25–30 liverworts , and around 700 terrestrial and aquatic algal species, which live on

124-476: A combination of historical factors such as: speciation , extinction , continental drift , and glaciation . Through observing the geographic distribution of species, we can see associated variations in sea level , river routes, habitat, and river capture . Additionally, this science considers the geographic constraints of landmass areas and isolation, as well as the available ecosystem energy supplies. Over periods of ecological changes, biogeography includes

186-421: A global scale. GIS can show certain processes on the earth's surface like whale locations, sea surface temperatures , and bathymetry. Current scientists also use coral reefs to delve into the history of biogeography through the fossilized reefs. Two global information systems are either dedicated to, or have strong focus on, biogeography (in the form of the spatial location of observations of organisms), namely

248-419: A great impact on Charles Darwin , who was inspired to consider species adaptations and evolution after learning about botanical geography. De Candolle was the first to describe the differences between the small-scale and large-scale distribution patterns of organisms around the globe. Several additional scientists contributed new theories to further develop the concept of biogeography. Charles Lyell developed

310-749: 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. The patterns of species distribution across geographical areas can usually be explained through

372-413: A number of methods have been developed to produce arguably more complete "predictive" or "modelled" distributions for species based on their associated environmental or other preferences (such as availability of food or other habitat requirements); this approach is known as either Environmental niche modelling (ENM) or Species distribution modelling (SDM). Depending on the reliability of the source data and

434-987: A result of tectonic uplift (or subsidence ), natural damming created by a landslide , or headward or lateral erosion of the watershed between adjacent basins. Biogeography is a synthetic science, related to geography , biology , soil science , geology , climatology , ecology and evolution . Some fundamental concepts in biogeography include: The study of comparative biogeography can follow two main lines of investigation: There are many types of biogeographic units used in biogeographic regionalisation schemes, as there are many criteria ( species composition , physiognomy , ecological aspects) and hierarchization schemes: biogeographic realms (ecozones), bioregions ( sensu stricto ), ecoregions , zoogeographical regions , floristic regions , vegetation types, biomes , etc. The terms biogeographic unit, biogeographic area can be used for these categories, regardless of rank. In 2008, an International Code of Area Nomenclature

496-488: A whole suite of predictor variables for biogeographic analysis, including satellite imaging and processing of the Earth. Two main types of satellite imaging that are important within modern biogeography are Global Production Efficiency Model (GLO-PEM) and Geographic Information Systems (GIS). GLO-PEM uses satellite-imaging gives "repetitive, spatially contiguous, and time specific observations of vegetation". These observations are on

558-527: Is also known as "ecozone", although that term may also refer to ecoregions. The realms delineate large areas of Earth's surface within which organisms have evolved in relative isolation over long periods of time, separated by geographic features, such as oceans , broad deserts , or high mountain ranges , that constitute natural barriers to migration. As such, biogeographic realm designations are used to indicate general groupings of organisms based on their shared biogeography. Biogeographic realms correspond to

620-424: Is an alternate view than that of Linnaeus. Buffon's law eventually became a principle of biogeography by explaining how similar environments were habitats for comparable types of organisms. Buffon also studied fossils which led him to believe that the Earth was over tens of thousands of years old, and that humans had not lived there long in comparison to the age of the Earth. Following the period of exploration came

682-502: 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

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744-404: Is in the geological similarities between varying locations around the globe, the geographic distribution of some fossils (including the mesosaurs ) on various continents, and the jigsaw puzzle shape of the landmasses on Earth. Though Wegener did not know the mechanism of this concept of Continental Drift, this contribution to the study of biogeography was significant in the way that it shed light on

806-473: Is on how the environment and humans affect the distribution of species as well as other manifestations of Life such as species or genetic diversity. Biogeography is being applied to biodiversity conservation and planning, projecting global environmental changes on species and biomes, projecting the spread of infectious diseases, invasive species, and for supporting planning for the establishment of crops. Technological evolving and advances have allowed for generating

868-456: Is the keystone species of the ecosystem of the Southern Ocean , and is an important food organism for whales , seals , leopard seals , fur seals , crabeater seals , squid , icefish , penguins , albatrosses and many other birds . The ocean there is so full of phytoplankton because water rises from the depths to the light-flooded surface, bringing nutrients from all oceans back to

930-448: 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

992-607: The Age of Enlightenment in Europe, which attempted to explain the patterns of biodiversity observed by Buffon and Linnaeus. At the birth of the 19th century, Alexander von Humboldt, known as the "founder of plant geography", developed the concept of physique generale to demonstrate the unity of science and how species fit together. As one of the first to contribute empirical data to the science of biogeography through his travel as an explorer, he observed differences in climate and vegetation. The Earth

1054-727: The Antarctic Circumpolar Current to form, which isolated Antarctica climatically and caused it to become much colder. The Antarctic flora subsequently died out in Antarctica, but is still an important component of the flora of southern Neotropical ( Latin America and the Caribbean ) and Australasian realms , which were also former parts of Gondwana. Some botanists recognize an Antarctic Floristic Kingdom that includes Antarctica, New Zealand , and parts of Temperate South America where

1116-667: The Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF: 2.57 billion species occurrence records reported as at August 2023) and, for marine species only, the Ocean Biodiversity Information System (OBIS, originally the Ocean Biogeographic Information System : 116 million species occurrence records reported as at August 2023), while at a national scale, similar compilations of species occurrence records also exist such as

1178-550: The Holarctic realm . Following the nomenclatural conventions set out in the International Code of Area Nomenclature , Morrone defined the next biogeographic kingdoms (or realms) and regions: The applicability of Udvardy scheme to most freshwater taxa is unresolved. The drainage basins of the principal oceans and seas of the world are marked by continental divides. The grey areas are endorheic basins that do not drain to

1240-423: The floristic kingdoms of botany or zoogeographic regions of zoology . From 1872, Alfred Russel Wallace developed a system of zoogeographic regions, extending the ornithologist Philip Sclater 's system of six regions. Biogeographic realms are characterized by the evolutionary history of the organisms they contain. They are distinct from biomes , also known as major habitat types, which are divisions of

1302-595: The photic zone . On August 20, 2014, scientists confirmed the existence of microorganisms living 800 metres (2,600 feet) below the ice of Antarctica . Millions of years ago, Antarctica was warmer and wetter, and supported the Antarctic flora , including forests of podocarps and southern beech . Antarctica was also part of the ancient supercontinent of Gondwanaland , which gradually broke up by continental drift starting 110 million years ago. The separation of South America from Antarctica 30–35 million years ago allowed

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1364-404: The 1960s, it was used originally in the field of biostratigraphy to denote intervals of geological strata with fossil content demonstrating a specific ecology. In Canadian literature, the term was used by Wiken in macro level land classification , with geographic criteria (see Ecozones of Canada ). Later, Schultz would use it with ecological and physiognomical criteria, in a way similar to

1426-476: The 36 volume Histoire Naturelle, générale et particulière , in which he argued that varying geographical regions would have different forms of life. This was inspired by his observations comparing the Old and New World, as he determined distinct variations of species from the two regions. Buffon believed there was a single species creation event, and that different regions of the world were homes for varying species, which

1488-505: The Amazon basin, Orinoco basin, and Guianas ) with an exceptionally low (flat) topographic relief, the many waterways have had a highly reticulated history over geological time . In such a context, stream capture is an important factor affecting the evolution and distribution of freshwater organisms. Stream capture occurs when an upstream portion of one river drainage is diverted to the downstream portion of an adjacent basin. This can happen as

1550-464: The Antarctic Flora is still a major component. The Antarctic realm is divided into 17 tundra ecoregions : Biogeographic realm A biogeographic realm is the broadest biogeographic division of Earth's land surface, based on distributional patterns of terrestrial organisms. They are subdivided into bioregions , which are further subdivided into ecoregions . A biogeographic realm

1612-1020: The Antarctic realm, including Bouvet Island , the Crozet Islands , Heard Island , the Kerguelen Islands , the McDonald Islands , the Prince Edward Islands , the South Georgia Group , the South Orkney Islands , the South Sandwich Islands , and the South Shetland Islands . These islands have a somewhat milder climate than Antarctica proper, and support a greater diversity of tundra plants, although they are all too windy and cold to support trees. Antarctic krill

1674-695: The Earth's surface based on life form , or the adaptation of animals, fungi, micro-organisms and plants to climatic, soil , and other conditions. Biomes are characterized by similar climax vegetation . Each realm may include a number of different biomes. A tropical moist broadleaf forest in Central America, for example, may be similar to one in New Guinea in its vegetation type and structure, climate, soils, etc., but these forests are inhabited by animals, fungi, micro-organisms and plants with very different evolutionary histories. The distribution of organisms among

1736-588: The Gómez Farias Region, Tamaulipas, Mexico , which has been described as "ground-breaking" and "a classic treatise in historical biogeography". Martin applied several disciplines including ecology , botany , climatology , geology , and Pleistocene dispersal routes to examine the herpetofauna of a relatively small and largely undisturbed area, but ecologically complex, situated on the threshold of temperate – tropical (nearctic and neotropical) regions, including semiarid lowlands at 70 meters elevation and

1798-552: The Indian Ocean was much narrower than it is today, and that South America was closer to the Antarctic, one would be hard pressed to explain the presence of many "ancient" lineages of perching birds in Africa, as well as the mainly South American distribution of the suboscines . Paleobiogeography also helps constrain hypotheses on the timing of biogeographic events such as vicariance and geodispersal , and provides unique information on

1860-448: The Origin of Species were devoted to geographical distribution. The first discoveries that contributed to the development of biogeography as a science began in the mid-18th century, as Europeans explored the world and described the biodiversity of life. During the 18th century most views on the world were shaped around religion and for many natural theologists, the bible. Carl Linnaeus , in

1922-478: The Theory of Continental Drift in 1912, though it was not widely accepted until the 1960s. This theory was revolutionary because it changed the way that everyone thought about species and their distribution around the globe. The theory explained how continents were formerly joined in one large landmass, Pangea , and slowly drifted apart due to the movement of the plates below Earth's surface. The evidence for this theory

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1984-603: The Theory of Uniformitarianism after studying fossils. This theory explained how the world was not created by one sole catastrophic event, but instead from numerous creation events and locations. Uniformitarianism also introduced the idea that the Earth was actually significantly older than was previously accepted. Using this knowledge, Lyell concluded that it was possible for species to go extinct. Since he noted that Earth's climate changes, he realized that species distribution must also change accordingly. Lyell argued that climate changes complemented vegetation changes, thus connecting

2046-631: The U.K. National Biodiversity Network , the Atlas of Living Australia , and many others. In the case of the oceans, in 2017 Costello et al. analyzed the distribution of 65,000 species of marine animals and plants as then documented in OBIS, and used the results to distinguish 30 distinct marine realms, split between continental-shelf and offshore deep-sea areas. Since it is self evident that compilations of species occurrence records cannot cover with any completeness, areas that have received either limited or no sampling,

2108-801: The WWF system, the Australasia realm includes Australia , Tasmania , the islands of Wallacea , New Guinea , the East Melanesian Islands , New Caledonia , and New Zealand . Udvardy's Australian realm includes only Australia and Tasmania; he places Wallacea in the Indomalayan Realm, New Guinea, New Caledonia, and East Melanesia in the Oceanian Realm, and New Zealand in the Antarctic Realm. The Palearctic and Nearctic are sometimes grouped into

2170-414: The anticipated effects of climate change can also be used to show potential changes in species distributions that may occur in the future based on such scenarios. Paleobiogeography goes one step further to include paleogeographic data and considerations of plate tectonics . Using molecular analyses and corroborated by fossils , it has been possible to demonstrate that perching birds evolved first in

2232-528: The areas of exposed rock and soil around the shore of the continent. Antarctica's two flowering plant species, the Antarctic hair grass ( Deschampsia antarctica ) and Antarctic pearlwort ( Colobanthus quitensis ), are found on the northern and western parts of the Antarctic Peninsula . Antarctica is also home to a diversity of animal life, including penguins , seals , and whales . Several Antarctic and sub-Antarctic island groups are considered part of

2294-421: The biotic and abiotic features of the Earth in his book, Cosmos . Augustin de Candolle contributed to the field of biogeography as he observed species competition and the several differences that influenced the discovery of the diversity of life. He was a Swiss botanist and created the first Laws of Botanical Nomenclature in his work, Prodromus. He discussed plant distribution and his theories eventually had

2356-571: The concept of biome . In the Global 200 /WWF scheme, originally the term "biogeographic realm" in Udvardy sense was used. However, in a scheme of BBC , it was replaced by the term "ecozone". The World Wildlife Fund scheme is broadly similar to Miklos Udvardy 's system, the chief difference being the delineation of the Australasian realm relative to the Antarctic, Oceanic, and Indomalayan realms. In

2418-420: The development of the fields of conservation biology and landscape ecology . Classic biogeography has been expanded by the development of molecular systematics , creating a new discipline known as phylogeography . This development allowed scientists to test theories about the origin and dispersal of populations, such as island endemics . For example, while classic biogeographers were able to speculate about

2480-496: The environmental surroundings to varying species. This largely influenced Charles Darwin in his development of the theory of evolution. Charles Darwin was a natural theologist who studied around the world, and most importantly in the Galapagos Islands . Darwin introduced the idea of natural selection, as he theorized against previously accepted ideas that species were static or unchanging. His contributions to biogeography and

2542-597: The factors affecting organism distribution, and to predict future trends in organism distribution. Often mathematical models and GIS are employed to solve ecological problems that have a spatial aspect to them. Biogeography is most keenly observed on the world's islands . These habitats are often much more manageable areas of study because they are more condensed than larger ecosystems on the mainland. Islands are also ideal locations because they allow scientists to look at habitats that new invasive species have only recently colonized and can observe how they disperse throughout

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2604-453: The formation of regional biotas. For example, data from species-level phylogenetic and biogeographic studies tell us that the Amazonian teleost fauna accumulated in increments over a period of tens of millions of years, principally by means of allopatric speciation, and in an arena extending over most of the area of tropical South America (Albert & Reis 2011). In other words, unlike some of

2666-477: The former Lifemapper project at the University of Kansas (now continued as a part of BiotaPhy ) and AquaMaps , which as at 2023 contain modelled distributions for around 200,000 terrestrial, and 33,000 species of teleosts , marine mammals and invertebrates, respectively. One advantage of ENM/SDM is that in addition to showing current (or even past) modelled distributions, insertion of changed parameters such as

2728-641: The geographical distribution of organisms around the globe. Alfred Russel Wallace studied the distribution of flora and fauna in the Amazon Basin and the Malay Archipelago in the mid-19th century. His research was essential to the further development of biogeography, and he was later nicknamed the "father of Biogeography". Wallace conducted fieldwork researching the habits, breeding and migration tendencies, and feeding behavior of thousands of species. He studied butterfly and bird distributions in comparison to

2790-411: The importance of environmental and geographic similarities or differences as a result of climate and other pressures on the planet. Importantly, late in his career Wegener recognised that testing his theory required measurement of continental movement rather than inference from fossils species distributions. In 1958 paleontologist Paul S. Martin published A Biogeography of Reptiles and Amphibians in

2852-556: The island and change it. They can then apply their understanding to similar but more complex mainland habitats. Islands are very diverse in their biomes , ranging from the tropical to arctic climates. This diversity in habitat allows for a wide range of species study in different parts of the world. One scientist who recognized the importance of these geographic locations was Charles Darwin , who remarked in his journal "The Zoology of Archipelagoes will be well worth examination". Two chapters in On

2914-479: The mid-18th century, improved our classifications of organisms through the exploration of undiscovered territories by his students and disciples. When he noticed that species were not as perpetual as he believed, he developed the Mountain Explanation to explain the distribution of biodiversity; when Noah's ark landed on Mount Ararat and the waters receded, the animals dispersed throughout different elevations on

2976-515: The most important and consequential developments in biogeography has been to show how multiple organisms, including mammals like monkeys and reptiles like squamates , overcame barriers such as large oceans that many biogeographers formerly believed were impossible to cross. See also Oceanic dispersal . Biogeography now incorporates many different fields including but not limited to physical geography, geology, botany and plant biology, zoology, general biology, and modelling. A biogeographer's main focus

3038-499: The mountain. This showed different species in different climates proving species were not constant. Linnaeus' findings set a basis for ecological biogeography. Through his strong beliefs in Christianity, he was inspired to classify the living world, which then gave way to additional accounts of secular views on geographical distribution. He argued that the structure of an animal was very closely related to its physical surroundings. This

3100-683: The nature of the models employed (including the scales for which data are available), maps generated from such models may then provide better representations of the "real" biogeographic distributions of either individual species, groups of species, or biodiversity as a whole, however it should also be borne in mind that historic or recent human activities (such as hunting of great whales , or other human-induced exterminations) may have altered present-day species distributions from their potential "full" ecological footprint. Examples of predictive maps produced by niche modelling methods based on either GBIF (terrestrial) or OBIS (marine, plus some freshwater) data are

3162-476: The northernmost cloud forest in the western hemisphere at over 2200 meters. The publication of The Theory of Island Biogeography by Robert MacArthur and E.O. Wilson in 1967 showed that the species richness of an area could be predicted in terms of such factors as habitat area, immigration rate and extinction rate. This added to the long-standing interest in island biogeography . The application of island biogeography theory to habitat fragments spurred

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3224-412: The ocean. According to Briggs and Morrone: According to the WWF scheme: Biogeography Biogeography is the study of the distribution of species and ecosystems in geographic space and through geological time . Organisms and biological communities often vary in a regular fashion along geographic gradients of latitude , elevation , isolation and habitat area . Phytogeography

3286-571: The origins of species in the Hawaiian Islands , phylogeography allows them to test theories of relatedness between these populations and putative source populations on various continents, notably in Asia and North America . Biogeography continues as a point of study for many life sciences and geography students worldwide, however it may be under different broader titles within institutions such as ecology or evolutionary biology. In recent years, one of

3348-448: The presence or absence of geographical barriers. His observations led him to conclude that the number of organisms present in a community was dependent on the amount of food resources in the particular habitat. Wallace believed species were dynamic by responding to biotic and abiotic factors. He and Philip Sclater saw biogeography as a source of support for the theory of evolution as they used Darwin's conclusion to explain how biogeography

3410-420: The region of Australia or the adjacent Antarctic (which at that time lay somewhat further north and had a temperate climate). From there, they spread to the other Gondwanan continents and Southeast Asia – the part of Laurasia then closest to their origin of dispersal – in the late Paleogene , before achieving a global distribution in the early Neogene . Not knowing that at the time of dispersal,

3472-428: The study of plant and animal species in: their past and/or present living refugium habitat ; their interim living sites; and/or their survival locales. As writer David Quammen put it, "...biogeography does more than ask Which species? and Where . It also asks Why? and, what is sometimes more crucial, Why not? ." Modern biogeography often employs the use of Geographic Information Systems (GIS), to understand

3534-416: The theory of evolution were different from those of other explorers of his time, because he developed a mechanism to describe the ways that species changed. His influential ideas include the development of theories regarding the struggle for existence and natural selection. Darwin's theories started a biological segment to biogeography and empirical studies, which enabled future scientists to develop ideas about

3596-447: The well-known insular faunas ( Galapagos finches , Hawaiian drosophilid flies, African rift lake cichlids ), the species-rich Amazonian ichthyofauna is not the result of recent adaptive radiations . For freshwater organisms, landscapes are divided naturally into discrete drainage basins by watersheds , episodically isolated and reunited by erosional processes. In regions like the Amazon Basin (or more generally Greater Amazonia,

3658-406: The world's biogeographic realms has been influenced by the distribution of landmasses , as shaped by plate tectonics over the geological history of the Earth . The "biogeographic realms" of Udvardy were defined based on taxonomic composition. The rank corresponds more or less to the floristic kingdoms and zoogeographic regions . The usage of the term "ecozone" is more variable. Beginning in

3720-400: Was divided into regions which he defined as tropical, temperate, and arctic and within these regions there were similar forms of vegetation. This ultimately enabled him to create the isotherm, which allowed scientists to see patterns of life within different climates. He contributed his observations to findings of botanical geography by previous scientists, and sketched this description of both

3782-529: Was important to a George Louis Buffon's rival theory of distribution. Closely after Linnaeus, Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon observed shifts in climate and how species spread across the globe as a result. He was the first to see different groups of organisms in different regions of the world. Buffon saw similarities between some regions which led him to believe that at one point continents were connected and then water separated them and caused differences in species. His hypotheses were described in his work,

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3844-496: Was similar to a record of species inheritance. Key findings, such as the sharp difference in fauna either side of the Wallace Line , and the sharp difference that existed between North and South America prior to their relatively recent faunal interchange , can only be understood in this light. Otherwise, the field of biogeography would be seen as a purely descriptive one. Moving on to the 20th century, Alfred Wegener introduced

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