Australian Biogeography

Question 1

What is biogeography?

Answer 1

The study of the geographic distribution of species

Question 2

What does endemic mean?

Answer 2

A species only found in a particular place

Question 3

Native or indigenous species

Answer 3

Naturally from a specific place

Question 4

What is species richness?

Answer 4

The number of different species represented in an ecological community, landscape or region

Alpha diversity: species richness of a local ecological community

Beta diversity: change or turnover in species composition between two distinct communities

Gamma diversity: Total species richness over a large geographic area, such as a biome

Question 5

The latitudinal species gradient is usually in such a way that the amount of species increase towards the tropics, why???

Answer 5

Hypotheses:
1. You don’t have the same seasonality in the tropics as you do other places, the environment is more stable.
2. Geologically more stable, no glaciation during ice ages
3. Most people agree that plant biodiversity has a lot to do with it. There are more plants because there are more pathogens (fungi, bacteria, viruses) and more enemies in tropical forests. They like moist warm soil.
Create more competition.

Question 6

What seems to be the most important factor for biodiversity in Australia?

Answer 6

Rainfall

Question 7

What is convergent evolution?

Answer 7

Two species with distinct phylogenetic backgrounds converged upon a similar body type or way of making a living.

Question 8

What predators do modern day Australia have?

Answer 8

Dingoes and Wedge tail eagle s

Question 9

Pleistocene

Answer 9

2,6 Mio years ago to 100,000 years ago
Cyclical ice ages, el Nino weather oscillations = really variable climate
Further drying of interior Australia