History of Biogeography

Question 1

Biogeography:
- attempts to document and understand patterns in biological ____
- study biotic patterns in ___ and ____ (including development)

Answer 1

diversity

space and time

Question 2

T/F

A major weakness of biogeography methods is that only biotic factors are considered; abiotic and anthropogenic influences are usually ignored

Answer 2

false

biogeography considers both biotic and abiotic factors over time, as well as the role of humans in affecting species distribution

Question 3

Historically, biogeography is split into two different approaches, what are they? Describe each

Answer 3

1. ecological biogeography
   - short periods of time (yrs to decades)
   - smaller scale, w/ local questions
   - extant plant and animal species
2. historical biogeography
   - long term, evolutionary
   - larger areas (global)
   - usually dealing w/ taxa above species levels & extinct taxa

Question 4

T/F

Ecological and historical biogeography are becoming more integrated thanks to molecular biology and cladistics

Answer 4

true!

for example, now we can start adding extinct species to our trees

Question 5

What are the 4 major areas in biogeography today?

Answer 5

• terrestrial biogeography
• marine biogeography
• island biogeography
• conservation biogeography

Question 6

T/F

life varies from place to place in a highly random and unpredictable manner

Answer 6

false

it’s non-random and very predictable
- because species exist where they’re suited to the environment

Question 7

What are some predicable variation patterns in life? In terms of:
- elevation
- ocean depth

Answer 7

• vegetation changes as you move from valleys to summits
• fish catches vary from costal to open ocean

Question 8

Were early human societies aware of the non-random patterns of life?

Answer 8

Yes!

This observation inspired Darwin and Wallace to figure out evolution and natural selection

Question 9

Early biogeographers documented biota and how they varied across____, ____, and ___

Answer 9

latitude
altitude
climate

Question 10

Increasing knowledge of the ___ ___ shows the world’s biota have undergone great change that must’ve occurred over ___ periods of time

Answer 10

fossil record

long

Question 11

Why was is difficult to convince people of the fossil record’s findings and the theory of evolution?

Answer 11

The church believed life on earth was a recent creation and that species were perfect and unchanging (put there by creator).
The fossil record went against all of this

Darwin’s theory of evolution was a major step in getting the general public to accept a different worldview

Question 12

If we assume land masses were always stable, it’s difficult to understand patterns of life in the past. What helped us understand?

Answer 12

PLATE TECTONICS provided the key to understanding how earth’s geography and its biota have varied through time

Question 13

3 key ideas from other disciplines impacted biogeography:

Answer 13

• tremendous age of the earth
• evolution by natural selection
• continental drift/ plate tectonics

Question 14

*Exam question

What are two advances that have recently transformed biogeography?

Answer 14

1. Cladistic Taxonomy
2. Molecular methods

Question 15

Cladistic taxonomy=

Answer 15

a rigorous system for establishing patterns of relationships that could be used as a framework onto which patterns of distribution would be applied

Question 16

Molecular methods=

Answer 16

provided biologists with a reliable method for analysis of relationships & dating of divergences between lineages

Question 17

Some themes in biogeography:
- human tendency to ____organisms and biogeographic regions
- _____ the origin, spread, & diversification of biotas
- explaining geographic ____ in species’ characteristics
- Explaining effects of ___, ____, area, and ___ on the number and types of species existing there

Answer 17

• classify
• reconstructing
• variation
• latitude, climate, insolation

Question 18

Who developed the first detailed classification of living things?

Answer 18

Aristotle (382-322BC)

Question 19

Aristotle was a ___ philosopher. Explain some of his ideas

Answer 19

greek

His idea was based on the “Natural Ladder”: the entire world could be arranged in a single continuum: each had its allotted rung on the ladder

• He believed that species were fixed (didn’t change), and each form of life was perfect and permanent

-The ladder increased in complexity, with God at the top and then humans.

Question 20

T/F

Aristotle divided animals into blooded (vertebrates) and bloodless/ cold-blooded (invertebrates). Cold-blooded were associated with the devil, so were closer to the bottom of his ladder

Answer 20

true

Question 21

How did the Age of Enlightenment (17-18th centuries) impact the field of biogeography?

Answer 21

• European exploration lead to a renaissance of intellectual thought: new species were discovered as they voyaged
• microscopes were invented and Robert Hook discovered cells= building blocks of life
• European naturalists struggled to accommodate this new knowledge with current taxonomic frameworks & opinion of church, so things started to change

Question 22

Carl Linnaeus (1707-1778) was a Swedish ___ and ____. What was he most known for doing?

Answer 22

physician and botanist

He cataloged 6000 plant species and developed the system of binomial nomenclature that we still use (Genus + species)

Question 23

What were some of Linnaeus’ beliefs?

Answer 23

• God ‘spoke’ to mankind through the natural world, Linnaeus wanted to make sense of God’s patterns & reveal the divine
• species were static entities (god created)
• resemblances among species were explained by the pattern of their creation (not evolutionary realtionships)

Question 24

George-Louis Levlerc, Comte de Buffon (1707-1788) was a ___ naturalist. What is he most known for?

Answer 24

French

Buffon’s Law:
similar environments, found in different regions of the world, had similar assemblages of birds and mammals

Question 25

Buffon introduced the notions of climate change and species evolution: “______” and “____”. This opened the door for theories of ____.

Answer 25

improvement and degeneration (of species)

evolution

Question 26

Who was the first to accept that Earth’s geography, climate, and even nature of species were not fixed, but changing?

Answer 26

Buffon

This was a huge development! He accepted this because he relied on the facts

Question 27

In the 18th century, the Age of Exploration led to many discoveries such as:
- global patterns in ____ –> increase towards _____ and decreases on _____
- cosmopolitan (ie _______) species
- early concepts of global _____/ habitats

Answer 27

biodiversity
increases towards tropics and decreases on islands (any isolated area)

widespread

biomes