GBIO 481 Exam1

1. The science of biogeography is the description of distribution of life and the explanation of this description. The description is based on both time and space. This describes how things look and why they are there. It also looks to answer the question – are these features the same over time? Biogeography arose with the theory that life on earth is a non-random distribution. This is the most important observation leading to the field of biogeography. The study of biogeography includes many other scientific aspects, like the planetary sciences (geology, geophysics, climatology, meteorology, and marine sciences) and the biological sciences (evolution, ecology, systematics, physiology, and organismal disciplines). Modern biogeography research combines information and ideas from many fields, from the physiological and ecological constraints on organismal dispersal to geological and climatologically phenomena operating at global spatial scales and evolutionary time frames. The fundamental unit of study is “area of endemism” in biogeography. Biogeography is a synthetic discipline and is composed of a variety of topics. Knowledge of spatial variation in the numbers and types of organisms is as important to us today as it always has been, as we adapt to heterogeneous but geographically predictable environments. Biogeography is an integrative field that ties concepts and information.

2. The five observations upon which the science of biogeography was founded are listed below, and it is the goal of biogeography to explain these five observations.
a. The first observation is: taxa have discrete, non-random distribution in time and space. One example is how grizzly bears used to be spread from Mexico to Alaska, but now they are only in Northern America. Another example is how gorillas use to be spread out, but they now only live in Uganda and the Congo.
b. The second observation is how different geographic regions have an assemblage of distinctive animals and