Biogeography

Biogeography is the study of how species are distributed. It notes where organisms live, and why they are (or are not) found in a certain geographical area.

Biogeography teaches how animals and plants are adapted to the places they live in, and how similar places often have quite different animals and plants.

Between about 1800 to 1855, natural historians made lists of species in various regions of the world. These lists were published as tables in their books.^[2][3] Charles Darwin and Alfred Russel Wallace published the idea of evolution by natural selection. They travelled to tropical countries, and wrote about the life in those countries.^[1][4] They said that evolution was the key to understanding geographical distribution.

New species are usually formed by speciation – an earlier species splitting into two. These species may travel to new places. but they may be stopped from travelling by mountains and seas, and by climate. This means that two places with similar climate often have different kinds of animals and plants. For example marsupials, which live in Australia, are very different from the fauna in South America. The species on islands (Hawaii,^[5][6] Galapagos) may be very different to species on mainland continents.

"The more distant countries are, the more dissimilar are their animals and plants; and the nearer they are, the more similar are their animals and plants".^[7] This is true, but only up to a point. There are many examples of species with huge ranges.

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1} Cite error: The named reference geog was used but no text was provided for refs named (see the help page).
2. ↑ Cite error: The named reference von was used but no text was provided for refs named (see the help page).
3. ↑ Cite error: The named reference Al was used but no text was provided for refs named (see the help page).
4. ↑ Darwin, Charles 1859. On the Origin of Species by means of natural selection, or the preservation of favoured races in the struggle for life. Murray, London. Chapters 10 and 11
5. ↑ Carlquist, Sherwin 1965. Island life: a natural history of the islands of the world. American Museum of Natural History.
6. ↑ Carlquist, Sherwin 1970. Hawaii: a natural history. American Museum of Natural History.
7. ↑ Cite error: The named reference Sclater was used but no text was provided for refs named (see the help page).