Question

Biogeographic define by geographer with authors

Answer 1

Biogeography is a broad and holistic science that examines spatial patterns of biological diversity. Biogeography is a subfield of the discipline of geography (or biology, depending on area of specialization), the study of the spatial distribution of phenomena over the earth. Biogeographers examine the historical, geological, ecological, and environmental factors that influence the pattern of life on earth in the past, in the present, and into the future. The field of biogeography has composite origins, with its foundations built from theories and observations generated before biogeography was established as an independent discipline by renowned scientists from allied disciplines including Carl Linnaeus, Alexander von Humboldt, Charles Darwin, Alfred Wallace, and C. Hart Merriam. During the late 20th and early 21st centuries the identity of biogeography has emerged as an independent, yet composite, discipline, as it relies on integration of data and theory from geography, ecology, evolutionary biology, landscape ecology, the earth sciences, anthropology, and history. Thus, the approaches, training, and specializations of biogeographers vary. Commonly recognized specializations within biogeography include ecological biogeography, paleoecology, and historical biogeography, though the lines that divide them often remain fluid with substantial overlap. Historical biogeographers are often trained in biology and invoke historical and evolutionary explanations (often grounded in plate tectonics, long-term climate change, and evolutionary mechanisms) for distributions of plants and animals over evolutionary time scales. They are concerned with reconstructions of worldwide dispersal, extinction, and evolutionary patterns. Ecological biogeographers, frequently trained in ecology and/or geography, try to understand present distributions of plants and animals and their current, recent past, and projected interactions with physical environment and biotic interactions that shape their communities. Many paleoecologists also have training in geography and or ecology, and reconstruct animal and plant distributions and environments typically within the Quaternary, especially the latter portion (i.e., the Holocene). Methods and approaches for all subfields vary somewhat. The purpose of this bibliography is to synthesize influential works in the broad field of biogeography, with an emphasis on methods and research conducted in ecological biogeog