Biogeography Glossary

Rapid diversification of an ancestral species into multiple forms adapted to different ecological niches.

Speciation that occurs when populations are geographically isolated from each other by a physical barrier.

A region with exceptional concentrations of endemic species that has experienced significant habitat loss.

A large spatial region within which ecosystems share a broadly similar evolutionary history.

The study of the distribution of species and ecosystems across geographic space and through geological time.

A major ecological community type characterized by dominant vegetation and prevailing climate conditions.

The gradual movement of continents across the Earth's surface due to plate tectonics, reshaping species distributions over geological time.

A distribution pattern in which closely related populations or species are separated by large geographic gaps.

The movement of organisms away from their point of origin or from areas of high density to new locations.

The set of environmental conditions, resources, and interactions that define where a species can survive and reproduce.

The condition of a species being naturally found only in a specific, restricted geographic area.

The permanent disappearance of a species from a particular area (local extinction) or from the entire planet (global extinction).

An ancient southern supercontinent that included South America, Africa, Antarctica, India, and Australia.

The study of species distributions and community assembly on islands, governed by immigration-extinction dynamics.

The pattern of increasing species richness from the poles toward the equator.

The supercontinent that encompassed all major landmasses before breaking apart beginning about 175 million years ago.

The study of the geographic distribution of genetic lineages, combining molecular genetics with biogeographic analysis.

The theory that Earth's outer shell is divided into plates that move, causing continental drift, volcanism, and mountain building.

The geographic area in which a species naturally occurs.

An area where organisms survive during a period of unfavorable conditions (such as a glaciation) that eliminates them elsewhere.

A computational approach that uses environmental variables to predict the geographic range of a species.

The ecological pattern in which species richness increases with the area sampled, typically following a power-law function.

The formation of new species from a single ancestral population without geographic separation.

The division of a species' range by the emergence of a geographic barrier, leading to population isolation and potential speciation.

A biogeographic boundary in the Malay Archipelago separating Asian and Australasian faunal assemblages.