Biology 241 – Biogeography: Life through time and space

Consider time and space: past, present and future

Course outline is same as Term Paper outline

Selected References:

Barry-cox and moore, biogeography

Cain, foundations of plant geography

Darlington, Zoogeography

Daubernmire, Plant geography

Pielou Biogeography

Polunin Introduction to plant ecology and geography

Udvardy Dynamic zoogeography

Watts Principles of biogeography

Wulff Historical Plant Geography

Assigned journals

Biogeography - the study of species distribution now existing and fossil and

on the basis of past and present areas, the elucidation of the origin and

history of biota which in turn gives us a key to an understanding of earth’s

history (Wolff 1933)

ELUCIDATION OF ORIGIN AND HISTORY – PAST, PRESENT,

ORGANISMS

Environment attendant to existence of species

None of the 4.5 M living species is ubiquitous [Ubiquitous: found

everywhere]; their range of distribution is limited (ten-fold of this includes

fossil organisms – 45M have lived on earth)

Speciation vs. extinction?

Nearly cosmopolitan: Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale L.) or Perigrine

falcon (Falco peregrinus)

No more than 100 sq meters in distribution (narrow endemic - relict)

Examples:

Isoetes philippinensis Merryl & Perry

(Philippine quillwort or rogiro) found

in a spring cove in the upper

headwater in Agos River in Balo-i,

Bulut Island, Lanao Del Sur (Agos

River feeds water to Ma. Cristina

Falls) Lowland vascular plant (other

species found in the upper slopes of

the Andes)

Tuatara: Sphenodon punctatus found only in New Zealand

Abucay – Philippine cockatoo (Cacatua haematurophygia) treated

as pest in the cornfield in samar, endemic to the Philippines…

how long to declare when it is extinct.

Biology + Geography is like a “shotgun marriage” – biology as a

distinct discipline is rich in information, almost all geographer are

biologist or taxonomist from the beginning, you’ll never undertand the

biology of an organism very well without knowing its geographic

distribution….

Objectives of the course:

1. To account for patterns of distribution that exist (find out about

distribution patterns: contracting vs. expanding)

Benguet pine – Pinus kesiya (synonymn is Pinus insularis Endlecker –

endemic to the country) but when it was discovered that P insularis was just

a synonymn of P kesiya, it became outlying in distribution from continental

SEA.

“To do science is to search for repetitive patterns, not simply to accumulate

facts. And to the science of biogeography, it is to search for patterns of

animal and plant life that can be put on a map” (Robert MacArthur 1972,

Geographical Ecology – Patterns in the Distribution of Species)

2. To explain the origin and history of world biota on the basis of their past

and present distributions

Ex. Gingko biloba, like the coelacanth, is a living fossil. Gymnosperm, found

in a monastery in Northern China. Widespread in the past (300M years old)

Example of reducing distribution pattern.

3. To know the different factors that determine the distribution of life on

earth

Mosses – Class Musci

Liverworts – Class Hepaticae Bryology

Hornworts – Class Anthocerotae

Jack rabbit – dessert dwelling animal ( Hare), how it will survive?

Jackrabbits are mostly nocturnal. They live in open habitat and run to

escape predators rather than hiding in the woods like the rabbit does. The

jackrabbit's large eyes are placed back on the head so he can see in front,

behind and overhead at the same time. Their keen sense of hearing helps

them be aware of their surroundings and potential danger and they rely

on their speed to escape from predators.

The jackrabbit's large ears also help the hare keep cool. The blood

vessels in the ears expand to allow the blood to cool before re-entering

the body. The jackrabbit can also decrease the blood flow through its ears

in the winter to stay warmer.  Jackrabbits do not dig burrows. Instead,

they spend the hottest part of the day resting in a bed scratched out at

the base of a shrub or in a clump of tall grass where the shade will protect

it from the heat. In the winter, a jackrabbit builds its nest under thick

foliage that protects it from harsh winds. The black-tailed jackrabbit is an

herbivore. In the summer they eat mostly green plants and flowers that

are high in water content, so they do not require much water. They will

also eat sagebrush and cacti. In the winter, they don't hibernate, and

mainly eat shrubs. Jackrabbits are constantly eating and consume large

quantities of food relative to their size. Fifteen jackrabbits eat as much

food as a large grazing cow in one day. In agricultural areas the jackrabbit

may become a pest to farmers by eating their crops.

4. To show what in the present distribution of biota may be explained by the

present climate or environmental conditions and what the consequence of

these hallmark conditions are (De Candolle 1855)

Climate change – we are facing a hypsithermal condition (increasing

temperature - global warming)

Glacier – fossil ice with high isotopic oxygen content: lowers temperature in

the temperate regions

Find out for the last four ice glaciation?

American European

Stratigraphy

Wisconsin? - ?

Illinoian? - ?

Kansan? - ?

Nebraskan? - ?

Tropical rain forest – lowers temperature in tropical areas

Geography students quickly become aware of the problems of defining their

subject. Whereas the scope and subject matter of some branches of the

discipline can be relatively easily stated this is not the case with

biogeography

Geography has been defined as

Study of areal distributions; spatial patterns; locational analysis; man-land

relationships and the environmental relationships of man.

Biogeography implies linkage between biology and geography

Studies distribution of biological materials over earth’s surface and factors

responsible for the observed spatial patterns

Falcatifolium (gruezoi de laubenfels) – Coniferales and Taxales,

Type locality: Mt. Falcon, also found in samar, sibuyan island.

i.e., Persia: biome is desert; distribution pattern is regular; there is

no competition; root system is fibrous

Distribution pattern: looking for dispersal patterns

Variation in distribution of plants, animals and soil provides spatial

patterns for study as fundamental as variation in rock type

(geology), land forms (geomorphology) or atmospheric processes

(meteorology). We seek not to describe these patterns but also to

explain them: “Where?” Must be followed by “Why?”

o i.e.: Cocos nucifera L. (Palmae/ Arecaceae) – would you

believe that coconut has two types?

Types: Assignment! Why the distribution of Palms are

confined in the tropics

Mt. Banahaw – mossy forest, every 1000 masl reduced

temperature to -6 degree Celsius..

We are studying what biologists have always regarded as

biogeography but what the geographer has tended to call Plant or

Animal Geography. But if the study is at the more local level (large

scale) and centres on the individual species or the way species form

recognizable assemblages which interact with their effective

immediate environment, then the study becomes Plant or Animal

Ecology

Biogeography usually places as much emphasis on the distributional

aspects as on environmental relationships; tends to stress role of man in

patterns and processes or importance for man of the findings in terms of

past, present or future in land relationships. Over the years it is this type

of study which increasingly has become relevant.

Distinctions are not clear, and draws info obtained from many

sources (botany, zoology, meteorology, geomorphology, geology,

archaeology & sociology)

i.e : manatee and sea cow – closely related taxa that have diff.

distribution ranges.

Both [biogeography and geography] aim at explanation through synthesis

of these data. Biogeography as a subfield of geography, noting various

definitions and possible research themes (Hill), while the contribution of:

the biologist to the subject is apparent, the geographical or spatial

elements should not be underated.

Assignment:

Molecular Clock – ?

(Coconut) → Manila - Acapulco Galleon Trade – ?

Bicol region, tabaco albay. San Miguel Island – origin of the kadang

kadang, disease of coconut

Darwin: “that grand subject, that almost keystone of the laws of

creation, Geographical Distribution” in a letter to Dalton Hooker in

1845.

17th Century Philosopher Francis Bacon: we cannot command nature

unless we obey her. Only recently have we come to appreciate the

vital importance of this dictum. With the industrial and scientific

revolutions of the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries, there grew up a

feeling that man was becoming somehow independent of nature

and would eventually be able to control many aspects of his

environment. In the last few decades we have become painfully

aware that our relationship with the other parts of nature is now

becoming not less but more important.

TERM PAPER

Abstract

Taxonomy

Ecology & Botany

Distribution

Example: Hypothesis on the Geographical Centre of Origin and Diversity of

Rafflesia

Acknowledgement

Literature cited

Biogeographical discourse is important!

“We cannot command Nature unless we obey her. Only recently have we

come to appreciate the vital importance of this dictum” (Francis Bacon,

17th century) – fundamental principle for biogeography

Principle of uniformitarianism: physical and chemical laws of the

universe remain constant; in the context of our current experiences, these

are processes that occurred in the past, still occurring and will occur in

the future

Resources are not unlimited and if we continue to destroy, pollute or

overexploit our physical environment then we severely threaten out own

existence as a species. We are now the dominant species over most of

the globe, either by virtue of our actual presence or as a consequence of

our activities. The emphasis of biogeography on the role of man in

ecological studies makes it a subject of increasing relevance our future

well being of our population.

Paradox in biogeography: biogeography is a respectable branch of science

but little paradoxical as there are very few scientists that can be called

biogeographers because those who are involved in it are not geographers

but taxonomists, such as:

PJ Darlington – entomologist at the Museum of Comparative

Zoology, Harvard

Eric Hulten – deals with arctic flora, i.e. Flora of Alaska and Yukon,

flora of Aleutian Islands; 1937 : phytogeographical work on history

and origin of Arctic Flora

Biogeography makes use of info derived from systematics in the solution

of evolutionary problems and others

There is really a need to study the organisms as information cannot be

derived from anybody or any reference

Information is a joint venture between the collectors and the taxonomists

who systematically collect, analyze and evaluate them

A systematic unit is required and should be defined then actual

distribution of this unit can be made or drawn (level in the hierarchy)

Species within the genus should have a common ancestor

Interaction between genetic make-up and environment: Identical twins

subjected to different environments

Many plants and animals can exist outside of their localities of

environment: hence distribution is not solely dependent on interaction

between genetic make-up and environment

Caragana arborescens – shrub member of leguminosae: not native

to north America (Alberta) but native of Siberia

Pinus sylvestris – European scotch pine, is not indigenous or native

to north America, introduced in Alberta, Canada for timber

Picea abies –Norway spruce, introduced in Alberta, Canada for

timber

Theobroma cacao – native to central and south America, now found

in nearly all tropical countries of the world

Rattus rattus norvegicus – introduced in almost all parts of the world

through trading ships