Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
biogeographic divergence
result of area split (due to vicariant events). Vicariance
is the most common interpretation of divergence patterns.
biogeographic homology
sorting procedure used to establish meaningful com-
parisons within biogeography. It represents the relationship between biotic
components rather than the components themselves.
biogeography
study of the geographic distribution of taxa and their attributes in
space and time.
biotic component
set of spatiotemporally integrated taxa that coexist in a given
area, which represents a biogeographic unit, from a synchronic or proximal
perspective. Biotic components may remain the same despite the possible
transformations they could undergo, may split into two or more independent
biotic components as a result of vicariance, may mix into a new biotic com-
ponent as a result of biogeographic convergence, and eventually may be-
come extinct.
Brooks parsimony analysis (BPA)
cladistic biogeographic method that consists
of the parsimony analysis of taxon-area cladograms that are codified as two-
state variables and analyzed as characters.
Buffon's law
discovery made by Comte Georges-Louis Leclerc de Buffon
(1707-1788), who found that different tropical areas of the world, even those
that had some similar climatic and environmental conditions, were inhabited
by completely different mammal species. It represented the first falsification of
Linnaeus's explanation.
causal biogeography
subdiscipline that investigates the causes of an observed
pattern, encompassing both historical and ecological biogeography.
cenocron
set of taxa that share the same biogeographic history, constituting an
identifiable subset within a biotic component by their common biotic origin
and evolutionary history, from a diachronic perspective. Cenocrons allow one
to represent how the convergence of biotic components occurs during biotic
evolution.
cenogenesis
evolution of biotic associations through time.
center of origin
restricted geographic area from which new species are constantly
evolving and dispersing to other parts of the earth through different means of
dispersal.
chorology
subdiscipline that uses evolutionary models to trace distributional path-
ways.
cladistic biogeographic analysis
a method consisting of three basic steps: (1)
constructing taxon-area cladograms, from the taxonomic cladograms of two
or more different taxa, by replacing their terminal taxa with the areas they
inhabit; (2) obtaining resolved area cladograms from the taxon-area clado-
grams (when demanded by the method applied); and (3) obtaining a general
area cladogram, based on the information contained in the resolved area
cladograms.
