Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
Figure 3.8
Cladistic biogeography replaces terminal taxa in the taxonomic clado-
grams with the areas inhabited by them in order to obtain area cladograms and then
combines them into general area cladograms. AS, Asia; BO, Borneo; JA, Java; SU,
Sumatra (modified from Nelson and Platnick 1981:426).
Despite the important development of cladistic biogeography in the Un-
ited States, the topic that summarizes the evolution of the discipline in the
late twentieth century was published in Great Britain (Humphries and Par-
enti 1999). It represents the second edition of a 1986 book, although it in-
corporates several new methodological developments. Anyone interested in
cladistic biogeography should read it.
Craw and Weston (1984) discussed the methods of scientific research pro-
grams developed by Lakatos (1970, 1978) and applied it to the dispersal-
ist, panbiogeographic, and cladistic biogeographic approaches. According
to Lakatos (1978) a research program consists of three parts: the hard core,
the positive heuristic, and the protective belt. The hard core is the set of
assumptions that define the program and are irrefutable; scientists protect
them as part of their research tradition. The hard core of a research program
develops gradually over years. The positive heuristic is a set of methodolo-
gical rules that specify the research policy of the adherents of the research
program, trying to anticipate anomalies and how to address them. The pro-
