Talk:Biogeography

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Biogeography - Possible Sources[edit]

Emily Kookogey ENST 244 Professor Stuhl February 25, 2014

Topic: Biogeography

Cook, D. C. "Human Biogeography." Choice 50, no. 3 (11, 2012): 529. http://search.proquest.com/docview/1173416895?accountid=9784.

Goldblum, D. "Comparative Biogeography: Discovering and Classifying Biogeographical Patterns of a Dynamic Earth." Choice 47, no. 9 (05, 2010): 1714. http://search.proquest.com/docview/356761958?accountid=9784.

MacArthur, Robert H. and Edward O. Wilson. The Theory of Island Biogeography. Princeton University Press, 1967.

Posadas, Paula, Mariana A. Grossi, and Edgardo Ortiz-Jaureguizar. "Where is Historical Biogeography Going? the Evolution of the Discipline in the First Decade of the 21st Century." Progress in Physical Geography 37, no. 3 (06, 2013): 377-396. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0309133313478316. http://search.proquest.com/docview/1356442071?accountid=9784.

Sanmartín, Isabel. "Biogeography: An Ecological and Evolutionary Approach, 7th Edition." Systematic Biology 55, no. 2 (04, 2006): 361-363. http://search.proquest.com/docview/194796098?accountid=9784.

Simberloff, Daniel. "Parasitology and Recent Developments in Biogeography." Bioscience 61, no. 11 (11, 2011): 925-927. http://search.proquest.com/docview/906002949?accountid=9784.

Waters, Jonathan M. "Biogeography in a Changing World." Systematic Biology 56, no. 5 (10, 2007): 871-3. http://search.proquest.com/docview/194800320?accountid=9784.

Waters, Jonathan M. "Historical Biogeography: An Introduction." Systematic Biology 54, no. 2 (04, 2005): 338-340. http://search.proquest.com/docview/194770668?accountid=9784.

Eak016 (talk) 18:26, 24 February 2014 (UTC)Emily Kookogey[reply]


Lindsey Nourse Possible Sources:

Brooks, Daniel. "Scaling Effects in Historical Biogeography: A New View of Space, Time, and Form." Systematic Zoology. no. 3 (1988): 237-244.

Brown University, "Biogeography." Accessed February 24, 2014. http://biomed.brown.edu/Courses/BIO48/29.Biogeography.HTML.

Cox, C Barry, and Peter Moore. Biogeography : an ecological and evolutionary approach. Malden, MA: Blackwell Publicastions, 2005.

Crisci, Jorge. "The Voice of Historical Biogeography." Journal of Biogeography. no. 2 (2001): 157-168.

Crisp, Michael, Stephen Trewick, and Lyn Cook. "Hypothesis testing in biogeography." Trends in Ecology and Evolution. no. 2 (2011): 66-72.

Dansereau, Pierre. Biogeography; an ecological perspective.. New York: Ronald Press Company, 1957.

Fosberg, F. "Geography, Ecology, and Biogeography." Annals of the Association of American Geographers. no. 1 (1976): 117-128.

Losos, Jonathan, Robert Ricklefs, and Robert MacArthur. The theory of island biogeography revisited. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2010.

Lgn006 (talk) 22:16, 24 February 2014 (UTC)Lgn006 February 24th, 2014[reply]

Biogeography vs. Landscape Ecology[edit]

What is the difference between Biogeography and Landscape Ecology? The articles as written don't seem to be all that different from each other. They should probably reference each other and explain the differences or be merged into one. Jmeppley 16:26, 9 Dec 2004 (UTC)

See Talk:Landscape ecology for answers to this. Jmeppley 17:45, 9 Dec 2004 (UTC)

Biogeography is much broader in scope covering all distribution of life. I believe landscape ecology focuses on a particular scale (think about the size of a valley) and with processes associated with that scale Threelovemonkeys (talk) 11:21, 8 January 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Paleobiogeography[edit]

What is Paleobiogeography? Tug201 06:01, 30 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Paleobiogeography is the study of the geography of life in the past usually with organisms remains Threelovemonkeys (talk) 11:21, 8 January 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Classification[edit]

The list under the Classification section are processes and not the actual classification of Biogeography. Is there any reason for the title classification? If there is none, I will change it to Processes leading to patterns or something by that line. Thanks! ώЇЌĩ Ѕαи Яоzε †αLҝ 12:45, 7 June 2007 (UTC)[reply]

History Section[edit]

I feel as though the history section could be improved. It opens mentioning that biogeography is based off the work of several scientists that include Alexander von Humboldt, Hewett Cottrell Watson, Alphonse de Candolle, Alfred Russel Wallace, and Philip Lutley Sclater. The article then only goes into detail on how the work of Sclater and Wallace played a role in biogeography. I feel that a little bit of information on the work of the others could be beneficial. Rory.Bonner (talk) 01:05, 11 February 2014 (UTC)[reply]


Carly Downs' Bibliography for Biogeography - History of Ecology 2014[edit]

Browne, E. J. 1983. The secular ark: studies in the history of biogeography. New Haven: Yale University Press.

Crisci, Jorge. "The Voice of Historical Biogeography." Journal of Biogeography 28, no. 2 (2001): 157-168. http://www.jstor.org/stable/2656094 (accessed February 21, 2014).

Dansereau, Pierre. 1957. Biogeography; an ecological perspective. New York: Ronald Press Co.

Hengeveld, R. 1992. Dynamic biogeography. Cambridge [England]: Cambridge University Press.

Hill, A. R.. " Biogeography as a Sub-Field of Geography." Area 7, no. 3 (1975): 156-161. http://www.jstor.org/stable/20000996 (accessed February 21, 2014).

Lomolino, Mark V., and Lawrence R. Heaney. 2004. Frontiers of biogeography: new directions in the geography of nature. Sunderland, Mass: Sinauer Associates

MacArthur, Robert H., and Edward O. Wilson. 1967. The theory of island biogeography. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press.

Simmons, I. G. 1982. Biogeographical processes. London: Allen & Unwin. Ced015 (talk) 03:01, 25 February 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Outline for Article Changes[edit]

To Wikipedia Community Members: Three Bucknell students have come up with these possible ideas for changes to this article. Please let us know what you think we encourage all feedback!!!


Biogeography describes the combination of concepts that come from ecology, evolutionary biology, geology, and geography. It is the study of the distribution of organisms and their ecosystems in a certain geographic place in a particular time in history. There are two main applications of biogeography: historical biogeography, which describes long-term, evolutionary periods of time for broader classifications of organisms. The second application of biogeography is ecological, which is described by short-term interactions within a habitat and the specific species or subspecies of organisms.

The first discoveries that contributed to the development of biogeography as a science began in the mid-18th century, as Europeans explored the world and discovered the biodiversity of life. Carl Linnaeus, in the mid-18th century, initiated the ways to classify organisms through his exploration of undiscovered territories. When he noticed that species were not as perpetual as he believed, he developed the Mountain Explanation to explain the distribution of biodiversity. When Noah’s ark landed on Mount Ararat and the waters receded, the animals dispersed throughout different elevations on the mountain. This showed different species in different climates proving species were not constant. Linnaeus’ findings set a basis for ecological biogeography. Closely after Linnaeus, George Louis Buffon observed shifts in climate and how species spread across the globe as a result. Buffon believed there was a single species creation event, and that different regions of the world were homes for varying species, which is an alternate view than that of Linnaeus. Buffon’s Law eventually became a principle of biogeography by explaining how similar environments were habitats for comparable types of organisms. Following this period of exploration came the Age of Enlightenment in Europe, which attempted to explain the patterns of biodiversity observed by Buffon and Linnaeus. At the end of the 18th century, Alexander Von Humboldt developed the concept of physique generale to demonstrate the unity of science and how species fit together. As one of the first to contribute empirical data to the science of biogeography through his travel as an explorer, he observed differences in climate and vegetation. This ultimately enabled him to create the isotherm, which allowed scientists to see patterns of life within different climates. Agustin de Candolle was yet another contributor to the field of biogeography in that he observed species competition and the several differences that influenced biodiversity.

In the 19th century, several additional scientists contributed new theories to further develop the concept of biogeography. Charles Lyell, being one of the first contributors in the 19th century, developed the theory of uniformitarianism after studying fossils. This theory explained how the world was not created by one sole catastrophic event, but instead from numerous creation events and locations. Additionally, the Earth was now considered significantly older than previously accepted and Lyell concluded that it was possible for species to go extinct. Since he noted that earth’s climate changes, he realized that species distribution must also change accordingly. Charles Darwin was a natural theologist who studied around the world but most importantly in the Galapagos Islands. Darwin introduced the idea of evolution and went against earlier ideas that species were static. He was different than other explorers because he came up with a mechanism on which species changed. His influential ideas that of the struggle for existence and natural selection. Darwin’s theory started a biological segment to biogeography and empirical studies. Further on in the 19th century, Alfred Russel Wallace was commonly known as the father of biogeography. Wallace participated in fieldwork researching the habits, breeding and migration tendencies, and feeding behavior of thousands of species. Using these factors, he studied their influence on the survival of species. Wallace believed species were dynamic by responding to biotic and abiotic factors.

Moving on to the 20th century, Alfred Wegener introduced the Theory of Continental Drift in 1912, though it was not widely accepted until the 1960s. This theory was revolutionary because it changed the way that everyone thought about species and their distribution around the globe. The theory explained how continents were formerly joined together in one large landmass, Pangea, and slowly drifted apart due to the movement of the plates below Earth’s surface. The evidence for this theory is in the geological similarities between varying locations around the globe, fossil comparisons from different continents, and the jigsaw puzzle shape of the landmasses on Earth. Though Wegener did not know the mechanism of this concept of Continental Drift, this contribution to the study of biogeography was significant in the way that it shed light on the importance of environmental and geographic similarities or differences as a result of climate and other pressures on the planet. In addition to what the article already explains about Robert MacArthur’s contributions, and Edward O. Wilson, his Theory of Island Biogeography describes how large islands have greater biodiversity than smaller islands.

In terms of applications of biogeography as a science today, technological advances have allowed satellite imaging and processing of the Earth. Current scientists also use coral reefs to delve into the history of biogeography through the fossilized reefs. GIS or general information sensing can show certain processes on the earth’s surface like whale locations, sea surface temperatures, and bathymetry.

Lgn006 (talk)Lindsey Nourse, Emily Kookogey, Carly Downs — Preceding undated comment added 15:06, 25 March 2014 (UTC)[reply]


Article Peer Editing[edit]

Biogeography- Overview- The introduction does a very good job of briefly explaining the definition of biogeography, and then including the various fields that it is applicable, ending with a solid synopsis of the origins of the use of biogeography and its importance in describing and understanding long term evolutionary periods. You could possibly add one more sentence explaining Humboldt’s importance in the development of biogeography.

Introduction- The first sentence in the introduction seems to be rather long, although it includes a lot of informative information. If possible, I would break it up into two slightly more comprehensible sentences to make it easier for the reader to understand.

History- In the first part of the history section, you illustrated the development of biogeography very well by introducing and explaining the mountain explanation, and how it allowed Linnaus to study science and biogeography while maintaining his faith in Christianity. Perhaps reword the last sentence of the second paragraph because it ends with ‘it” to: Buffon also studied fossils, which led him to believe that the world was tens of thousands of years old, and that humans had not lived there long in comparison to the age of the earth. Later in the history section, the first sentence in the paragraph before the 19th century part I found a bit confusing and I think it could possibly be reworded. In the first paragraph in the 19th century section of history, I think you could separate this sentence into two sentences because it contains two separate ideas. One idea being that the world was considered older as a result of Charles Lyell’s contributions, and the second being the idea that species could go extinct: “Additionally, the Earth was now considered significantly older than previously accepted and Lyell concluded that it was possible for species to go extinct”. I think that you did a very good job explaining how all of the important ecologists in the 18th and 19th century were influential to the development, and influenced by the study of biogeography. I also thought that the information you provided on islands was important to the contribution of biogeography and you did a good job at demonstrating this. In the beginning of the 20th century section I noticed there was not many references tagged and I just wanted to point this out! Overall I thought the history section was very informative and concise while including all of the most important historical information regarding biogeography.

Paleobiogeography- The first sentence in this section does a very good job at explaining the definition of paleobiogeography; however, the last sentence I thought could potentially be seen as subjective/ speculative especially because it does not have a reference at the end. Overall I thought this section was very helpful in relating biogeography back to ecology as it explains the inclusion of ecological beings in the study of biogeography through the study of plate tectonics and paleographic data. Eeb017 (talk) 22:18, 14 April 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Thank you very much for your feedback. We are in the process of making changes and are considering all of your advice. Thanks again Ced015 (talk) 14:46, 21 April 2014 (UTC)[reply]
It would be great if you guys could develop stub articles for the sub-topics systematic biogeography and evolutionary biogeography, that are cited in the article. The Portuguese wiki has an article for the latter: pt:Biogeografia evolutiva. Regards, —capmo (talk) 15:54, 28 April 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Peer Review[edit]

Lead in section - I think that your introduction is very well formatted, but it may include too much technical information. I think the more complicated explanations of biogeography would be better suited later in the article. The first part of the introduction that includes the basic definition and the last part that includes some of the origins of the term would be sufficient.

The introduction section is very well written and allows for a more technical overview of the subject. Maybe some of the more technical information from the lead in section could be added in this section. I think that doing that would create a more accessible article and readers won't be alienated by a complicated lead in.

I enjoyed the paleobiogeography section because it displayed a very specific use of biogeography and how it can be used in practical applications. I was wondering if there were any other specific examples of biogeography that you could mention, or even add a section of similar to the paleobiogeography section. The Paleobiogeographic section also seems like it would be a very controversial subject and I think it may be appropriate to add information on whether or not there are controversies surrounding it. baldwinwt (talk) — Preceding undated comment added 19:10, 23 April 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Thank you for your feedback! We are in the process of making our final changes and these suggestions were very helpful! 134.82.167.55 (talk) 13:21, 28 April 2014 (UTC)Emily Kookogey[reply]

Further comments on content[edit]

The recent additions and revisions to this article have been very useful! Thank you to the editors working on this. I notice you have been drawing extensively from Browne's Secular Ark, which many historians of science recognize as one of the most comprehensive and rigorous treatments of the history of biogeography. That said, your bibliographies listed above and on the Further Reading section offer readers and editors other sources to explore for more information or to corroborate Browne's research. So, good choice there. I also know there are plans to expand a section on modern applications of biogeography. For that I recommend consulting Cox and Moore's textbook, which I also see listed in your bibliographies. Overall, this is significant work on a broad and important topic in the history of ecology. --Enstandrew (talk) 15:58, 23 April 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Draft outline[edit]

There is a proposed outline for this topic at Wikipedia:WikiProject Outlines/Drafts/Outline of biogeography. Please note that there's a link on the talk page to a RM request suggesting moving it to draftspace. -- Ricky81682 (talk) 08:56, 23 June 2016 (UTC)[reply]

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