biogeografi

Biogeografi, or biogeography, is the scientific study of the spatial distribution of living organisms across the globe and through time. It seeks to understand where species occur and why, how distributions have changed in the past, and how geography, climate, and evolution shape biodiversity. The field integrates ecology, geology, climatology, and evolutionary biology.

Biogeography operates at multiple scales, from broad global patterns to local community composition. Global patterns are organized into biogeographical realms such as the Nearctic, Palearctic, Neotropical, Afrotropical, Indomalayan, Australasian, Oceanian, and Antarctic. At smaller scales, researchers examine gradients in species richness, endemism, and assemblage structure. A foundational idea is island biogeography, which links island size, isolation, and extinction to species richness, and extends to landscape fragments and habitat patches.

Key processes include vicariance (the separation of populations by barriers), dispersal, extinction, and speciation, all shaped by climate, geology, and ecological interactions. Historical biogeography uses fossils and phylogenies to reconstruct past distributions, while ecological biogeography focuses on how current environments influence where organisms live and how they interact.

Methods commonly used in biogeography include field surveys, Geographic Information Systems (GIS), species distribution modeling, phylogeography, and comparative analyses. Applications range from conservation planning and reserve design to assessing climate change impacts, restoring habitats, and managing invasive species. Subfields include zoogeography and phytogeography, and theories often integrate plate tectonics, climate history, and species’ ecological niches to explain observed patterns.