According to Campbell and Reece (2007) biogeography is the study of the past and present distribution of species. Cristopherson (1994) states that it is the study of the distribution of plants, animals and related ecosystems and the geographical relationships with related environments over time. It involves a wide range of disciplines such as biology, geology, geography and ecology. It begs the question, why are there so many more species in tropical rainforests than in woodlands? What allows a species to live in one area and prevents it from dispersing and colonising in other areas?
Biodiversity depends on many factors, and great differences in faunal species occur between different countries. This essay focuses on comparing and contrasting the organisms that were found in Sea Point Co. Dublin, Glandalough, Co. Wicklow and Bolonia, Spain. Numerous organisms were found in one country but not the other, such as the Mantodea (Praying Mantis) which was present in Spain but not in Ireland. The abundance of species varied significantly which could be seen in the Plecoptera (Stoneflies) which had higher numbers in Ireland rather than Bolonia. There are many reasons for the differences between Irish and Spanish marine, terrestrial and freshwater fauna, both biotic and abiotic. Factors such as faunal relationships, sunlight, temperature, water chemistry and soil will all be investigated in the paragraphs to follow as they play a major role in species survival and distribution.
When comparing terrestrial fauna found in Bolonia and the glacial valley of Glendalough, many differences were noted. This portion of the trip was carried out in the matorall in Bolonia, which is a biome that occurs in midlatitude coastal regions (Campbell, 2011). ...
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... sampled terrestrial invertebrates in Spain had low agricultural input, the cork oaks are allowed to grow and only harvested in 10 year cycles, this low intensity harvesting leads to higher diversity.
There are many reasons for differing diversity and abundances of species between two countries, and I believe I have touched on the most important aspects of them all. It looks as though Spain’s proximity to the equator is the driving force behind its high species numbers, but as all organisms are different and prefer various habitats and environments, that there are also a lot of problems with comparing and analysing data. In this time of climate change, all that we know about species diversity could change and so studies such as this are very important in understanding how global temperature change and melting ice caps affect the organisms that live on this planet.
Burton, Robert, ed. Nature's Last Strongholds. New York: Oxford UP, 1991. Print.
The Atlantic Puffin’s ecosystem contains a combination of both terrestrial, aerial, and aquatic plants and animals. For the cliff-...
Palaeogeography deals with the reconstruction of physical geographical conditions for the eras of the Earth's history. The term comes from the Greek παλαιός (palaiós) meaning ‘old’ and γεωγραφία (geōgraphía) meaning ‘a description of the earth’ and seems to have been introduced in the Earth sciences vocabulary as ‘Palaeo-Geographie’ by Ami Boué (1794‒1881), a French‒Austrian geologist, in his publication Einiges zur palaeo-geologischen Geographie (Boué, 1875, p. 2). Palaeogeography focuses on the distribution of land and sea, the spread of mountains and volcanoes and the expansion of glaciations, among others. The results are presented in geographic depictions called palaeogeographic maps. A special kind of palaeogeograpahical map is palaeobiogeographical maps depicting the distribution of
Biodiversity is the variation and amount of species across the globe, or within in a specific geographical habitat. There are three different areas of study within biodiversity; ecological diversity, species diversity and, genetic diversity. Science Book Species diversity is the variety of different organisms and relationships within a specific species, this essay will discuss the declining of species diversity among sea turtles and the implications it has on the worldwide seas. I have chosen to research about the topic because, sea turtles are believed to have been alive during the Jurassic period. However, now all seven sea turtle species are critically endangered or vulnerable, due to human activities such as; commercial fishing, bycatch and, climate change. (WWF, OCEANA, ACTIONBIOSCI)
“[…] a treatability technology that uses biological activity to reduce the concentration or toxicity of a pollutant. It commonly uses processes by which microorganisms transform or degrade substances hazardous to human health or the environment.” This statement is often used to describe the fundamental aim of bioremediation around the world. Richard Raymond, who is thought by some the father of bioremediation, foresaw that “adding acclimated microorganisms to contaminated sites could become a common practice” thus benefiting society by attacking the pollutants and converting them into harmless products to humanity and animal habitat. Bioremediation technologies can be generally classified as ex situ in which treatments involve the physical removal of the contaminated material for treatment process and in situ techniques that involve treatment of the contaminated material in place. Although the use of living systems to make a product has an established history, bioremediation have generated many social and ethical controversies to the foreground. The idea promoted by Richard Raymond illustrates a direct connection between bioremediation and its potential to restore contaminated environments inexpensively yet effectively.
There are many types of biomes and there is also a good variety of ways to their classification. Rainforest, grassland, marine system, and freshwater system
Modern-day genetic technology has granted mankind with the opportunity to bring back extinct species from the dead. If humans have come to possess the DNA from an extinct animal population, it is possible to create an identical clone of the animal in question, effectively “bringing it back from the dead”. Many ethical dilemmas surround the practice of de-extinction, and rightfully so. Recreating an extinct species could produce groundbreaking scientific breakthroughs, generating exciting opportunities for future genetics-based research. However, there could also be monumental consequences: the newly revived, once-extinct species might destroy the ecological equilibrium of modern Earth
Chapter 1 was very straightforward; it explained the four fields in anthropology and the subfields of biological anthropology. I learned that cultural anthropology is sometimes called social anthropology. It studies the culture of different groups of people, which include things like gender roles, religion, and politics. Before I thought linguistic anthropology was just the study of a group of peoples language. I did not know that it covered how they made the language as well.
Holdsforth, J. R. "Deforestation Estimates for Eight National Biozone Regions and Implications." 1990. http://www.biozone_project.html (7 June 2003).
Susan Lindee and Ricardo Santos’ goal was to understand the contexts of genesis and development of biological anthropology around the world from an international standpoint, focusing on engagement with living human populations. Their contributors, scholars in history of science, science studies, and anthropology, were guided by key questions about national histories, collections, and scientific field practice.
Non-native species add about $500 billion to the United States’ economy. Non-native species are species that do not come from a certain area. Many non-native species were accidentally brought to North America. To prevent this from happening more, we have to eliminate newly detected species.
A biome, also known as life zones, consists of all plants, animals, and other organisms, as well the physical environment in a particular area. A biome is characterized by its’ plant life, climate, and location. The climate and physical features determine the boundaries of a biome. A biome is made up of many different ecosystems. The ecosystems tend to have the same pants and animals as neighboring biomes around the boundaries. The major biomes are the tundra, taiga, tropical rain forest, temperate forests, desert, grassland, savanna, chaparral, and marine. Each biome has it’s own characteristics such as the tundra.
On the first level, when foreign, but previously non-invasive species is first introduced to a new area, the new species may play a role in a community that was previously unfulfilled; it may fill a vacant niche in the ecosystem. Originally this new species may be seen as a useful contributor to its new surroundings because it has only (temporarily) increased biodiversity in the area (Meinesz, 2003).
One of the reasons for loss in biodiversity is alteration of habitats. A habitat is the natural environment in which a species of living organism lives. If the habitat of a species is changed, it will cause the species to die or migrate to other places where it can find its natural habitat. There are many ways in which the habitat of plants and animals can be altered. One of them is land use changes. Since the beginning of human life, human beings have been changing land use for farming. Large areas of forests have been cleared by humans to increase the area of farming to satisfy their growing needs. Many biodiversity-rich landscape characteristics have been lost due to intensive farming (Young, Richards, Fischer, Halada, Kull, Kuzniar, Tartes, Uzunov & Watt, 2007). For example, traditional farming was replaced by private farms in Europe after the First World War causing an immense change in land use patterns. Another major proble...