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History of Biogeography
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age 25 age 55 age 80 age 90
Image credit: h6p://people.wku.edu/charles.smith/wallace/altphoto.htm
Alfred Russel Wallace (1823-1913)
The men who knew islands...
Darwin Day -‐ February 12, 2015
History of Biogeography Biogeography is a syntheGc discipline, with elements of ecology, evoluGon, geography, climatology, geneGcs, and phylogeneGcs (to name a few) We’ll cover the following:
• historical roots of the discipline • major players in early development • evoluGon from a descripGve endeavor to a rigorous scienGfic
discipline And will focus on three 5me periods:
1. 1700 to 1900 (age of exploraGon) 2. 1900 to 1960 (age of integraGon) 3. 1960 to present (age of maturity)
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Early interest in Biogeography
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Humans have had a pracGcal and intellectual interest in distribuGon of animals. Central themes of biogeography arose in late 1600’s Ships began traversing the globe for economic and poliGcal gain Many ships had naturalists on board who made extensive collecGons CollecGons began to show trends in species distribuGons and abundance
Image credit: h6p://deitchman.com/mcneillslides/units.php?unit=%20Prehistoric
%20Arts
1700 1800 1900 2000
Trends in Biogeography pre-‐1900
5 1700 1800 1900 2000
ClassificaGon of geographic regions based on biotas
ReconstrucGon of biotas -‐ i.e. origin, diversity
Pa6erns in species diversity of different regions
Geographic variaGon in species traits (morphology, behaviour)
...but this was a long process, > 100 years Image credit: h6p://deitchman.com/
mcneillslides/units.php?unit=%20Prehistoric%20Arts
Biologists and naturalists of 18th Century largely driven by a calling to serve God Inventory and collecGons began to threaten accounts in Genesis: How could Noah’s Ark fit all of these creatures? How large is 350 “cubits”? One of many discussions to come...
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Conflict with theology
Image credits http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/extinction-countdown/2012/02/16/meet-pangolin-threatened-traditional-asian-medicine/
Image credits: http://www.onekind.org/be_inspired/animals_a_z/aardvark/ Image credits: http://freewallpaperspot.com/15-capybara-wallpaper.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Young_red_necked_wallaby.jpg
New collecGons and nomenclature
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Carl von Linnaeus (Swedish botanist, 1707-‐1778): Father of classical binomial nomenclature and taxonomy. Believed in immutability of species. Suggested world's biodiversity originated by dispersal from Mount Ararat in Turkey where Noah’s Ark was thought to have landed aier biblical flood. First incidence of the idea that taxa have centers of origin
Image credit: www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/history/linnaeus.html
Many groups are now known to have centers of origin, locaGons of highest diversity (e.g. Indo-‐west Pacific is the center of origin for marine fishes – diversity declines moving away from this center)
1700 1800 1900 2000
Challenges with collecGons
Specimens (dried “skins”) shipped back to Europe oien arrived with missing parts Linneaus named a specimen of this bird of paradise, which happened to be missing its feet, Paradisea apoda But not unreasonable compared to other strange new discoveries – if there can be flightless birds with flimsy wings, why not a bird with no feet?
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Paradisea apoda
h6p://www.finerareprints.com/animals/histoire_naturelle/vol_histoire_nat_bird_5173.htm
The beginning of radical ideas
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Georges-‐Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon (French naturalist, 1707-‐1788): Suggested in "Histoire Naturelle": (1) Earth must be much older than the biblical claim of 6000 yrs
(2) taxa changed through Gme, as did the Earth (i.e., there must be a connecGon between the geological and biological histories of earth)
Very radical ideas and > 100 years before Darwin
Image cred
it: www.buff
on.cnrs.fr/in
dex.ph
p?lang=fr#hn
1700 1800 1900 2000
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Georges-‐Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon (French naturalist, 1707-‐1788): Hypothesized that the center of origin for earth’s biota was in the far north when climates were more benign. Biotas changed and diversified as they colonized southward into present day North America and Eurasia.
Buffon’s law (1st law of biogeography): environmentally similar but isolated regions have disGnct species assemblages (with similar a6ributes)
1700 1800 1900 2000
The beginning of radical ideas
Image cred
it: www.buff
on.cnrs.fr/in
dex.ph
p?lang=fr#hn
ConnecGng climate with flora and fauna
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Alexander von Humboldt (German, 1769-‐1859): Extended Buffon's Law to plants and terrestrial animals Coined the term floris6c belts and promoted the idea that plant distribuGon is determined by climate First to note the complementarity of South American and west African coastlines and that they may have been joined at one Gme (heavily ridiculed for such "fantasy" by peers)
h6p://www.macroevoluGon.net/alexander-‐von-‐humboldt.html
1700 1800 1900 2000
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Alexander von Humboldt (German, 1769-‐1859):
By Sten Porse (Image:VegetaGon) [CC-‐BY-‐SA-‐3.0 (www.creaGvecommons.org/licenses/by-‐sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
ConnecGng climate with flora and fauna
Fossils and increased noGon of gradual change
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Charles Lyell (BriGsh geologist, 1797-‐1875): Breakthrough ideas in “Principles of Geology” (1830): StraGgraphic layers and fossils suggest the earth and its biota changed through Gme, changes were gradual and ongoing Earth must be much older than a few thousand years
h6p://www.metmuseum.org/works_of_art/collecGon_database/
Uniformitarianism: basic natural laws and processes have always acted on the earth, and understanding present geological processes is key to understanding the past.
1700 1800 1900 2000
Fossils and increased noGon of gradual change
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Charles Lyell (BriGsh geologist, 1797-‐1875): Breakthrough ideas in “Principles of Geology” (1830): Both Darwin and Wallace took this book with them on their voyages.
1700 1800 1900 2000
h6p://www.metmuseum.org/works_of_art/collecGon_database/
Gradual change through natural selecGon
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Charles Darwin (BriGsh, 1809-‐1882): Influenced by Lyell’s work and made connecGon between the earth’s geological history and changes in biota as the result of geographic isolaGon and natural selecGon. Wrote “The Origin of Species” (1859) -‐ proposed natural selecGon as a key factor in the origin of species and differences in species diversity and composiGon among geographic areas.
h6p://www.metmuseum.org/works_of_art/collecGon_database/
1700 1800 1900 2000
Second voyage of the Beagle
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Charles Darwin (BriGsh, 1809-‐1882):
27 December 1831 to 2 October 1836 h6p://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Voyage_of_the_Beagle.jpg
Dispersalists & Extensionists
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Charles Darwin (BriGsh, 1809-‐1882): Considered importance of long distance dispersal in establishing geographically isolated populaGons and subsequent divergence. Opposed by extensionists (including Lyell) who believed that land bridges explain occurrence of isolated populaGons.
h6p://galapagostour.us/ColonizaGon_by_Organisms
Opposing paradigms to explain disjunct distribuGons or isolated taxa: Dispersalist: rare long-‐distance dispersal events establish isolated populaGons that then differenGate Extensionist: land bridges (now submerged) facilitated the extension of distribuGons between land-‐masses
Dispersalists & Extensionists
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Charles Darwin (BriGsh, 1809-‐1882): Considered importance of long distance dispersal in establishing geographically isolated populaGons and subsequent divergence. Opposed by extensionists (including Lyell) who believed that land bridges explain occurrence of isolated populaGons.
Opposing paradigms to explain disjunct distribuGons or isolated taxa: Dispersalist: rare long-‐distance dispersal events establish isolated populaGons that then differenGate Extensionist: land bridges (now submerged) facilitated the extension of distribuGons between land-‐masses
Biogeographic regions
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Phillip Sclater (BriGsh, 1829-‐1913): Made connecGon between low dispersal ability and the ability to reconstruct origin of a region's biota from current composiGon Developed first major classificaGon scheme for earth’s biota based on distribuGons and composiGon of birds (described over 1,000 species), principally passerines
Biogeographic line: a geographic boundary that animals (or plants) tend not to cross. Some lines are more permeable that others, some taxa less constrained.
1700 1800 1900 2000
Elliot, D. G. "In memoriam". The Auk 1914:31(1)
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Phillip Sclater (BriGsh, 1829-‐1913): Proposed six regions in 1858, each with a disGnct center of origin for respecGve regional faunas. Basic divisions are sGll recognized and used today: NearcGca (North America and parts of Mexico) PalearcGca (Eurasia) Neotropical (tropical central America and S. America) Aethiopica (Africa) Indica (Indian subconGnent) Australiana (Australia)
Elliot, D. G. "In memoriam". The Auk 1914:31(1)
1700 1800 1900 2000
Biogeographic regions
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http://www.radford.edu/~swoodwar/CLASSES/GEOG235/zoogeog/zooprov.gif
1700 1800 1900 2000
Biogeographic regions
Elliot, D. G. "In memoriam". The Auk 1914:31(1)
Phillip Sclater (BriGsh, 1829-‐1913): Proposed six regions in 1858, each with a disGnct center of origin for respecGve regional faunas. Basic divisions are sGll recognized and used today:
“The man who knew islands”
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Alfred R. Wallace (BriGsh, 1823-‐1913): More than any other, Wallace compiled observaGons on distribuGons, diversity, exGncGon, disjuncGons, and climate effects on distribuGon into a series of major works all between 1869 and 1880: “The Malay Archipelago”, “The Geographical DistribuGon of Animals”, and “Island Life” Refined Sclater's regions so that concordance in distribuGons of disGnct taxa substanGates the reality of those divisions and the processes generaGng them
Image credit: h6p://people.wku.edu/charles.smith/wallace/altphoto.htm
1700 1800 1900 2000
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Alfred R. Wallace (BriGsh, 1823-‐1913): Famous for recognizing Wallace’s Line which separates fauna of southeast Asian origin from those of Australian origin.
http://evolution.berkeley.edu/evolibrary/article/_0_0/history_16
“The man who knew islands”
Image credit: h6p://people.wku.edu/charles.smith/wallace/altphoto.htm
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http://www.libraryindex.com/pages/3194/Biological-Realms.html
“The man who knew islands”
Image credit: h6p://people.wku.edu/charles.smith/wallace/altphoto.htm
Alfred R. Wallace (BriGsh, 1823-‐1913):
Other Rules of Biogeography
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Several rules of biogeography stemmed from observaGons of geographical trends in species and their a6ributes The beginning of physiological biogeography where researchers conduct experiments to determine environmental and geneGc determinants of laGtudinal pa6erns.
Bergmann’s Rule (1847): Body size tends to increase with increasing laGtude Allen’s Rule (1878): Species at higher laGtudes tend to have shorter, smaller limbs than those at lower laGtudes. Jordan’s Rule (1881): Fish species / populaGons at higher laGtudes have more and smaller vertebrae than those from lower laGtudes
1700 1800 1900 2000
EvoluGonary Synthesis
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Classical Mendelian geneGcs, theoreGcal populaGon geneGcs, systemaGcs, and taxonomy unified into a comprehensive body of theory of evoluGonary change – how factors such as geneGc drii, mutaGon, and natural selecGon could drive evoluGonary change
J.B.S. Haldane S. Wright Sir R.A. Fisher
1700 1800 1900 2000
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T. Dobzhansky and E. Mayr promoted the importance of geographic isola6on in the origin of species. "Nothing makes sense in biology except in the light of evoluGon“ – T. Dobzhansky
EvoluGonary Synthesis
1700 1800 1900 2000
T. Dobzhansky E. Mayr
Four Key Developments aier 1960
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1) Acceptance of the theory of conGnental drii and plate tectonics (based largely on ideas of Alfred Wegener) due to irrefutable evidence from StraGgraphy, Paleoclimatology, Paleontology, Marine geology, PaleomagneGsm
h6p://geology12-‐8.wikispaces.com
h6p://www.unc.edu/depts/oceanweb/turtles/geomag.html
h6p://www.fossils.me.uk/html/pangea.html
1700 1800 1900 2000
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2) Phylogene6c systema6cs: the basic philosophy of reconstrucGng the historical and evoluGonary relaGonships among taxa
Phylogeny: the evoluGonary relaGonships between an ancestor taxa and all its known descendant taxa Phylogeography: an approach to biogeography that studies the geographic distribuGons of lineages within and among species
Four Key Developments aier 1960
1700 1800 1900 2000
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Image credit: Brown & Lomolino (1998) Biogeography 2nd ed. Sinauer Associates Inc., Sunderland, Mass. Hadrath & Baker (2001) Proc. R. Soc. Lond. B 268: 939-‐945
Four Key Developments aier 1960
2) Phylogene6c systema6cs: the basic philosophy of reconstrucGng the historical and evoluGonary relaGonships among taxa
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3) Ecological biogeography: contemporary interacGons and species relaGonships are important in the determinaGon of species range limits.
The Theory of Island Biogeography: MacArthur and Wilson (1963, 1967) proposed this theory to account for the observaGon that island size and species diversity are correlated. # species
rate
small
large
near
far
Four Key Developments aier 1960
1700 1800 1900 2000
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4) Technological advances allow old hypotheses to be tested rigorously and expand the spaGal scale of biogeographic inference: computers, satellites and remote sensing, geophysics, Geographical InformaGon Systems (GIS), molecular biology technology
Four Key Developments aier 1960
h6p://science.nasa.gov/iSat/
Jetz et al. 2012
References for this sec5on:
Bowen, B.W., A.B. Meylan, J.P. Ross, C.J. Limpus, G.H. Balazs, & J.C. Avise (1992) Global populaGon structure and natural history of the green turtle (Chelonia mydas) in terms of matriarchal phylogeny Evolu6on 46: 865-‐881. Brown, J.H. 1978. The theory of insular biogeography and the distribuGon of boreal birds and mammals. Great Basin Naturalist Memoirs 2: 209-‐227. Haddrath, O., & A.J. Baker (2001) Complete mitochondrial DNA geonome sequences of exGnct birds: raGte phylogeneGcs and the vicariance biogeography hypothesis Proc. R. Soc. Lond. B 268: 939-‐945. Jetz, W. G. H. Thomas, J. B. Joy, K. Hartmann & A. O. Mooers. 2012. The global diversity of birds in space and Gme. Nature 491: 444-‐448. Lomolino, M.V., B.R. Riddle, R.J. Whi6aker, & J.A. Brown. 2010b. Biogeography (4th ed.). Sinauer Associates, Inc., Sunderland, Mass. MacArthur, R.H. and Wilson, E.O. 1967 The Theory of Island Biogeography. Princeton University Press, Princeton, N.J. Mayr, E. 1982. The growth of biological thought. The Belknap Press of Harvard University. (Good source for biographical sketches of individuals) Quammen, D. 1996. The song of the dodo: island biogeography in an age of ex6nc6ons. Scribner, New York. (Great treatment of some the life and Gmes of A.R. Wallace and some of the more recent personaliGes in biogeography)
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Resources for understanding phylogenies: h6p://evoluGon.berkeley.edu/evolibrary/arGcle/evo_05
Image credit: Brown & Lomolino (1998) Biogeography 2nd ed. Sinauer Associates Inc., Sunderland, Mass.
Hadrath & Baker (2001) Proc. R. Soc. Lond. B 268: 939-‐945 34
Review: Phylogeny of flightless birds
past present Time (my)
