Biogeography Exam 1 ACTUAL Exam
Questions and CORRECT Answers
What is biogeography? - CORRECT ANSWER - The study of the geographical
distribution of organisms, their habitats, and the historical and biological factors which produced
them
Biogeography goals (2 of them) - CORRECT ANSWER - 1. Develop natural laws and
concepts that explain biogeographic processes and account for the development of biotic
distributions
2. Provide baseline information on the spatial and temporal distribution of organisms that can be
used to conserve and manage Earth's biotic resources and heritage
What are some big questions in biogeography - CORRECT ANSWER - How are
organisms distributed over the surface of the Earth and over the history of Earth? What
organisms are found where? How are these organisms adapted to the local environment? How
have their distributions changed through time?
What sciences does biogeography draw from? - CORRECT ANSWER - Geography,
Ecology, Population Biology, Systematics, Evolutionary Biology, Genetics, and Geology
Biogeographic Specializations - CORRECT ANSWER - Phytogeography- plants
Zoogeography- animals
Microbial biogeography- microbes
Historical Biogeographic approach - CORRECT ANSWER - reconstruct the origins,
dispersal, and extinctions of taxa and biotas
Ecological Biogeographic approach - CORRECT ANSWER - accounts for the present
distributions in terms of interactions between organisms and their biotic and physical
environments
,Paleo Biogeographic approach - CORRECT ANSWER - bridges historical and ecological-
investigates relationships between communities and abiotic conditions
Analytical Biogeographic approach - CORRECT ANSWER - develop general
mathematical rules of how geography effects the evolution and distribution of organisms (what
will be where when?)
Conservation Biogeographic approach - CORRECT ANSWER - protection and restoration
of natural environments
Field-based biogeographic methods - CORRECT ANSWER - Descriptive- document
ranges
Process driven- examine system processes
Conceptual Biogeographic methods - CORRECT ANSWER - Theoretical models
Experimental biogeographic methods - CORRECT ANSWER - manipulate the system to
test hypotheses (like when they did an experiment where they killed everything on an island and
documented it as they came back)
Biogeographic Techniques - CORRECT ANSWER - GIS & Remote sensing, Statistical
Analysis, Automated ground-based data collection (like stream gauges), etc..
How can pattern imply process - CORRECT ANSWER - pattern- nonrandom, repetitive
variation of focal elements among units or along relevant gradients
Process- the underlying mechanism causing a problem
So if there is a pattern then there is a process causing that pattern
Uniformitarianism vs. Actualism - CORRECT ANSWER - Uniformitarianism- assumption
that the basic
, physical and biological processes operating on Earth today have operated throughout time and
are manifestations of universal scientific laws (we know this isn't true)
Actualism- processes driving speciation, dispersal, and extinction operated in the past by the
same mechanisms as today, but varying in their rates and relative importance
Scale definition and what happens when it changes? - CORRECT ANSWER - In space
and through time
When the scale changes, so can the controls on patter and process; Like in Oklahoma it matters
which side of the state you're talking about when mentioning precipitation
Outcomes of the Age of Exploration - CORRECT ANSWER - it was motivated by
economic and political gains, but it enabled global-scale views of the natural world for the first
time and laid the foundations for modern biogeography
George-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon - CORRECT ANSWER - Noted the dissimilarity
in Old World and New World mammal species
Histoire Naturelle
-36 volumes
-Information on the distribution of biota
Buffon's Law
Buffon's Law - CORRECT ANSWER - Different parts of the world, even with similar
climate and environment conditions, are often inhabited by distinct kinds of plants and animals
James Cook First Voyage - CORRECT ANSWER - 1768-1771- HMS Endeavor
Joseph Banks was involved
Collected:
3,600 plant specimens
500 fish
Questions and CORRECT Answers
What is biogeography? - CORRECT ANSWER - The study of the geographical
distribution of organisms, their habitats, and the historical and biological factors which produced
them
Biogeography goals (2 of them) - CORRECT ANSWER - 1. Develop natural laws and
concepts that explain biogeographic processes and account for the development of biotic
distributions
2. Provide baseline information on the spatial and temporal distribution of organisms that can be
used to conserve and manage Earth's biotic resources and heritage
What are some big questions in biogeography - CORRECT ANSWER - How are
organisms distributed over the surface of the Earth and over the history of Earth? What
organisms are found where? How are these organisms adapted to the local environment? How
have their distributions changed through time?
What sciences does biogeography draw from? - CORRECT ANSWER - Geography,
Ecology, Population Biology, Systematics, Evolutionary Biology, Genetics, and Geology
Biogeographic Specializations - CORRECT ANSWER - Phytogeography- plants
Zoogeography- animals
Microbial biogeography- microbes
Historical Biogeographic approach - CORRECT ANSWER - reconstruct the origins,
dispersal, and extinctions of taxa and biotas
Ecological Biogeographic approach - CORRECT ANSWER - accounts for the present
distributions in terms of interactions between organisms and their biotic and physical
environments
,Paleo Biogeographic approach - CORRECT ANSWER - bridges historical and ecological-
investigates relationships between communities and abiotic conditions
Analytical Biogeographic approach - CORRECT ANSWER - develop general
mathematical rules of how geography effects the evolution and distribution of organisms (what
will be where when?)
Conservation Biogeographic approach - CORRECT ANSWER - protection and restoration
of natural environments
Field-based biogeographic methods - CORRECT ANSWER - Descriptive- document
ranges
Process driven- examine system processes
Conceptual Biogeographic methods - CORRECT ANSWER - Theoretical models
Experimental biogeographic methods - CORRECT ANSWER - manipulate the system to
test hypotheses (like when they did an experiment where they killed everything on an island and
documented it as they came back)
Biogeographic Techniques - CORRECT ANSWER - GIS & Remote sensing, Statistical
Analysis, Automated ground-based data collection (like stream gauges), etc..
How can pattern imply process - CORRECT ANSWER - pattern- nonrandom, repetitive
variation of focal elements among units or along relevant gradients
Process- the underlying mechanism causing a problem
So if there is a pattern then there is a process causing that pattern
Uniformitarianism vs. Actualism - CORRECT ANSWER - Uniformitarianism- assumption
that the basic
, physical and biological processes operating on Earth today have operated throughout time and
are manifestations of universal scientific laws (we know this isn't true)
Actualism- processes driving speciation, dispersal, and extinction operated in the past by the
same mechanisms as today, but varying in their rates and relative importance
Scale definition and what happens when it changes? - CORRECT ANSWER - In space
and through time
When the scale changes, so can the controls on patter and process; Like in Oklahoma it matters
which side of the state you're talking about when mentioning precipitation
Outcomes of the Age of Exploration - CORRECT ANSWER - it was motivated by
economic and political gains, but it enabled global-scale views of the natural world for the first
time and laid the foundations for modern biogeography
George-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon - CORRECT ANSWER - Noted the dissimilarity
in Old World and New World mammal species
Histoire Naturelle
-36 volumes
-Information on the distribution of biota
Buffon's Law
Buffon's Law - CORRECT ANSWER - Different parts of the world, even with similar
climate and environment conditions, are often inhabited by distinct kinds of plants and animals
James Cook First Voyage - CORRECT ANSWER - 1768-1771- HMS Endeavor
Joseph Banks was involved
Collected:
3,600 plant specimens
500 fish
