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ZOOGEOGRAPHY
** The geographical distribution of animal species & populations on
the Earth's surface.
* What controls where an animal lives?
* The ecological niche or broader habitat and biome that the species has evolved
and/or adapted into.

* The various abiotic and biotic factors discussed earlier.

* Put simply, where the species can best survive.

Aquatic Life Zones

Two major divisions: Marine (Saltwater) & Freshwater

* These can also be delineated into different layers within the water column:
surface, middle, & bottom

* Some important environmental factors to consider in aquatic systems:

salinity, temperature, access to sunlight,

dissolved oxygen, availability of nutrients

Marine systems:
Coastal Zone is an area of high net primary productivity in relatively shallow water and
encompasses various ecosystems.

Sandy & Rocky Beaches/Shores are areas where the waves break onto
either a sand or rock beach, but areas that may support a wide variety
of plant and animal life.

Estuaries which are areas where freshwater & saltwater mix, such as the mouth/delta
of a river which empties into the ocean.

Coastal wetlands, which are areas of vegetation, covered with saltwater

either seasonally, or at high tide;
EX) Salt marshes & Mangrove

Coral reefs are found in relatively shallow, tropical waters often around islands and usually
always covered by saltwater.

Open Sea is an area of lower net primary productivity divided

into 3 vertical zones.

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Euphotic Zone is the level of high sunlight penetration which leads to high primary
productivity.

Bathyal Zone is the level of medium sunlight penetration and

lower primary productivity.

Abyssal Zone is the level of very low to no sunlight penetration and essentially no
primary productivity.

Freshwater systems:

Lakes can be classified based on their nutrient content & primary productivity.

Oligotrophic lakes are usually newly formed, nutrient-poor lakes, which are often deep &
have crystal clear blue or green water.

Eutrophic lakes are older, nutrient-rich with large supply of nutrients which are usually
shallower, and have a murky brown or green color & poor visibility.

Mesotrophic lakes are mature but not old lakes with nutrient and productivity
levels between the other two types. Most lakes fall within this category.

Rivers & Streams are often delineated into 3 zones:

Source Zone, which is the narrow, mountain stream section usually located at higher
elevations. (Youthful Stage)

Transition Zone, which is the wider, lower-elevation stream section. (Mature Stage)

Flood Plain Zone which is the very wide, gradual sloped river section and encompasses the
area of rivers which empty into the ocean. (Old Age Stage)

Inland wetlands can included a variety of habitats which are a

mixture of plants and open water.

Marshes are low, poorly drained freshwater systems dominated by grasses and with less
open water than lakes. Their water supply may be very seasonal.

Swamps are more permanent, waterlogged freshwater systems dominated by trees and
shrubs.

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EX: Okefenokee Swamp in Georgia

Prairie potholes are freshwater depressions carved out by glaciers,

usually a mixture of grasses, trees and open water.
EX: kettle lakes found in the northern Great Plains

Floodplains are the areas on the sides of rivers which receive the
excess water during heavy rains & floods.

Zoogeographic Realm is a geographically based delineation of

animal assemblages. Various barriers differentiate realms, usually
oceans, deserts or mountains.

* The world can be separated into ten Zoogeographic Realms:

Neoarctic (Nearctic), Paleoarctic (Palearctic), Neotropical,
Paleotropic, Madagascan, Indo-Malayan, Australian,
New Zealand, Pacific and Antarctic.
********pp slides will be biomes and animals
Neoarctic Realm encompasses North America, Greenland, and the
Central Highlands of Mexico.

* It is one of the least diverse realms.

EX: American bison, pronghorn antelope, bald eagle, opossum,

prairie dogs, whooping crane, American alligator, etc.

Paleoarctic Realm encompasses Europe, northern Asia (north of the

Himalayas), & North Africa (north of the Sahel).

* This is also an area of relatively low diversity.

EX: Siberian Tiger, panda, European Bison

* The Paleoarctic & Neoarctic are sometimes combined and

known by the term Holarctic.

EX: polar bear, walrus, bearded seal, musk ox, etc.

Neotropic Realm encompasses the coastal areas of Mexico, and all of Central & South
America.

* One of the richest & most diverse faunal assemblages is found in this
realm.

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EX: tapir, jaguar, llama, vicuna, macaws, numerous

marsupials (2nd only to Australia), boa constrictor,
prehensile-tailed monkeys, etc.

Paleotropic Realm encompasses the area in Africa south of the Sahara known as Sub-
Saharan Africa.

* Also one of the richest & most varied faunal assemblages of any realm.

EX: zebra, giraffe, hyena, ostrich, gorilla, chimpanzee,

numerous antelope species, cheetah, lion, etc.

Madagascan Realm is the island of Madagascar & nearby Comoro islands.

* These islands exhibit an animal assemblage quite different from

Africa, despite their proximity.

EX: lemurs, elephant shrew

Indo-Malayan Realm encompasses the south central & southeast Asia areas.

* This realm exhibits a fairly diverse fauna, but not quite as

diverse as the Neotropic or the Paleotropic owing to its smaller
areal extant.

EX: orangutan, Bengal tiger, Indian elephant, Mongoose

Australian Realm encompasses Australia, New Guinea & nearby islands.

* Australia has the highest diversity of marsupial mammals of

any realm or region on Earth. All placental mammals (but a
species of bat) brought in by humans.

EX: kangaroo, wombat, Tasmanian devil, emu, koala

* Australia is also the only known place where Monotreme mammals reside.
(Duck-billed platypus, Spiny echidna)

New Zealand Realm has a rather unique fauna comprising many

animals not found in Australia.

* New Zealand has no endemic or native mammals, only those

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brought in by humans.

* Endemic species include the kiwi, & the tuatara.

Pacific Realm encompasses the islands of the Pacific not included

in any other realm to include Fiji, Hawaii, Galapagos, etc.

* Each island group is often quite unique due to its isolation.

EX: Hawaiian honeycreepers (birds), Galapagos finches,

Galapagos tortoise, etc.

OTHER TOPICS OF CONCERN IN BIOGEOGRAPHY:

Conservation of plants, animals their habitats and ecosystems.
* One topic is whether the emphasis should be on saving single species, or should the
emphasis be on saving whole habitats & ecosystems, and thus several species at once.

* One idea in this debate involving saving habitats & ecosystems is

how much area to protect or what size should the protection
areas be. It is encompassed in the acronym SLOSS (Single Large
Or Several Small) basically meaning should reserves, parks, etc.
be large entities or should several smaller sized areas be preserved.

Habitat Destruction carried out by humans is another important

topic in conservation because it affects populations, species,
biodiversity, etc.

* It has the effect of increasing extinction rates and is considered the main cause of
extinction among plant & animal species today.

Introduced or Exotic Species (Alien species) can be as influential

as habitat destruction in pushing species to extinction.
* Most exotic species are generalists and thus often out-compete the native
species pushing them toward extinction or at least reducing their numbers and range.

EX: kudzu into southern US, mongoose into Hawaii,

Argentine fire ant into US, rabbits into Australia