Biogeography is a science that studies geography and biology at the same time. It contains several sections. One of these is zoogeography. What is science and what does it do? Let's talk about it in this article.
What is zoogeography? Definition
From Greek zoon is translated as "animal". Zoogeography is a science that studies the patterns of distribution of various animals on Earth.
Why do certain animals occupy this particular location? Why is this range the best for certain species? These and many other questions can be answered by zoogeography.
About the habitat
Area is the place of distribution of any taxon of animals. It can be, for example, a class or a view. The range is characterized by the same range of environmental conditions over a fairly large area. Some species have a continuous range, and for many it is disjunctive, that is, it has gaps, it is not integral. Reasons for these gapsa lot. One of them is the ice age, when part of the northern forms penetrated to the south and vice versa. Broken areas are of various types. For example, dissected. Such an area is characteristic of relict taxa. The relict range is constantly shrinking, because due to the catastrophic extinction, the taxon loses the ability to renew itself. Back to the question, what does zoogeography study?
Zoogeography. Objects of study
The main objects of study of this science are the fauna and the above-mentioned range - the habitat of a certain taxon. Fauna is called the animal world. At the same time, both small faunas in a small area, for example, one area, and large faunas are distinguished. The latter include the fauna of the globe. Let's look at this with examples.
If you look at the fauna of different climatic zones, it becomes immediately clear that certain species of animals live in areas with suitable conditions. Some species live in the zone of deciduous forests, others live in the desert zone, and still others live in the ocean. And most importantly, they are all completely different. As already mentioned, this is due to environmental conditions, especially climate and vegetation. But nevertheless, it cannot be argued that this is the only reason.
Take South America and Africa. On both continents, different species live in the tropical rainforest zone, although the climate and plants are very similar. Here you need to delve into history. The continents of the globe were not formed simultaneously and not in the sameconditions, respectively, the animal world was formed similarly. Faunas, developing very isolatedly over a long period of time, acquire fundamental changes. It also happens vice versa. If there is a certain connection between two parts of the Earth located at a great distance from each other and an exchange of animals is possible, then faunas are formed in different parts of the planet, but with a similar type of animal world.
Therefore, it turns out that the distribution of animals in different habitats depends not only on environmental conditions, but also on past eras, the development of the earth's crust. Today, when man has a huge impact on nature, the world of fauna does not remain untouched. The anthropogenic factor greatly affects the distribution of animals around the globe. Changes in the animal world can lead to negative consequences. For example, to the extinction of a certain species. A person himself must control his activities so that there is no negative impact. To do this, he needs to study zoography.
What is zoogeography in biology?
Zoography is the distribution of animals on our planet. This science has several directions for research.
The first is to obtain data on the distribution of animals on Earth. The second is the study of the faunas of the globe, their similarities and differences. The third is the patterns of distribution of animals on the planet. At the same time, it is necessary to study the evolution of animals.
Problems of science
As a result, zoogeography putsclear tasks ahead. Firstly, the study of habitats and population, secondly, the causes and patterns of the settlement of animals in different areas, and thirdly, the influence of natural and human factors on the formation of fauna. But these are not all tasks.
Zoogeography is a science that not only studies the distribution of animals around the globe, but also predicts changes in the world of fauna. This is necessary in order to prevent any undesirable processes, for example, the complete disappearance of rare animals.
The Importance of Science
From all this we can conclude that zoogeography is the most important science that has developed and will continue to develop. Its study is necessary in the first place for humanity, the national economy. The science of zoogeography is designed to predict all possible changes in the big world of fauna and prevent negative consequences.
