Comparative Review of Cladistic Approaches to Historical Biogeography of Southern South America      

       Cladistic historical biogeographic studies on the austral continents are briefly reviewed with special reference to southern South America. The biogeography of marsupials, southern beeches and the relationships of New Zealand and southern South America are compared. No general pattern of interrelationships is common to all the analyses. Differences in delimitation of areas, selection of taxa and techniques applied are discussed as possible causes of incongruities. The comparative review of these empirical studies reveals that, although it is valid to investigate the existence of a unique pattern of interrelationships among areas of endemism, this cannot be considered as an a priori assumption in the analyses. Australia Systematic Botany

original link: http://Apiaceae.github.io/blog/2009/03/13/%E5%8E%86%E5%8F%B2%E7%94%9F%E7%89%A9%E5%9C%B0%E7%90%86%E5%AD%A6%E7%9A%84%E7%A0%94%E7%A9%B6%E6%96%B9%E6%B3%95/
 written by Hooker  posted at http://Apiaceae.github.io

The resurrection of oceanic dispersal in historical biogeography

         Geographical distributions of terrestrial or freshwater taxa that are broken up by oceans can be explained by either oceanic dispersal or vicariance in the form of fragmentation of a previously contiguous landmass. The validation of plate-tectonics theory provided a global vicariance mechanism and, along with cladistic arguments for the primacy of vicariance, helped create a view of oceanic dispersal as a rare phenomenon and an explanation of last resort. Here, I describe recent work that suggests that the importance of oceanic dispersal has been strongly underestimated. In particular, molecular dating of lineage divergences favors oceanic dispersal over tectonic vicariance as an explanation for disjunct distributions in a wide variety of taxa, from frogs to beetles to baobab trees. Other evidence, such as substantial gene flow among island populations of Anolis lizards, also indicates unexpectedly high frequencies of oceanic dispersal. The resurrection of oceanic dispersal is the most striking aspect of a major shift in historical biogeography toward a more even balance between vicariance and dispersal explanations. This new view implies that biotas are more dynamic and have more recent origins than had been thought previously. A high frequency of dispersal also suggests that a fundamental methodological assumption of many biogeographical studies – that vicariance is a priori a more probable explanation than dispersal – needs to be re-evaluated and perhaps discarded.

original link: http://Apiaceae.github.io/blog/2009/03/13/%E9%95%BF%E8%B7%9D%E7%A6%BB%E6%95%A3%E5%B8%83-LDD%28long+distance+dispersal%29%E7%9A%84%E7%94%9F%E7%89%A9%E5%9C%B0%E7%90%86%E5%AD%A6/
 written by Hooker  posted at http://Apiaceae.github.io

The first biogeographical map     The first biogeographical map was published in the third edition of the Flore franc竌ise by Lamarck and Candolle in 1805, the same year in which Humboldt’s famous Essai sur la Geographie appeared. Lamarck and Candolle’s map marks the beginning of a deive or classificatory biogeography focusing on the study of biota rather than on the distributional pathways of taxa. The map is relevant because it heralds the beginning of the creation of biogeographical maps popularized by zoogeographers in the mid- to late nineteenth century together with the study of biogeographical regions.

original link: http://Apiaceae.github.io/blog/2009/03/13/%E6%9C%80%E6%97%A9%E7%9A%84%E7%94%9F%E7%89%A9%E5%9C%B0%E7%90%86%E5%AD%A6%E5%9C%B0%E5%9B%BE/
 written by Hooker  posted at http://Apiaceae.github.io

Conservation Biogeography: assessment and prospect     

         There is general agreement among scientists that biodiversity is under assault on a global basis and that species are being lost at a greatly enhanced rate. This article examines the role played by biogeographical science in the emergence of conservation guidance and makes the case for the recognition ofConservation Biogeography as a key subfield of conservation biology delimited as: the application of biogeographical principles, theories, and analyses, being those concerned with the distributional dynamics of taxa individually and collectively, to problems concerning the conservation of biodiversity.

       Conservation biogeography thus encompasses both a substantial body of theory and analysis, and some of the most prominent planning works used in conservation. Considerable advances in conservation guidelines have been made over the last few decades by applying biogeographical methods and principles. Herein we provide a critical review focussed on the sensitivity to assumptions inherent in the applications we examine.

In particular, we focus on four inter-related factors:

• (i) scale dependency (both spatial and temporal);
• (ii) inadequacies in taxonomic and distributional data (the so-called Linnean and Wallacean shortfalls);
• (iii) effects of model structure and parameterisation; and
• (iv) inadequacies of theory.

These generic problems are illustrated by reference to studies ranging from the application of historical biogeography, through island biogeography, and complementarity analyses to bioclimatic envelope modelling. There is a great deal of uncertainty inherent in predictive analyses in conservation biogeography and this area in particular presents considerable challenges.

Protected area planning works and their resulting map outputs are amongst the most powerful and influential applications within conservation biogeography, and at the global scale are characterised by the production, by a small number of prominent NGOs, of bespoke schemes, which serve both to mobilise funds and channel efforts in a highly targeted fashion. We provide a simple typology of protected area planning works, with particular reference to the global scale, and provide a brief critique of some of their strengths and weaknesses. Finally, we discuss the importance, especially at regional scales, of developing more responsive analyses and models that integrate pattern (the compositionalist approach) and processes (the alist approach) such as range collapse and climate change, again noting the sensitivity of outcomes to starting assumptions. We make the case for the greater engagement of the biogeographical community in a programme of evaluation and refinement of all such schemes to test their robustness and their sensitivity to alternative conservation priorities and goals.

Keywords: Conservation biogeography, models, protected area works, scale, sensitivity analysis, uncertainty.

original link: http://Apiaceae.github.io/blog/2009/03/13/%E4%BF%9D%E6%8A%A4%E7%94%9F%E7%89%A9%E5%9C%B0%E7%90%86%E5%AD%A6%E7%A0%94%E7%A9%B6%E8%BF%9B%E5%B1%95/
 written by Hooker  posted at http://Apiaceae.github.io

Multiple gene evidence for expansion of extant penguins out of Antarctica due to global cooling    

        Classic problems in historical biogeography are where did penguins originate, and why are such mobile birds restricted to the Southern Hemisphere? Competing hypotheses posit they arose in tropical–warm temperate waters, species-diverse cool temperate regions, or in Gondwanaland w100 mya when it was further north.

         To test these hypotheses we constructed a strongly supported phylogeny of extant penguins from 5851 bp of mitochondrial and nuclear DNA. Using Bayesian inference of ancestral areas we show that an Antarctic origin of extant taxa is highly likely, and that more derived taxa occur in lower latitudes. Molecular dating estimated penguins originated about 71 million years ago in Gondwanaland when it was further south and cooler.

        Moreover, extant taxa are inferred to have originated in the Eocene, coincident with the extinction of the larger-bodied fossil taxa as global climate cooled. We hypothesize that, as Antarctica became ice-encrusted, modern penguins expanded via the circumpolar current to oceanic islands within the Antarctic Convergence, and later to the southern continents.

       Thus, global cooling has had a major impact on penguin evolution, as it has on vertebrates generally. Penguins only reached cooler tropical waters in the Galapagos about 4 mya, and have not crossed the equatorial thermal barrier.

Keywords: penguins; divergence time; biogeography; nuclear DNA; mitochondrial DNA

original link: http://Apiaceae.github.io/blog/2009/03/13/%E4%BC%81%E9%B9%85%E7%9A%84%E8%B0%B1%E7%B3%BB%E7%94%9F%E7%89%A9%E5%9C%B0%E7%90%86%E5%AD%A6/
 written by Hooker  posted at http://Apiaceae.github.io

   Nature network是一个致力与让世界科学家通过互联网在全球和地区水平上就共同关心和感兴趣问题进行讨论的网站。科学家通过相互的交流和讨论能够从中获得有价值的信息。网站有一些比较有趣的讨论和话题，比如：对如何成为一个好的研究生导师。

original link: http://Apiaceae.github.io/blog/2009/03/13/%E6%9C%89%E5%85%B3%E8%87%AA%E7%84%B6%E7%BD%91%E7%BB%9C%E4%BD%93%E7%B3%BB-Nature+network/
 written by Hooker  posted at http://Apiaceae.github.io

Cybertaxonomy

         The fusion of taxonomy with cyberinfrastructure will transform descriptive taxonomy, creating a modern, efficient science to confront the biodiversity crisis. Cybertaxonomy will enable international teams of taxon experts, museums and herbaria to create and test taxonomic knowledge to assure humanity’s access to reliable information about earth’s species. The IISE and its partners are forging cybertaxonomy as the next logical link in a chain of scholarship unbroken since the time of Linnaeus.

        The challenge is immense: discovering and describing millions of unknown species while at the same time continually critically testing 1.8 million already named species. International “knowledge communities,” each focused on a major taxon, will assemble and continually improve and expand all that is known of our world’s species. We are conceiving a taxonomy-specific cyberinfrastructure that will become a worldwide “species observatory” capable of opening access to museum specimens, archived literature, collection data, digital instrumentation and colleagues to vastly expedite descriptive taxonomy. Resultant taxon “knowledge banks” will be the 21st century equivalent of revisions and monographs… the “high throughput” species testing mechanisms of the past. Digital tools, instruments and robots can ease constraints on nearly every phase of taxonomy from collecting and preparing specimens to sharing what is known through user-defined portals such as the Encyclopedia of Life (www.eol.org). Knowing earth’s species and their myriad characters are fundamental to both evolutionary and environmental biology. The costs of building this new taxonomy are insignificant by comparison to the costs of ignorance as we face the biodiversity crisis.

          The IISE will focus on four inter-related areas: (1) Species Inventories and Collection Development; (2) Revisionary Taxonomy and Monography; (3) Cyberinfrastructure; and (4) the History and Philosophy of Taxonomy

Original link: http://species.asu.edu/

original link: http://Apiaceae.github.io/blog/2009/03/13/%E4%BB%80%E4%B9%88%E6%98%AF%E7%94%B5%E5%AD%90%E5%88%86%E7%B1%BB%E5%AD%A6-Cybertaxonomy/
 written by Hooker  posted at http://Apiaceae.github.io

Book Description
       Using theory, applications, and examples of inferences, Niche Modeling: Predictions from Statistical Distributions demonstrates how to conduct and evaluate niche modeling projects in any area of application.

        It features a series of theoretical and practical exercises for developing and evaluating niche models using the R statistics language. The author discusses applications of predictive modeling methods with reference to valid inferences from assumptions. He elucidates varied and simplified examples with rigor and completeness. Topics include geographic information systems, multivariate modeling, artificial intelligence methods, data handling, and information infrastructure.

         Above all, successful niche modeling requires a deep understanding of the process of creating and using probability. Off-the-shelf statistical packages are tailored exactly to applications but can hide problematic complexities. Recipe book implementations fail to educate users in the details, assumptions, and pitfalls of analysis, but may be able to adapt to the specific needs of each study. Examining the sources of errors such as autocorrelation, bias, long term persistence, nonlinearity, circularity, and fraud, this seminal reference provides an understanding of the limitations and potential pitfalls of prediction, emphasizing the importance of avoiding errors.

original link: http://Apiaceae.github.io/blog/2009/03/13/%E7%94%9F%E6%80%81%E4%BD%8D%E6%A8%A1%E5%9E%8B%E9%A2%84%E6%B5%8B%E6%96%B0%E4%B9%A6%E4%B8%8A%E6%9E%B6/
 written by Hooker  posted at http://Apiaceae.github.io

original link: http://Apiaceae.github.io/blog/2009/03/13/Geomapping+of+Life-%E6%88%91%E4%BB%AC%E9%9C%80%E8%A6%81%E5%AE%83%EF%BC%9F/
 written by Hooker  posted at http://Apiaceae.github.io

Taxonomists discover, describe and classify species. Millions of species remain unknown or unidentifiable, inaccessible to science and society. Charting the species of the world and their unique attributes are essential parts of understanding the history of life. Reliable taxonomic information is a necessary for managing sustainable ecosystems, attaining conservation goals, and detecting introductions of pests, vectors and invasive species. Traditional taxonomic tools and methods have theoretical rigor and rich intellectual content, but are not keeping pace with this growing need for knowledge. How can we increase the pace at which species exploration progresses while maintaining the scientific rigor of traditional taxonomy?

original link: http://Apiaceae.github.io/blog/2009/03/13/21%E4%B8%96%E7%BA%AA%E7%9A%84%E7%89%A9%E7%A7%8D%E6%8E%A2%E9%99%A9-Species+exploration/
 written by Hooker  posted at http://Apiaceae.github.io