Starting from the very beginnings of the existence of the planet, the course takes the participant on a journey through the different stages of the geological and biological history of the Earth. The student learns about the earliest organisms that inhabited the planet and how through evolution and under the influence of ever changing climatic, geological physical and chemical conditions the Earth brought forward an array of different species. The student learns how millions of species have appeared and gone extinct and that today’s biodiversity, although the highest our planet has seen, is merely a snapshot in the Earth’s on-going history. The course shows how the Earth’s tectonics influenced the climatic condition through history and how this in turn influenced the distribution of living organisms in the past until today. Thus, the student gains a thorough understanding of the processes that shaped past and present biomes. In addition, the students learn about why and how organisms disperse in space, and what limits the distribution of those organisms. Particular emphasis is laid on the description of the Earth’s major biomes using videos, images and sound recordings. The student also gains insight into the history of Biogeography as a scientific discipline from the earliest contributors to modern times. In a supportive environment the participants are challenged to develop a unifying concept for Biogeography leading onto the understanding of the central Theory of Island Biogeography by MacArthur and Wilson.
As this course has no prerequisites, all the natural (biological, chemical, physical) processes required for the full understanding of the taught material are thoroughly explained.
The student is given the opportunity to give a presentation or write an essay on a biogeographical aspect of their choice with the supervision of the course convenor.
- Biogeography and physical environment: Principles and History of Biogeography. Physical environment. Distributions of communities.
- World’s major biomes: Mediterranean (-type climate) biome, different desert biomes, tropical rain forest, temperate forest, boreal forest biomes, alpine biome, temperate grassland biome, savannah biome, arctic biome etc.
- Earth's tectonic history – Effects on species distribution: Glaciations (extent and causes and effects of glaciations – biogeographic responses to glaciations).
- Species distribution in time and space. Speciation and extinction. Dispersal and range expansion. Endemism, provincialism, and disjunction.
- Island biogeography: Patterns in species richness – patterns in assembly and evolution of insular communities. Evolutionary trends on islands. Theory of Island Biogeography (area effect, distance effect on species richness).
