multiple choice biogeography

Why are there no large mammalian predators in Australia?

This can at least partly be explained by the occurrence of large reptile predators

What is the island biogeography theory of MacArthur and Wilson known for?

It looks at species as numerical entities and describes the equilibrium between colonisation and extinction

What is Wallace known for?

His evolution theory in line with Darwin, but mainly as the father of zoogeography

Why is Hawaii a type 3 island?

Because the ancestral fauna and flora came from older islands in the northwest of the Hawaiian island chain

Why do Australia and South America have high endemism?

Because of isolation

What is Triodia?

An endemic drought-resistant grass from Australia

What is the Miombo?

The largest tropical dry forest on Earth

Gymnosperms vs angiosperms: which is more resistant to frost and which to drought?

Gymnosperms are more resistant to frost than angiosperms, but less resistant to drought

What are psammophores (psammophytes)?

Plants that are frequently blasted by sand; adapted to sandy, wind-exposed environments

What is Osmunda?

A type of fern dating back to the Triassic

What are climate relict species?

Survivors of previously widely distributed groups that now live in small areas of suitable climate (e.g. glacial relicts)

Why is the current diversity of large forest herbivores higher in Africa than in South America?

More savanna and grassland and also evolved there

What is Alexander von Humboldt known for?

As the father of plant geography

Where does Nothofagus occur?

Mostly found in Australia, but also in some other places

What is Glossopteris?

The dominant flora of the southern hemisphere during the Permian era (a seed fern)

What was the original Cape flora before the ice ages / onset of global cooling?

Rainforest

What is the Miocene flora of New Zealand and how did it originate?

Sclerophyllous and rainforest flora that arrived by dispersal from Australia

Why are there more large herbivores in Africa than in South America today?

Humans hunted them to extinction in South America

Where did the lion (Panthera leo) originate and where does it occur now?

Originated in asia then migrated to afrika during the miocene exchange, now only in afrika

Where do prosimians occur?

In Africa, Madagascar and eastern Asia

What is the Romanian hamster's distribution?

endemic and restricted to the region of the black sea

How can the total number of existing species be estimated?

By extrapolation on the basis of well-known and easily identifiable species (e.g. butterflies)

What are temperate grasslands characterised by in terms of soil and plant type?

Nutrient-rich soils and mainly C4 plants

What is Brachystegia?

A tree genus that dominates the Miombo, the largest tropical dry forest on Earth

Why would plants be carnivorous?

Low nutrients

Where does the tapir occur?

Oriental (india and se asia) and South america

What is the giant anteater a typical representative of?

Xenarthra

What disjunction is known with the Ratidae?

geographical and evolutionary