Biogeography: Species Diversity and Global Patterns

Flashcards covering key concepts and vocabulary from the biogeography lecture.

Biogeography

The study of variation in species composition and diversity among geographic locations.

Alpha Diversity (α)

Species richness of local communities, also known as 'within-habitat diversity' or community richness.

Beta Diversity (β)

Change or turnover in species composition over small distances, referred to as 'between-habitat diversity'.

Gamma Diversity (γ)

Total species richness over a large geographic area, represents the combined influence of alpha and beta diversity.

Intermediate Disturbance Hypothesis

Suggests that species diversity peaks at intermediate levels of disturbance.

Latitudinal Gradient in Diversity

Observes that species diversity increases towards the tropics and decreases toward the poles.

Species Richness

The number of different species represented in a given community.

Regional Species Pool

The total number of species that are found in a given geographical area.

Abiotic Filter

Environmental conditions that limit species’ geographic distributions.

Biotic Filter

Species interactions that limit species diversity and composition.