Marine Biogeography

Flashcards covering key vocabulary and concepts in marine biogeography.

Biogeography

Explores the distribution of species, how groupings of such species form distinct ecosystems and their geographical limits.

Alfred Wallace

Father of biogeography

Historical Explanations in Biogeography

Focuses on past, large-scale events shaping species distributions.

Ecological Explanations in Biogeography

Focuses on current, small-scale factors like hydrodynamics and species' physiological tolerances.

Benthic Zone

The seafloor and its associated organisms.

Pelagic Zone

The water column and its associated organisms.

Photic Zone

The upper layer of the ocean that receives sunlight.

Aphotic Zone

The dark layer of the ocean below the photic zone.

Deep Sea

The ocean below approximately 200 meters.

Biome

A large collection of types of flora and fauna occupying a major habitat (e.g., tropical rainforest, coral reef).

Biogeographic Realms

Very large areas with internally coherent biotas at higher taxonomic levels due to shared evolutionary history.

Biogeographic Provinces/Regions

Areas with distinct biotas and some level of endemism, especially at the species level, resulting from isolation.

Endemism

Species being unique to a defined geographic location.

Marine Snow

Sinking organic matter that deep-sea life relies on as a food source.

Thermocline

The boundary between the upper mixed zone and deeper water in the ocean.

Halocline

A zone of rapid change in salinity with depth.

Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC)

World’s largest current that enhances dispersal within the current but acts as a soft barrier to species either side.

Vicariance

The process by which the geographical range of a species is split by a physical barrier.

Lessepsian Migration

Faunal exchange, mostly from South to North, between the Red Sea and the Mediterranean Sea via the Suez Canal.

Ballast Water

Water loaded by cargo ships for stability, which may contain aquatic species and lead to biological invasions.

Tsunami Rafting

Transoceanic biological dispersal via debris generated by tsunamis.