A synthetic nature of biogeography

Biogeography – the study of the geographical distribution of organisms and their communities. On the basis of knowledge of ecological features and different kinds of relationships and groups, taking into account modern physical geography (climate, hydrology, geomorphology, soil geochemical, etc.) and paleogeographic characteristics of the territory biogeography aims to identify patterns of geographic distribution of organisms and communities, to reveal its causes, the causes of the structural-functional and historical features live cover our planet. Biogeographical knowledge of the facts and laws need to solve complex and critical problems of protection and rational use of resources of the biosphere. In this practical purposes biogeography merge with the objectives of the general ecology and other biological sciences and earth sciences. Specificity of biogeography is, on the one hand, to obtain complex conjugate of data on the organic world of a country, and on the other – in the comparative geographical approach to the analysis and interpretation of the data.
Biogeography with comparative geographical research methods can, in principle, to predict the results of various planned and random effects on the biosphere. In this biogeographer acts like an observer and interpreter of the experiments performed by nature. Most often, especially to put such experiments can not be – it’s either too risky for the biosphere, or require millennia to produce the final results. However, the interpretation of the different biogeographic human impact on wildlife can also provide valuable information that will be necessary in the future.
Biogeography uses many of the concepts and principles in common with other biological and geographical sciences. Moreover, biogeography is essential rank of a number of the most important parts of systematics and ecology of plants and animals, landscape management, and private physical and geographical disciplines, mapping, geochemistry, soil science, and requires some mathematical nature of the information (statistics, information theory, etc.).
Complex, synthetic nature of biogeography defines a specific set of terms, the “language” of science, which has a borrowing and its own specific biogeographical concepts. However, the latter, in turn, are often used in other sciences. In the future, the narrative will be gradually introduced and explained by a number used in the biogeography of special words and expressions. Here, some attention will be given to the terms and concepts, particularly necessary in the introductory sections of the course. In this initial brief definitions in the following sections can be deepened and better understood by specific examples.
At the beginning of this section has been mentioned about the communities of organisms. Most often just say “community”, meaning by this expression of any group of organisms of a particular area. What kind of grouping and what area – are usually seen out of context. For example, one can speak of a particular community of a small-sized area of ​​forest, meadows, lakes, or even temporary spring pools. You can talk about the community spruce forest, steppe, desert Karakum or Lake Baikal. You can talk about the community in general, bearing in mind the complex co-inhabiting organisms. In all these cases, as is sometimes used as a synonym for the expression “group of organisms”, “biocenosis”, in some publications in the same general sense used the term “biota”.
Many researchers are calling for a more narrow and limited interpretation of the words “biocenosis” and “biota”. However, if any start to use the term in a broad sense, then it is usually not possible “narrow.” So here all the above set of words used in the same sense as synonymous. If you want to narrow, limit, specify any concept, it is easy to do with the additional words and characteristics.
The most common examples of these more specific concepts serve any part of this community, united by the topical or systematic basis. In such cases it is also common grouping concept of “community”, “cenosis”, “grouping”, “complex”, etc., in combination with other words. So, you can say “community of plants”, “community animal”, “bird community,” “community of fungi.” All of these concepts, respectively, can also be expressed in other terms: phytocenosis, Zoocenosis, ornitotsenoz, mikotsenoz. In all these cases have in mind first of all co-habitation for a certain length of time. In this case, it is not necessary (as is often said), the close relationship between the members of cenosis, although the presence of certain relationships (even if only topical) in any cenosis (the community) is not in doubt. Most also speak of the communities holes, soil and litter, foliage or grass cover, etc. Some such communities are special names. For example, a community pond bottom dwellers called benthic community hovering in mid-water organisms – plankton, actively moving in the water column – nekton associated with the surface film of water – neuston. Plankton, nekton and Neuston form in the amount of pelagic community (pelagic community). It can be concluded that the terms derived from the words “community” and “cenosis” can measure a very wide range of critical concepts used in biogeography.
To the concept of “community of animals” and “exotic worm” is very close to the concept of “animal people.” In some cases, it may be synonymous. In practice, its use is usually at the forefront always put the quantitative characteristics (number of individuals and their mass per unit area), the ratio of the abundance of different species of animals and groups of any size.
In addition, the concept of “animal people” is like a zoogeographical a parallel analogue of the term “green.” In the first case, a set of combinations of animals (the set of combinations zoocenoses), and the second – a set of combinations of plants (plant communities).