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Lecture 1 Key definitions and concepts
Biogeography- the study of past and present distributions of organisms
Phytogeography – the study of past and present distributions of plants
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Ecological biogeography – study of modern relationships between organisms and their environment
Historical biogeography – study of the past distributions and evolution of organisms
Conservation biogeography – application of biogeographic studies for conservation
Ecology - The scientific study of the processes influencing the distribution and abundance of
organisms, the interactions among organisms, and the interactions between organisms and the
transformation and flux of energy and matter
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Trophic levels; the different levels of an
ecosystem which energy flows
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1-0
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This is because of inefficient energy transfer
Only 10% of energy in one trophic level is passed on to the next

Energy efficiency
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Birds and mammals = 3% need to maintain body temperature
Insects = 40%

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Plants = 10%

Total number of consumers supported in a given ecosystem is limited by the productivity of the
vegetation
Primary productivity
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Gross primary productivity (GPP): total energy in an ecosystem ‘fixed’ by photosynthesis
Net primary productivity (NPP): GPP minus energy lost by respiration, energy converted into
plant biomass, grams per sq

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