ZOOGEOGRAPHY, or biogeography in a broader sense, is a fundamental subject of biology and deals with the relationships between geographical space (changing throughout the Earth's history, and also due to climate and the human species throughout the planet) and living beings. Biodiversity is nothing more than the geographical embodiment of evolution.

Evolutionary processes (speciation, diversification, extinction) cannot be interpreted without geography (continental drift, orography, climatology).

Zoogeography studies the distribution of living beings on Earth, as well as the processes involved in its creation and those causing its changes and eventual disappearance.

It is an interdisciplinary, synthetic and engaged science, incorporating the understanding and management of man-made changes throughout the biosphere. It is also a historical science, and attempts to unravel processes that occurred in the past but which shape the structure and composition of biodiversity.

1. Understanding the basic concepts, knowing the fundamentals and properly using the terminology of the discipline in order to be able to understand and correctly interpret the scientific literature related to Zoogeography.

2. Knowing and contextualising the historical circumstances and scientists who have shaped biogeography in order to understand its current multidisciplinary approach.

3. Understanding the relationship between the ecological niche and its geographical distribution in order to properly interpret the observed chorological patterns.

4. Understanding and interpreting biogeographical patterns as a result of tectonic and evolutionary as well as climatic and ecological episodes and processes, in order to understand that biogeography is the spatial reflection of evolution.

5. Understanding the dynamic island equilibrium model and its application in species management and conservation for subsequent practical application.

6. Selecting, compiling and processing bibliographic sources and faunal data to produce distribution maps and their subsequent analysis using biostatistical and geographical software.

Introduction

1. The Science of Biogeography

2. History of Biogeography

Physical environment and basic biogeographical patterns

3. The physical location

4. Distribution of isolated species

5. Geography of communities

Earth history and basic biogeographical processes

6. Dispersal and immigration

7. Speciation, diversification and extinction

8. Plate tectonics and Earth history

9. Pleistocene glaciation and biogeographic dynamics

Evolutionary history of lineages and biotas

10. Geography of diversification

11. Reconstructing the history of the lineages

12. Reconstructing the history of biotas

Ecological biogeography

13. Biogeography of islands: patterns of specific richness

14. Assembly and evolution of island communities

15. Areography, ecogeographic rules and diversity gradients

Conservation biogeography

16. Biodiversity and the geography of extinction

17. Biogeography for conservation

18. Biogeography of humanity



PRACTICAL PROGRAMME



Laboratory practicals.

1. Cartography and chorology

2. Sources and processing of biogeographical data

3. Species chorology of a given area

4. Analysis and synthesis of chorological information



Field work

DISTRIBUTION OF ENDEMISMS. Planning of faunal sampling. Carrying out the sampling in the assigned grid and taxonomic determination. Preparation of the report with the results.



Seminars

1. Instructions for carrying out the field work (planning, sampling, taxonomic determination) and of the resulting report (structure and content)

2. Instructions for individual in-depth work on biogeographical concepts, patterns and processes

The subjects of the programme are teaching units of different lengths, so they are not developed in equal time slots.

For personal work, a basic knowledge of English is essential in order to be able to handle information in English.

• Final Assessment System
• Tools and qualification percentages:
  • Written test to be taken (%): 20
  • Multiple-Choice Test (%): 50
  • Individual works (%): 15
  • Team projects (problem solving, project design)) (%): 15

CONTINUOUS ASSESSMENT

The final mark will be the sum of the following marks:

1/ THEORY (70%). Final exam.

2/ ASSIGNMENTS AND HOMEWORK (30%):

A-Individual work on biogeographical patterns and processes.

B-Team work on a Basque endemism (design, sampling and report).

C-The possibility of including the reading, and subsequent preparation of a report, of a book related to the subject will be considered.



Criteria for the assessment of work: organisation and structuring of information, use of scientific terminology, capacity for analysis and synthesis, appropriate use of resources. Attendance at laboratory practicals is compulsory in case of continuous assessment.



FINAL ASSESSMENT: Theoretical-practical exam (100%).

Students will have the right to be assessed using the final assessment system, regardless of whether they have participated in the continuous assessment system. To do so, students must submit a written waiver of continuous assessment to the lecturer responsible for the subject, for which they will have a period of 9 weeks from the beginning of the term, in accordance with the academic calendar of the centre.



OPTING OUT OF CALLS: in accordance with current regulations.



During the development of the assessment tests, the use of books, class notes or cheat sheets, as well as telephone, electronic, computer or other devices by students will be prohibited. In the event of any dishonest or fraudulent practice, the provisions of the "Protocol on academic ethics and prevention of dishonest or fraudulent practices in assessment tests and academic work at the UPV/EHU" will be applied.

The final mark will be established following the protocol described in the ordinary exam.

In exceptional situations, the assessment system may be customised.

Failure to take the test will be considered and recorded as a “No show”.

Appropriate clothing and footwear for field trips.

Basic bibliography

LOMOLINO, RIDDLE, WHITTAKER & BROWN. 2010. Biogeography (4th ed) Sinauer Ed.

ZUNINO & ZULLINI. 2003. Biogeografía. Fondo de Cultura Económica.

HUGGETT. 1998. Fundamentals of Biogeography. Routledge Ed.

COX, MOORE & LADLE. 2016. Biogeography: An Ecological and Evolutionary Approach (9th ed) Wiley-Blackwell.

In-depth bibliography

AKÇAKAYA et al. 2004. Species Conservation and Management. Case Studies. Oxford UP.
BLONDEL & ARONSON. 1999. Biology and wildlife of the Mediterranean Region. Oxford UP
BRIGGS. 1995. Global Biogeography. Elsevier Ed.
CRISCI, KATINAS & POSADAS. 2003. History Biogeography. An introduction. Harvard UP
GANDERTON & COKER. 2005. Environmental Biogeography. Pearson
LOMOLINO & HEANEY. 2004. Frontiers of Biogeography. Sinauer Ed.
MAC ARTHUR & WILSON. 1967. The Theory of Island Biogeography. Princeton UP
MACDONALD. 2003. Biogeography. Space, Time and Life. John Wiley Ed.
MORRONE. 2009. Evolutionary Biogeography. Columbia UP.
MÜLLER. 1979. Introduction to Zoogeography. Ed. Blume.
NELSON & PLATNICK. 1981. Systematics and Biogeography. Cladistics and Vicariance. Columbia UP
WILSON. 1992. The diversity of life. Harvard UP
SPELLERBERG & SAWYER. 1999. Applied Biogeography. Cambridge UP
VARGAS, REAL & ANTUNEZ. 1992. Biogeographical objectives and methods. Monographs Herpetology,2 (Asociación
Herpetológica Española, MNCN)
WHITTAKER. 1998. Island Biogeography. Oxford UP

Journals

Journal of Biogeography
Biodiversity & Conservation
Global Ecology and Biogeography
Diversity and Distributions
Biodiversity Data Journal
Ecography.

Web addresses

International Biogeography Society http://www.biogeography.org/index.html
Webpage of Dr. Ron Blakey http://jan.ucc.nau.edu/rcb7/index.html
Biodiversity Heritage Library http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org
Aragonese Entomological Society http://www.sea-entomologia.org/
Global Biodiversity Information Facility http://www.gbif.org/
Digital Climate Atlas of the Iberian Peninsula http://opengis.uab.es/wms/iberia/