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With the aid of examples, discuss the biogeographical consequences of previously separated continents merging.
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With the aid of examples, discuss the biogeographical consequences of previously separated continents merging. According to the theory of plate tectonics or previously named continental drift first proposed by Alfred Wegener in 1912, the continents of the world are constantly moving and re-arranging themselves by the action of great convection currents in the Earth's mantle. This causes large landmasses to split into smaller pieces, slide past each other and merge together. There are many consequences to these events; more importantly to this essay, there are massive biogeographical implications. There are three main types of environmental barriers that inhibit species spreading by causing major environmental discontinuities. These include oceans and seas, mountain ranges and large deserts. Australia is completely surrounded by water and therefore is biogeographically isolated from other landmasses. The extensive deserts of North Africa and the Middle East effectively separate Africa from Europe and Asia; in a similar way the high...
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