ZOOGEOGRAPHY

Course objectives

Expected learning outcomes To foster basic knowledge on: distribution of terrestrial and freshwater animal taxa, including their historical causes and dynamic processes, chiefly those which shaped our present-day European and Italian faunas; concept of geographical range, endemism, insular biogeography, and PAE; geographic delimitation, structure and main distinctive traits of the recognized Zoogeographic Regions, Realms, and Transitional Zones; use of principles and methods of the modern zoogeography in the fields of the applied zoology and of the Conservation Biology. Dublin Descriptors Dublin Descriptor 1 Knowledge of the zoogeographical bases of the animal distribution. Dublin Descriptor 2: Skills in combining, integrating and applying knowledge of the main zoogeographic principles in Evolutionary Biology, Ecology, Zoological systematics, and Conservation Biology. Dublin Descriptor 3: skills in better and more critically understanding zoogeographical items through the experiences accumulated during fieldwork, lessons, and discussions with teachers. The examinations, including a written (although not mandatory) report aimed to summarize a recent scientific article, should also allow students to better verify their own preparation and ability to understand and summarize complex biogeographical and evolutionary concepts. Dublin Descriptor 4: skills in better communicating the results of personal biogeographic training, through the experiences accumulated by each student during fieldwork, lessons, discussions with the teacher and with other students, and examinations. Dublin Descriptor 5: skills in transferring the experiences accumulated during this specialized biogeographical course in autonomous studies addressed to a specialization in applied zoogeography, as well as in other fields such as applied zoology and Conservation Biology; this improved autonomy being based, e.g., on the acquired ability to read, understand and summarize a recent scientific article or textbook on items of this research field, and in easily using numerical methods in applied zoogeography.

Channel 1
EMILIANO MANCINI Lecturers' profile

Program - Frequency - Exams

Course program
Introduction to Zoogeography. Aims of zoogeography and its relationship with other disciplines, philosophy and basic principles, historical and ecological biogeography; History of Biogeography. Pre-Darwinian biogeography, Wallace, Darwin and the modern biogeography, the conceptual revolution of the twentieth century; The distribution of species. Biological concept of species, mapping and measuring the range, the concept of niche, meta-population and sub-population, distribution and abundance, limits to the range, disturbance, inter-specific interactions; Dispersion and immigration, definition of "dispersal", dispersal and expansion of the range, mechanisms of movement, physical and ecological barriers, corridors and biological filters; Speciation and extinction. Definition of species, mechanisms of speciation, allopatric, simpatric and parapatric speciation, endemism and cosmopolitanism, disjunct distributions, adaptive radiation, extinction, macroevolution; The history of Life on Earth. The theory of "Continental Drift", plate tectonics, history of tectonics and animal life on earth, marine tectonics and islands; Glaciations. The Pleistocene glaciations and their effect on non-glacial areas, the pleistocenic refugia with a particular focus on the effects on the European fauna; The biomes. Terrestrial biomes: Forests, Woods, savannahs, prairies, deserts, tundra; Marine communities, freshwater communities; Biomas in comparison; Biogeographical regions (1). The Palearctic region with digression on the biogeography of European fauna and effects of the salinity crisis and glaciations on the Italian fauna in the Pliocene and Pleistocene; Biogeographical regions (2). Nearctic, Afrotropic, Malagasy, Oriental, Neotropical, Australian, Oceanic. The animal populations of the Arctic and Antarctic areas. Borders, subdivisions and distribution of biomes. Analysis of the significant faunistic elements (endemics, vicariants), with examples based on the main animal taxonomic groups. Transition zones between zoogeographic regions: Sonorana, Sahariano-Sindica, Chinese, Wallacea (Wallace, Weber and Lydekker lines); The reconstruction of the evolutionary history of animal lineages. Systematics, phenetic, phylogeny, molecular systematics, fossil records and molecular dating; The reconstruction of the geographical history of animal lineages and biota. Centers of origin, dispersal and vicariance, phylogeography, exemplary case studies; Insular biogeography. Study of island populations (in both geographical and ecological terms); Continental and oceanic islands; Insular fauna and evolution; The insular balance theory by Mac Arthur and Wilson.
Prerequisites
Basic knowledge of general biology, evolutionary biology and zoology.
Books
Textbooks: ‘Biogeography: biological diversity across space and time’ fifth edition, Lomolino, Riddle, Whittaker 2017, Sinauer Associates. ‘Biogeography: An ecological and Evolutionary Approach’ ninth edition, Cox, Moore, Ladle 2016, Wiley Blackwell. Other sources: ‘Biogeografia. La dimensione spaziale dell’evoluzione’, Zunino, Zullini, 2004, Casa Editrice Ambrosiana.
Teaching mode
The course will consist of lectures, open discussions on specific contributions by the students and practical lessons through the use of software for biogeographic analyses.
Frequency
Classroom
Exam mode
Oral exam
Bibliography
Textbooks: ‘Biogeography: biological diversity across space and time’ fifth edition, Lomolino, Riddle, Whittaker 2017, Sinauer Associates. ‘Biogeography: An ecological and Evolutionary Approach’ ninth edition, Cox, Moore, Ladle 2016, Wiley Blackwell. Other sources: ‘Biogeografia. La dimensione spaziale dell’evoluzione’, Zunino, Zullini, 2004, Casa Editrice Ambrosiana.
Lesson mode
The course will consist of lectures, open discussions on specific contributions by the students and practical lessons through the use of software for biogeographic analyses.
  • Lesson code1016362
  • Academic year2025/2026
  • CourseSciences and Teaching of Natural Systems
  • CurriculumSingle curriculum
  • Year1st year
  • Semester2nd semester
  • SSDBIO/05
  • CFU6