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Endemism AI simulator
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Endemism AI simulator
(@Endemism_simulator)
Endemism
Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsewhere. For example, the Cape sugarbird (Promerops cafer) is found exclusively in southwestern South Africa and is therefore said to be endemic to that particular part of the world. An endemic species can also be referred to as an endemism or, in scientific literature, as an endemite.
Endemism is an important concept in conservation biology for measuring biodiversity in a particular place and evaluating the risk of extinction for species. Endemism is also of interest in evolutionary biology, because it provides clues about how changes in the environment cause species to undergo range shifts (potentially expanding their range into a larger area or becoming extirpated from an area they once lived), go extinct, or diversify into more species.
The extreme opposite of an endemic species is one with a cosmopolitan distribution, having a global or widespread range.
A rare alternative term for a species that is endemic is precinctive, which applies to species (and other taxonomic levels) that are restricted to a defined geographical area. Other terms that sometimes are used interchangeably, but less often, include autochthonal, autochthonic, and indigenous; however, these terms do not reflect the status of a species that specifically belongs only to a determined place.
The word endemic is from Neo-Latin endēmicus, from Greek ἔνδημος, éndēmos, "native." Endēmos is formed of en, meaning "in," and dēmos, meaning "the people". The word entered the English language as a loan word from the French endémique, and originally seems to have been used in the sense of diseases that occur at a constant amount in a country, as opposed to epidemic diseases, which are exploding in cases. The word was used in biology in 1872 to mean a species restricted to a specific location by Charles Darwin.
The less common term 'precinctive' has been used by some entomologists as the equivalent of 'endemic'. Precinctive was coined in 1900 by David Sharp when describing the Hawaiian insects, as he was uncomfortable with the fact that the word 'endemic' is often associated with diseases. 'Precinctive' was first used in botany by Vaughan MacCaughey in Hawaii in 1917.
A species is considered to be endemic to the area where it is found naturally, to the exclusion of other areas; presence in captivity or botanical gardens does not disqualify a species from being endemic.[citation needed] In theory, the term "endemic" could be applied on any scale; for example, the cougar is endemic to the Americas, and all known life is endemic to Earth. However, endemism is normally used only when a species has a relatively small or restricted range. This usage of "endemic" contrasts with "cosmopolitan." Endemics are not necessarily rare; some might be common where they occur. Likewise, not all rare species are endemics; some may have a large range but be rare throughout this range.
The evolutionary history of a species can lead to endemism in multiple ways. Allopatric speciation, or geographic speciation, is when two populations of a species become geographically separated from each other and, as a result, develop into different species. In isolated areas where there is little possibility for organisms to disperse to new places or to receive new gene flow from outside, the rate of endemism is particularly high. For example, many endemic species are found on remote islands, such as Hawaii, the Galápagos Islands and Socotra. Populations on an island are isolated, with little opportunity to interbreed with outside populations, which eventually causes reproductive isolation and separation into different species. Darwin's finches in the Galápagos archipelago are examples of species endemic to islands. Similarly, isolated mountainous regions like the Ethiopian Highlands, or large bodies of water far from other lakes, like Lake Baikal, can also have high rates of endemism.
Endemism
Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsewhere. For example, the Cape sugarbird (Promerops cafer) is found exclusively in southwestern South Africa and is therefore said to be endemic to that particular part of the world. An endemic species can also be referred to as an endemism or, in scientific literature, as an endemite.
Endemism is an important concept in conservation biology for measuring biodiversity in a particular place and evaluating the risk of extinction for species. Endemism is also of interest in evolutionary biology, because it provides clues about how changes in the environment cause species to undergo range shifts (potentially expanding their range into a larger area or becoming extirpated from an area they once lived), go extinct, or diversify into more species.
The extreme opposite of an endemic species is one with a cosmopolitan distribution, having a global or widespread range.
A rare alternative term for a species that is endemic is precinctive, which applies to species (and other taxonomic levels) that are restricted to a defined geographical area. Other terms that sometimes are used interchangeably, but less often, include autochthonal, autochthonic, and indigenous; however, these terms do not reflect the status of a species that specifically belongs only to a determined place.
The word endemic is from Neo-Latin endēmicus, from Greek ἔνδημος, éndēmos, "native." Endēmos is formed of en, meaning "in," and dēmos, meaning "the people". The word entered the English language as a loan word from the French endémique, and originally seems to have been used in the sense of diseases that occur at a constant amount in a country, as opposed to epidemic diseases, which are exploding in cases. The word was used in biology in 1872 to mean a species restricted to a specific location by Charles Darwin.
The less common term 'precinctive' has been used by some entomologists as the equivalent of 'endemic'. Precinctive was coined in 1900 by David Sharp when describing the Hawaiian insects, as he was uncomfortable with the fact that the word 'endemic' is often associated with diseases. 'Precinctive' was first used in botany by Vaughan MacCaughey in Hawaii in 1917.
A species is considered to be endemic to the area where it is found naturally, to the exclusion of other areas; presence in captivity or botanical gardens does not disqualify a species from being endemic.[citation needed] In theory, the term "endemic" could be applied on any scale; for example, the cougar is endemic to the Americas, and all known life is endemic to Earth. However, endemism is normally used only when a species has a relatively small or restricted range. This usage of "endemic" contrasts with "cosmopolitan." Endemics are not necessarily rare; some might be common where they occur. Likewise, not all rare species are endemics; some may have a large range but be rare throughout this range.
The evolutionary history of a species can lead to endemism in multiple ways. Allopatric speciation, or geographic speciation, is when two populations of a species become geographically separated from each other and, as a result, develop into different species. In isolated areas where there is little possibility for organisms to disperse to new places or to receive new gene flow from outside, the rate of endemism is particularly high. For example, many endemic species are found on remote islands, such as Hawaii, the Galápagos Islands and Socotra. Populations on an island are isolated, with little opportunity to interbreed with outside populations, which eventually causes reproductive isolation and separation into different species. Darwin's finches in the Galápagos archipelago are examples of species endemic to islands. Similarly, isolated mountainous regions like the Ethiopian Highlands, or large bodies of water far from other lakes, like Lake Baikal, can also have high rates of endemism.
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