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Biogeography, the study of animal and plant distribution, has a history extending back to at least the eighteenth century. But it was not until the work of Charles Darwin and Alfred Russel Wallace in the mid-nineteenth century that it really came into its own as a science. Darwin's importance notwithstanding, it was really Wallace who put the field on the map, and many of today's research threads can be traced back to his influence. This article provides a summary review of Wallace's life and work and biogeography as a field of study, including Wallace's role in its development. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Biogeography is a natural science that deals with the study of the earth's plant and animal distribution patterns in geographical space, both in terms of the present day and also in the context of their evolution and development over time. it has deep historical roots in the identification of the spatial relationships of organisms, while its fundamental principles embody those of the theory of evolution and the ecosystem concept. More recently, the work of, among others, Robert MacArthur and Edward Wilson, has proved instrumental in developing thinking as to how organisms achieve and maintain their ranges. Over longer, geological, time scales, the key principles of biogeography include the influence of changing global geography, especially through continental drift, on biological distributions. In the context of the present day and more recent past, climate and climatic change are regarded as the most significant factors determining the distributions of organisms. Biogeography is applicable to a wide range of practical environmental problems in South Africa. In particular, the discipline has made important advances in understanding issues such as the establishment and management of conservation areas, the prediction of the impact of global climate change on organisms, and on the management of plant and animal communities, including humans, as integral components of ecosystems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]