PubTalk-01/2022: Species Here, Species There, Species, Species Everywhere - Why do Species live where they do?

Species Here, Species There, Species, Species Everywhere - Why do Species live where they do?

By Thomas Edwards, USGS Utah Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit (Retired)

Professor Emeritus, Department of Wildland Resources, Utah State University

• Walk through the history of species distributions - why plants and animals occupy the habitats they do.

• Our curiosity about species and their distributions in relation to habitat dates back to the days of Aristotle.

• This curiosity expanded during western Europe's Age of Enlightenment, when scientists developed more sophisticated means for understanding and mapping species distributions.

• In our modern era, we use information on where and why species occupy specific locations to help meet management and conversations goals.