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Systematic biogeography, the discovery of classification of regions based on biotic area homologies, is a newly emerging method of biogeography that bridges phylogenetic and distribution patterns. This chapter reviews the history of area classification as it relates to the development of comparative biogeography, and introduces the notion of area relationship, known as area homology, which forms the basis of geographical congruence or area monophyly. The chapter focuses on the application of a systematic biogeography to demonstrate biotic area homology, and then explores mechanisms or processes that may have given rise to general patterns or expressions of area relationships.

This chapter discusses the role of biotic areas in biogeography. A biotic area consists of homologous area relationships expressed by more than one monophyletic group that inhabits a common place and/or a designated endemic area. Relationships among biotic areas are recognized as area homologs and area monophyly. An area homolog is the smallest unit of meaningful cladistic relationship among areas. The chapter illustrates methods for discovering area homologies and area monophyly. Area homology is found by comparing area homologs among endemic areas to discover area monophyly or geographical congruence. Area homology, or area monophyly, is discovered when different areagrams are compared and their area homologs corroborate those of other areagrams.

Biogeographic methods and applications are abundant, vary in their aims, and are classified in different ways. This chapter discusses biogeographic methods and applications used to describe and classify biotic areas and to discover general patterns or to explain a biotic distribution through a series of hypothetical mechanisms. Systematic biogeographic methods are either purely descriptive—observations or records of data—or they aim to discover biogeographic patterns. Evolutionary biogeographic methods apply techniques from ecology, paleontology, or molecular systematics to predict or postulate evolutionary and/or geographical mechanisms to explain distribution.

This chapter outlines a systematic biogeographic method for proposing biogeographic classifications based on the distribution and relationships of biotic areas, incorporating geological and geographical data. Areagrams (area cladograms) and taxon-area cladograms (TACs) are two types of branching diagrams used to represent different types of biogeographi information. The chapter describes the significant differences between areagrams and TACs, and explores how these differences affect biogeographic analyses.

Biogeography is a naturally integrative field of study that helps explore data on the diversity, phylogeny, and distribution of organisms to reveal the biological and geographical history of Earth. This book aims to establish comparative biogeography, a method that uses the naturally hierarchical phylogenetic relationships of clades to discover the biotic area relationships among local and global biogeographic regions. It details the foundations of comparative biogeography and how they relate to two types of biogeographic investigation: systematic biogeography and evolutionary biogeography. The book reviews current methods of biogeography, especially with regard to how they relate to the goal of biotic area classification; addresses the relationship between geology and biological distribution; and attempts to discover what triggers evolution of biodiversity and distribution patterns.