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Why is Wallace's line significant in biogeography?

User Jeff Morin
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Final answer:

Wallace's Line is a significant concept in biogeography delineating the boundary between Asian and Australasian flora and fauna, illustrating the role of geologic and evolutionary processes in species distribution.

Step-by-step explanation:

Wallace's Line is significant in biogeography because it demarcates a distinct separation between the flora and fauna of the Asian realm and those of the Austral realm.

This line, conceived by Alfred Russel Wallace in 1855, reflects the differences in species distribution patterns that have been influenced by abiotic and biotic factors, including the movement of tectonic plates and evolutionary processes over extensive geological time periods.

Dividing the Indonesian archipelago, Wallace's Line runs north of Australia and denotes an area where species evolved separately following the breakup of the ancient supercontinent Gondwana.

It is evidence for the evolution of species within physically separated regions and helps explain the high levels of endemism found, especially in Australia where a large proportion of plant and animal species are unique to the continent.

User Nelly
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