DISTRIBUTION AND HABITAT OF FRESHWATER SPECIES

ZOOGEOGRAPHY OF FRESHWATER ECOSYSTEMS

Zoogeographic Types

Ichthyology = the study of fish

Fascinating because fish are linked to so many other disciplines (ecology, physiology, systematics, paleontology, etc)

Frustrating because our knowledge is fragmented and incomplete

Zoogeographic Types

Two types of freshwater fish:

Euryhaline marine fish: primarily marine, but capable of entering freshwater for long periods (bull shark, sawfish)

Obligatory freshwater fish: must spend at least part of their life cycle in freshwater (most)

Zoogeographic Regions

It is convenient to divide the world into six (6) zoogeographic regions:

1. African Region (African continent)

2. Neotropical Region (South and Central America)

3. Oriental Region (Indian subcontinent, Southeast Asia, most of Indonesia, the Phillipines)

Zoogeographic Types

4. Palaearctic Region (Europe and Asia north of the Himalaya Mountains and the Yangtze River)

5. Nearctic Region (North America down to Central Mexico)

6. Australian Region (Australia, New Zealand, New Guinea, small islands)