ABSTRACT
The logic underpinning biogeology is that because tectonic events promote fragmentation of species’ ranges, it also promotes speciation and thus leaves a biological imprint. Survival and establishment depend on factors such as initial population size, sex ratio and ability to cope with a new biological context, all of which may be difficult for individual immigrants. The earth’s surface is dynamic and because individual species’ longevity is in the order of millions of years, the history of clades can be expected to have been influenced by processes operating over geological time scales. The Geological Society of London marked the 50th anniversary of the publication of D. P. McKenzie and R. L. Parker groundbreaking paper introducing plate tectonic theory to the world with a special conference in 2017. How tectonic events help explain the highly diverse and endemic biotas inhabiting individual islands and archipelagos is central to each publication. The chapter also presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in this book.
