All Life on Earth Follows One Simple Rule: Core-to-Transition Organization
When you read this story, you will discover that life on Earth is organized according to a fundamental principle called “core-to-transition organization.” This concept has been hypothesized by biogeographers for centuries, and a recent study has provided empirical evidence by analyzing geographic dispersion data across five different taxa.
The study reveals that the majority of species originate from “core regions,” with those adapted to heat and drought expanding into areas beyond these regions. Despite the incredible diversity of biomes on Earth, a new study suggests that biodiversity is not evenly distributed across the planet but follows a “core-to-transition” organization.
Recently published in the journal Nature Ecology & Evolution, the study conducted by an international team of scientists from Sweden, Spain, and the U.K. examined global species distribution maps across various categories, including amphibians, birds, mammals, and trees. Surprisingly, they found that life across the world follows a similar pattern of core areas where species thrive and radiate outward.
These core regions, covering only 30% of the Earth’s surface, harbor greater biodiversity than the remaining 70%, likely due to their role as refuges during past climatic events. Species must be well adapted to heat and drought to expand beyond these core areas, highlighting the importance of environmental filters in shaping biodiversity.
The study’s findings provide valuable insights into how biodiversity may respond to global changes, emphasizing the crucial role of core regions in sustaining and diversifying life on Earth. Despite being a long-standing idea in biogeography, this study presents the first empirical evidence confirming the core-to-transition organization of life across the planet.
Researchers can assist in making conservation decisions and predicting how specific species might react to a novel form of climate change, such as anthropogenic climate change. According to the authors, their core-to-transition hypothesis and findings indicate that comprehending global disparities in species diversity is enhanced by examining the origins of local hotspots and the subsequent dispersal of species throughout the biogeographical region.
