Alfred Russel Wallace, whose independent discovery of natural selection prompted Charles Darwin to publish his magnum opus, On the Origin of Species, is perhaps better remembered for his contributions to biogeography than evolutionary theory. His namesake, the Wallace Line, delineates an abrupt and curious intangible boundary that separates Australian fauna from Asian Fauna. While one continent's fauna are often highly distinct from the other continent's fauna, their distinctiveness is relative to the vast oceanic or latitudinal separation. In contrast, Asia and Australia are connected by a string of contiguous islands that could presumably allow for a gradient of species dispersal. Counterintuitive to the understanding of naturalists in the 19th century and beyond, the patterns of flora and fauna on the adjacent islands in the Australasian Archipelago are so remarkably different that the area cannot be treated as one single biogeographic region, nor can it be seen as a transition state. Wallace observed this, and attempted to sketch the line that marked the distinct separation. This line created a controversial outflow of opinions, well into the twentieth century, based on the exact delineation of the faunal barrier. Research concerning the biogeographic region's internal and external boundaries continues in a diversity of fields and subfields. Wallace's namesake and publications on the Malay Archipelago, its natural productions, biogeography, and conceptions of the natural world drew envy, ire, admiration and respect. His synthesis and integration of fields created an empire of science based on one region, due to that region's tropical diversity, that propelled science forward immensely, for better or worse, and deserves recognition for his immense contributions to the pursuit of scientific knowledge- an intellectual Wallace Line. / A Thesis submitted to the Program of History and Philosophy of Science in partial fulfillment of the requirements
for the degree of Master of Arts. / Spring Semester, 2014. / March 31, 2014. / Biogeography, Evolution, Wallace, Wallacea, Wallace Line / Includes bibliographical references. / Frederick R. Davis, Professor Directing Thesis; Michael Ruse, Committee Member; Meegan Kennedy Hanson, Committee Member.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:fsu.edu/oai:fsu.digital.flvc.org:fsu_253572 |
| Contributors | Matykiewicz, E. S. (authoraut), Davis, Frederick R. (professor directing thesis), Ruse, Michael (committee member), Hanson, Meegan Kennedy (committee member), Program in History and Philosophy of Science (degree granting department), Florida State University (degree granting institution) |
| Publisher | Florida State University, Florida State University |
| Source Sets | Florida State University |
| Language | English, English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text, text |
| Format | 1 online resource, computer, application/pdf |
| Rights | This Item is protected by copyright and/or related rights. You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s). The copyright in theses and dissertations completed at Florida State University is held by the students who author them. |
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