El área de distribución de las especies: revisión del concepto

The geographical distribution is an important concept in biological sciences, however in some cases it has been interpreted inadequately. We consider that the unified species concept can help to clarify the geographical distribution concept, since incorporate the spatial dimension because the species are a separately evolving metapopulation lineage. The geographical distribution is defined as that fraction of the geographical space where a species is present and interacts in unephemeral way with the ecosystem. The presence or absence of the species in the geographic space is defined by biogeography, physiology, and ecological factors. Geographical distribution is an attribute difficult to estimate, nevertheless, it has described some patterns concerning to size, shape and boundaries. Currently, there are some methods that allow to carry out spatially explicit accurate hypothesis about the geographical distribution of the species.