Tectonic plates are constantly moving, either crashing into one another
creating a mosaic of mountains and shallow seas, or tearing apart and
isolating large swathes of land. In both cases plate tectonics separates
populations leading to the evolution of biota. Tectonics is also
responsible for the destruction life, for instance when large coral
reefs or shallow seas are compressed to form mountain peaks. Could
recent research into these processes provide enough evidence to show
that tectonics may be the ultimate driver of life on Earth?
Our book delves into the current research in tectonics, particularly
neotectonics, and its impact on rapid changes on biogeographical
classification, also known as bioregionalisation. We also introduce a
new term biotectonics that studies the impact of tectonics on
biogeoregionalisation. The question we ask is how tectonics directly
influences the distribution of biota in four case studies: the Mesozic
and early Palaeogene Australides, which spans the Proto-Pacific coast of
the South America, Antaractica and Australiasia; and the Neogene of
Australia. To conclude we examine the role of neotectonics on tranistion
zones and the Amazon Basin and make a case for biotectonic extinction.