The Adaptive Zone: From Evolutionary Biology to Ecology and Biogeography. Review and a Case Study with Examples for Fisheries Science

Abstract

The term “adaptive zone” appeared in paleontology and evolutionary biology, where it was not clearly defined, and gradually became obsolete and is now rarely used. This paper provides an updated definition of the term applicable in modern ecology and biogeography. It is shown that an adaptive zone is a particular case of Petersen-type communities. Sixteen implications were formulated that were theoretically derived from the facts known about range, Hutchinson’s niche, Petersen-type community, and their relationships with adaptive zone amended definition. The review includes the creation of simple and logical methods for finding, naming, and classifying adaptive zones. This regulates the conceptual apparatus of biology and opens up new lines of research in several of its branches. The applied aspects of the new adaptive zone concept are many current issues that include fisheries, aqua- and agriculture, forestry and hunting, natural nidality, combating alien species, weeds, pests and parasites, environmental protection, and artificial ecosystem creation. A Case Study is included that contains examples of maps of the adaptive zones of fauna from the far eastern seas and the northern part of the Pacific Ocean, which is one of the most important fishing regions in the world.

Keywords:

• Adaptive zone
• ecological niche
• ecosystem dynamics
• geographical range of a species
• Petersen-type community

Acknowledgements

The author is sincerely grateful to the editor and anonymous reviewers whose numerous valuable comments and suggestions were taken into account when preparing the manuscript for publication.

Declaration of interest

The authors have no competing interests.