Introduction to Tectonics and Life

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 of 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?

Research Focus and New Concepts

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 Mesozoic and early Palaeogene Australides, which spans the Proto-Pacific coast of South America, Antarctica, and Australasia; and the Neogene of Australia. To conclude, we examine the role of neotectonics on transition zones and the Amazon Basin and make a case for biotectonic extinction.