RT Journal Article
T1 Integrating fuzzy logic and statistics to improve the reliable delimitation of biogeographic regions and transition zones
A1 Olivero-Anarte, Jesús
A1 Márquez-Moya, Ana Luz
A1 Real-Giménez, Raimundo
K1 Anfibios -  Mediterráneo (Región)
K1 Ecosistemas mediterráneos
K1 Biogeografía - Mediterráneo (Región)
AB This study uses the amphibian species of the Mediterranean basin to develop a consistent procedure based on fuzzy sets with which biogeographic regions and biotic transition zones can be objectively detected and reliably mapped. Biogeographical regionalizations are abstractions of the geographical organization of life on Earth that provide frameworks for cataloguing species and ecosystems, for answering basic questions in biogeography, evolutionary biology, and systematics, and for assessing priorities for conservation. On the other hand, limits between regions may form sharply defined boundaries along some parts of their borders, whereas elsewhere they may consist of broad transition zones. The fuzzy set approach provides a heuristic way to analyse the complexity of the biota within an area; significantly different regions are detected whose mutual limits are sometimes fuzzy, sometimes clearly crisp. Most of the regionalizations described in the literature for the Mediterranean biogeographical area present a certain degree of convergence when they are compared within the context of fuzzy interpretation, as many of the differences found between regionalizations are located in transition zones, according to our case study. Compared with other classification procedures based on fuzzy sets, the novelty of our method is that both fuzzy logic and statistics are used together in a synergy in order to avoid arbitrary decisions in the definition of biogeographic regions and transition zones.
YR 2013
FD 2013
LK https://hdl.handle.net/10630/29745
UL https://hdl.handle.net/10630/29745
LA eng
NO Jesús Olivero, Ana L. Márquez, Raimundo Real, Integrating Fuzzy Logic and Statistics to Improve the Reliable Delimitation of Biogeographic Regions and Transition Zones, Systematic Biology, Volume 62, Issue 1, January 2013, Pages 1–21, https://doi.org/10.1093/sysbio/sys061
NO Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación, Spain, and European Regional Development Fund, European Union [project CGL2009-11316].
DS RIUMA. Repositorio Institucional de la Universidad de Málaga
RD 20 ene 2026