A glacial relict is a
population of a cold-adapted species that has been left behind as the range of the species changed after an
ice age ended. Glacial relicts are usually found in enclaves "under relatively benign conditions".
Examples:
*The
biogeography of various aquatic species deemed glacial relicts that are found in
Lake Sommen is likely related to a different geography during the early history of the lake. One theory claims that aquatic species were transferred from the
Baltic Ice Lake through a natural
lock system in connection with a temporary advance of the ice-front during the Younger Dryas.
On land, the unusual occurrence of
dwarf birch
''Betula nana'', the dwarf birch, is a species of birch in the family Betulaceae, found mainly in the tundra of the Arctic region.
Description
It is a monoecious, deciduous shrub growing up to high. The bark is non-peeling and shiny red-coppe ...
near
Sund is also judged to be a leftover from a cold geological past.
See also
*
Biodiversity hotspot
A biodiversity hotspot is a biogeographic region with significant levels of biodiversity that is threatened by human habitation. Norman Myers wrote about the concept in two articles in ''The Environmentalist'' in 1988 and 1990, after which the c ...
*
Last Glacial Maximum refugia
*
Nunatak hypothesis
*
Rapoport's rule
Rapoport's rule is an ecogeographical rule that states that latitudinal ranges of plants and animals are generally smaller at lower latitudes than at higher latitudes.
Background
Stevens (1989) named the rule after Eduardo H. Rapoport, who had e ...
*
Relict (biology)
References
{{Glaciology-stub
Phytogeography
Biogeography
Ice ages
Prehistory of the Arctic
pl:Relikt glacjalny