The Origin and Affinity of the Biota of the Kodiak Island Group, Alaska

• Main Author: Robert E. Vincent I
• Other Authors: The Pennsylvania State University CiteSeerX Archives
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Subjects: Bering Strait; Gulf of Alaska; Pacific; Kodiak; Alaska; Aleutian Islands
• Online Access: http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.585.5872; http://scholarspace.manoa.hawaii.edu/bitstream/handle/10125/5504/vol18n2-119-125.pdf;jsessionid=DE09E38CFA6080CE8D6B186E3DCA425A?sequence=1

K!:mIAK ISLAND occupies an important biogeo-graphical position. Situated along the north-western border of the Gulf of Alaska, this island and its neighboring lesser islands have biogeo-graphic relationships that radiate in three direc-tions: westward along the Aleutian Islands, northward toward interior Alaska, and southeast-ward toward the temperate Pacific Coastal and Rocky Mountain regions of North America. The Aleutian and Bering Strait migration routes tend to funnel through this strategic area. Further-more, the Island Group was probably severely glaciated during at least the later part of the Pleistocene. Karlstrom (1%0) found geological evidence of a small late Pleistocene refuge on southwestern Kodiak Island. Nearly all subse-quent biora.sbesides that which may have per-sisted on the refuge or on nunataks, would have had to originate as reinvaders from adjacent land or sea areas. A third peculiar feature in addition to location and glacial history is the possible significance of major habitat change caused by an encroaching timber line across the northeastern part of Kodiak Island. A working hypothesis based solely upon geo-graphic consideration could be proposed: that the biota of Kodiak Island is fashioned from elements of the three diverse regions with which it has geographic relationships. The purpose of this paper is to consider the relationship of the Kodiak Island Group biota to that of mainland Alaska. This should suggest what areas contrib-ute heavily to the fauna and flora and indicate if geographic location is supported biogeo-graphically. A. study of postglacial immigration of the Kodiak biota can be enlightening to the proc-esses of intercontinental migrations, rein vasion following extermination, and centers of post-glacial dispersion. The Bering land connection and the Aleutian chain of islands have been