Wallace's Line

[Jeremy Woodley]

I am sure that many people who are planning to attend the 9th ICRS in Bali
are aware of the terrestrial biogeographical significance of Bali and
Lombok. These islands represent the eastern and western extremities of
shallow platforms, separated by a few miles of deep water, linked
respectively to Southeast Asia and Australia. The great 19th century
naturalist, Alfred Wallace, noticed an abrupt change in the bird fauna
along the islands from Java to Timor, and drew what came to be known as
"Wallace's Line" between Bali and Lombok.

Unfortunately, my attendance at the ICRS has been in doubt, or I would
have tried to organize a brief field trip from the ICRS to explore the
differences between the two islands' fauna and flora. At this late stage,
I would ask anyone interested in some informal exploration to contact me
(directly, of course), particularly if they know of good bird-watching
localities on the two islands, and a handy field guide to the birds.

Jeremy Woodley

PO Box 269, McMaster University,        Tel: (905) 627-0393
1280 Main Street West,                  Fax: (905) 627-3966
Hamilton, ON L8S 1C0,                   woodley at uwimona.edu.jm
Canada.                                 or chopwood at hwcn.org