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Insular biogeography [1] or island biogeography is a field within biogeography that examines the factors that affect the species richness and diversification of isolated natural communities. The theory was originally developed to explain the pattern of the species–area relationship occurring in oceanic islands.
The species–area relationship or species–area curve describes the relationship between the area of a habitat, or of part of a habitat, and the number of species found within that area. Larger areas tend to contain larger numbers of species, and empirically, the relative numbers seem to follow systematic mathematical relationships. [ 1 ]
The Theory of Island Biogeography has its roots in Wilson's work on the ants of Melanesia.MacArthur synthesized Wilson's ideas about competition, colonization and equilibrium into a simple graphical representation of immigration and extinction curves, from which one can determine the equilibrial species number on an island. [3]
Garganornis ballmanni, a very large fossil goose from the Gargano and Scontrone islands of the Late Miocene. Foster's rule, also known as the island rule or the island effect, is an ecogeographical rule in evolutionary biology stating that members of a species get smaller or bigger depending on the resources available in the environment.
This is particularly true in species that represent early stages in insular taxon cycles and are characterized by species-area curves of shallow slope. [9] [10] Also a common sense concept linked to the chances of an effective rescue effect on islands, is the size of the island itself.
The publication of The Theory of Island Biogeography by Robert MacArthur and E.O. Wilson in 1967 [23] showed that the species richness of an area could be predicted in terms of such factors as habitat area, immigration rate and extinction rate. This added to the long-standing interest in island biogeography.
The species-area relationship for a contiguous habitat. The need for reconciliation ecology was derived from patterns of species distribution and diversity. The most relevant of these patterns is the species-area curve which states that a larger geographic area will contain higher species diversity. This relationship has been supported by so ...
Island ecology is the study of island organisms and their interactions with each other and the environment. Islands account for nearly 1/6 of earth’s total land area, [1] yet the ecology of island ecosystems is vastly different from that of mainland communities.