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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 Theory of Island Biogeography is a 1967 book by the ecologist Robert MacArthur and the biologist Edward O. Wilson. [1] It is widely regarded as a seminal work in island biogeography and ecology. The Princeton University Press reprinted the book in 2001 as a part of the "Princeton Landmarks in Biology" series. [1]
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.
Insular dwarfism, a form of phyletic dwarfism, [1] is the process and condition of large animals evolving or having a reduced body size [a] when their population's range is limited to a small environment, primarily islands.
Size comparison of the giant gymnure (moonrat) Deinogalerix from the Late Miocene of Gargano, Italy, with a European hedgehog. Island gigantism, or insular gigantism, is a biological phenomenon in which the size of an animal species isolated on an island increases dramatically in comparison to its mainland relatives.
Many large animals on islands have been hunted to extinction by humans. A well-known example is the dodo, once found on the island of Mauritius. [15] It evolved to become large, flightless and docile, and was subsequently driven to extinction by humans and introduced predators.
Another common principle relating both with the rescue effect and the previously commented insular biogeography is the dispersal capabilities of a species. The rescue effect will be increased by the tendency, [11] for those species that are good dispersers and hence have high immigration rates. [1]
Due to a lack of dedicated pollinators on remote islands, insular plants often use small, inconspicuously colored and easily accessible flowers to attract a range of alternative pollinator species. Self-pollination is also more commonly used by insular plant species, as pollen does not have to travel so far to reach a receptive ovule or stigma.