A Theory of Island Biogeography for Exotic Species

<p>This thesis addresses MacArthur and Wilson‟s Theory of Island Biogeography (1967) on a set of islands around the north-east coast of the North Island of New Zealand. The flora species lists from these islands were obtained from both published and unpublished island surveys whilst Geographical Information Systems (GIS) techniques were utilised in order to calculate the physical geography of islands. These islands were an ideal study site for such research because they display natural gradients in both physical geography as well as native and exotic species richness. The literature on the Theory of Island Biogeography has yet to comprehensively understand the differences between the patterns of exotic richness and native richness. Furthermore, the importance of studies on exotics species is increasingly relevant given the negative effect they have had on native communities worldwide. The results of my research illustrated that there were similar species-area and species-isolation relationships between exotic and native species. These two relationships were also consistent with what is expected under classical island biogeography principles. Interestingly however, I found that distance from the mainland had a stronger negative effect on exotics species. There were a significantly lower proportion of exotics with increasing isolation. This result has applicable outcomes for conservation management on the Hawaiki archipelago. I suggested that weeding effort focus on larger islands and in particular the islands closer to the mainland. Globally, the biogeographical patterns of exotic species are still poorly examined. With insights from this study and other similar research the Theory of Island Biogeography may be an informative approach to dealing with the ominous threat of exotic species.</p>

The Theory of Island Biogeography on the Hawaiki Archipelago

10.26686/wgtn.17065037.v1 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

◽

Khoi Dinh

Keyword(s):

Exotic Species ◽

Island Biogeography ◽

Native Species ◽

Physical Geography ◽

Geographical Information ◽

Similar Species ◽

North East ◽

The North ◽

Theory Of Island Biogeography ◽

Negative Effect

<p>This thesis addresses MacArthur and Wilson‟s Theory of Island Biogeography (1967) on a set of islands around the north-east coast of the North Island of New Zealand. The flora species lists from these islands were obtained from both published and unpublished island surveys whilst Geographical Information Systems (GIS) techniques were utilised in order to calculate the physical geography of islands. These islands were an ideal study site for such research because they display natural gradients in both physical geography as well as native and exotic species richness. The literature on the Theory of Island Biogeography has yet to comprehensively understand the differences between the patterns of exotic richness and native richness. Furthermore, the importance of studies on exotics species is increasingly relevant given the negative effect they have had on native communities worldwide. The results of my research illustrated that there were similar species-area and species-isolation relationships between exotic and native species. These two relationships were also consistent with what is expected under classical island biogeography principles. Interestingly however, I found that distance from the mainland had a stronger negative effect on exotics species. There were a significantly lower proportion of exotics with increasing isolation. This result has applicable outcomes for conservation management on the Hawaiki archipelago. I suggested that weeding effort focus on larger islands and in particular the islands closer to the mainland. Globally, the biogeographical patterns of exotic species are still poorly examined. With insights from this study and other similar research the Theory of Island Biogeography may be an informative approach to dealing with the ominous threat of exotic species.</p>

The theory of island biogeography and soundscapes: Species diversity and the organization of acoustic communities

Journal of Biogeography ◽

10.1111/jbi.13611 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 46 (9) ◽

pp. 1901-1911

Author(s):

Aloïs Robert ◽

Thierry Lengagne ◽

Martim Melo ◽

Vanessa Gardette ◽

Sacha Julien ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Species Diversity ◽

Island Biogeography ◽

Theory Of Island Biogeography

Independent Discovery of the Equilibrium Theory of Island Biogeography

Ecology ◽

10.2307/1938125 ◽

1989 ◽

Vol 70 (6) ◽

pp. 1954-1957 ◽

Cited By ~ 31

Author(s):

James H. Brown ◽

Mark V. Lomolino

Keyword(s):

Island Biogeography ◽

Equilibrium Theory ◽

Theory Of Island Biogeography

Classics revisited: “Mammals on mountaintops: nonequilibrium insular biology” (The American Naturalist, 105: 467–478, 1971), by James H. Brown

Progress in Physical Geography Earth and Environment ◽

10.1177/0309133320960660 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 030913332096066

Author(s):

Elizabeth R Pansing

Keyword(s):

Great Basin ◽

Small Mammal ◽

Community Assembly ◽

Island Biogeography ◽

Species Traits ◽

Mammal Species ◽

Distributional Patterns ◽

Theory Of Island Biogeography ◽

American Naturalist ◽

Small Mammal Species

James H. Brown’s “Mammals on mountaintops: nonequilibrium insular biogeography,” published in 1971 in The American Naturalist, documented distributional patterns of small mammal species in the mountaintop islands of the Great Basin, USA. Distributional patterns suggested that this island-like system was not in equilibrium and represented some of the first evidence contradicting the seminal Theory of Island Biogeography. Brown’s findings suggested that ecological and historical mechanisms were integral to community assembly and maintenance in island-like systems, broadening the focus of research related to biogeographical patterns in islands. The work further highlighted the importance of species traits on distributional patterns. Here, I review the paper and its contributions.

THE THEORY OF ISLAND BIOGEOGRAPHY AT AGE 40

Evolution ◽

10.1111/j.1558-5646.2010.01104.x ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 64 (12) ◽

pp. 3649-3651 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Theodore H. Fleming

Keyword(s):

Island Biogeography ◽

Theory Of Island Biogeography

Extinction debt: origins, developments, and applications of a biogeographical trope

Progress in Physical Geography Earth and Environment ◽

10.1177/0309133308096028 ◽

2008 ◽

Vol 32 (3) ◽

pp. 277-291 ◽

Cited By ~ 21

Author(s):

George P. Malanson

Keyword(s):

Island Biogeography ◽

General Systems Theory ◽

Extinction Debt ◽

Conservation Practice ◽

Heterogeneous Habitats ◽

General Systems ◽

Theory Of Island Biogeography ◽

Remnant Habitat ◽

Original Application ◽

Direct Trade

The concept of the extinction debt has two components: a direct timelag between an environmental perturbation and the consequent extinction of a species and the idea that among species going extinct the strong competitors/weak colonizers go extinct first. Although the term was first used in 1994 in the context of metapopulation models, its roots go back to general systems theory and the theory of island biogeography. It has been qualified and elaborated since 1994, mostly in terms of the effects of spatial pattern on the outcomes. The strongest critiques of the concept emphasize that the direct trade-off between competition and colonization abilities is not simple. The original application was to remnant habitat patches, but it could be applied to spatially heterogeneous habitats that are subject to climate change or invasive species. As a guide to conservation practice, extinction debt remains a general cautionary principle rather than a specific prescription, but the raising of awareness is nevertheless significant.

Do forest plants conform to the theory of island biogeography: the case study of bog islands

Biodiversity and Conservation ◽

10.1007/s10531-014-0650-5 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 23 (4) ◽

pp. 1019-1039 ◽

Cited By ~ 11

Author(s):

Jaan Liira ◽

Iti Jürjendal ◽

Jaanus Paal

Keyword(s):

Island Biogeography ◽

Theory Of Island Biogeography ◽

Forest Plants

The theory of island biogeography applies to ectomycorrhizal fungi in subalpine tree “islands” at a fine scale

Ecosphere ◽

10.1002/ecs2.1677 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 8 (2) ◽

pp. e01677 ◽

Cited By ~ 14

Author(s):

Sydney I. Glassman ◽

Kaitlin C. Lubetkin ◽

Judy A. Chung ◽

Thomas D. Bruns

Keyword(s):

Ectomycorrhizal Fungi ◽

Island Biogeography ◽

Tree Islands ◽

Fine Scale ◽

Theory Of Island Biogeography

Predicting community structure in snakes on Eastern Nearctic islands using ecological neutral theory and phylogenetic methods

Proceedings of The Royal Society B Biological Sciences ◽

10.1098/rspb.2015.1700 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 282 (1819) ◽

pp. 20151700 ◽

Cited By ~ 10

Author(s):

Frank T. Burbrink ◽

Alexander D. McKelvy ◽

R. Alexander Pyron ◽

Edward A. Myers

Keyword(s):

Community Structure ◽

Island Biogeography ◽

Neutral Theory ◽

Species Abundance ◽

Phylogenetic Methods ◽

Island Communities ◽

Theory Of Island Biogeography ◽

Neutral Theory Of Biodiversity ◽

Neutral Models ◽

Better Than

Predicting species presence and richness on islands is important for understanding the origins of communities and how likely it is that species will disperse and resist extinction. The equilibrium theory of island biogeography (ETIB) and, as a simple model of sampling abundances, the unified neutral theory of biodiversity (UNTB), predict that in situations where mainland to island migration is high, species-abundance relationships explain the presence of taxa on islands. Thus, more abundant mainland species should have a higher probability of occurring on adjacent islands. In contrast to UNTB, if certain groups have traits that permit them to disperse to islands better than other taxa, then phylogeny may be more predictive of which taxa will occur on islands. Taking surveys of 54 island snake communities in the Eastern Nearctic along with mainland communities that have abundance data for each species, we use phylogenetic assembly methods and UNTB estimates to predict island communities. Species richness is predicted by island area, whereas turnover from the mainland to island communities is random with respect to phylogeny. Community structure appears to be ecologically neutral and abundance on the mainland is the best predictor of presence on islands. With regard to young and proximate islands, where allopatric or cladogenetic speciation is not a factor, we find that simple neutral models following UNTB and ETIB predict the structure of island communities.