A framework for disentangling ecological mechanisms underlying the island species–area relationship
<p>The relationship between an island’s size and the number of species on that island—the island species–area relationship (ISAR)—is one of the most well-known patterns in biogeography and forms the basis for understanding biodiversity loss in response to habitat loss and fragmentation. Nevert...
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Pensoft Publishers
2019-04-01
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| Series: | Frontiers of Biogeography |
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| Online Access: | http://escholarship.org/uc/item/86b9971p |
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| author | Jonathan M. Chase Leana Gooriah Felix May Wade A. Ryberg Matthew S. Schuler Dylan Craven Tiffany M. Knight |
| author_facet | Jonathan M. Chase Leana Gooriah Felix May Wade A. Ryberg Matthew S. Schuler Dylan Craven Tiffany M. Knight |
| author_sort | Jonathan M. Chase |
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| description | <p>The relationship between an island’s size and the number of species on that island—the island species–area relationship (ISAR)—is one of the most well-known patterns in biogeography and forms the basis for understanding biodiversity loss in response to habitat loss and fragmentation. Nevertheless, there is contention about exactly how to estimate the ISAR and the influence of the three primary ecological mechanisms that drive it — random sampling, disproportionate effects, and heterogeneity. Key to this contention is that estimates of the ISAR are often confounded by sampling and estimates of measures (i.e., island-level species richness) that are not diagnostic of potential mechanisms. Here, we advocate a sampling-explicit approach for disentangling the possible ecological mechanisms underlying the ISAR using parameters derived from individual-based rarefaction curves estimated across spatial scales. If the parameters derived from rarefaction curves at each spatial scale show no relationship with island area, we cannot reject the hypothesis that ISARs result only from random sampling. However, if the derived metrics change with island area, we can reject random sampling as the only operating mechanism and infer that effects beyond sampling (i.e., disproportionate effects and/or heterogeneity) are also operating. Finally, if parameters indicative of within-island spatial variation in species composition (i.e., β-diversity) increase with island area, we can conclude that intra-island compositional heterogeneity plays a role in driving the ISAR. We illustrate this approach using representative case studies, including oceanic islands, natural island-like patches, and habitat fragments from formerly continuous habitat, illustrating several combinations of underlying mechanisms. This approach will offer insight into the role of sampling and other processes that underpin the ISAR, providing a more complete understanding of how, and some indication of why, patterns of biodiversity respond to gradients in island area.</p> |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-4635c29681ce4a42a45e686619a30a3d |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1948-6596 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2019-04-01 |
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| series | Frontiers of Biogeography |
| spelling | doaj-art-4635c29681ce4a42a45e686619a30a3d2025-08-20T03:49:07ZengPensoft PublishersFrontiers of Biogeography1948-65962019-04-0111110.21425/F5FBG40844ark:13030/qt86b9971pA framework for disentangling ecological mechanisms underlying the island species–area relationshipJonathan M. Chase0Leana Gooriah1Felix May2Wade A. Ryberg3Matthew S. Schuler4Dylan Craven5Tiffany M. Knight6German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-LeipzigGerman Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig. Deutscher Platz 5e, Leipzig, 04103, GermanyGerman Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig. Deutscher Platz 5e, Leipzig, 04103, Germany; Leuphana University Lüneburg, Universitätsallee 1, D-21335 Lüneburg, GermanyTexas A&M Natural Resources Institute, College Station, Texas, USADepartment of Biological Sciences, Darrin Fresh Water Institute, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY 12180, USAGerman Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig. Deutscher Platz 5e, Leipzig, 04103, Germany; Department of Community Ecology, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research – UFZ, Halle (Saale), Germany; Biodiversity, Macroecology & Biogeography, Faculty of Forest Sciences and Forest Ecology, University of Göttingen, Göttingen, GermanyGerman Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig. Deutscher Platz 5e, Leipzig, 04103, Germany; Department of Community Ecology, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research – UFZ, Halle (Saale), Germany; Institute of Biology, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Halle (Saale), Germany<p>The relationship between an island’s size and the number of species on that island—the island species–area relationship (ISAR)—is one of the most well-known patterns in biogeography and forms the basis for understanding biodiversity loss in response to habitat loss and fragmentation. Nevertheless, there is contention about exactly how to estimate the ISAR and the influence of the three primary ecological mechanisms that drive it — random sampling, disproportionate effects, and heterogeneity. Key to this contention is that estimates of the ISAR are often confounded by sampling and estimates of measures (i.e., island-level species richness) that are not diagnostic of potential mechanisms. Here, we advocate a sampling-explicit approach for disentangling the possible ecological mechanisms underlying the ISAR using parameters derived from individual-based rarefaction curves estimated across spatial scales. If the parameters derived from rarefaction curves at each spatial scale show no relationship with island area, we cannot reject the hypothesis that ISARs result only from random sampling. However, if the derived metrics change with island area, we can reject random sampling as the only operating mechanism and infer that effects beyond sampling (i.e., disproportionate effects and/or heterogeneity) are also operating. Finally, if parameters indicative of within-island spatial variation in species composition (i.e., β-diversity) increase with island area, we can conclude that intra-island compositional heterogeneity plays a role in driving the ISAR. We illustrate this approach using representative case studies, including oceanic islands, natural island-like patches, and habitat fragments from formerly continuous habitat, illustrating several combinations of underlying mechanisms. This approach will offer insight into the role of sampling and other processes that underpin the ISAR, providing a more complete understanding of how, and some indication of why, patterns of biodiversity respond to gradients in island area.</p>http://escholarship.org/uc/item/86b9971pArea per seAlpha-diversityBeta-diversityBiodiversityGamma-DiversityHeterogeneityFragmentationIslandSampling EffectsScaleSpecies–Area RelationshipIndividual-Based Rarefaction |
| spellingShingle | Jonathan M. Chase Leana Gooriah Felix May Wade A. Ryberg Matthew S. Schuler Dylan Craven Tiffany M. Knight A framework for disentangling ecological mechanisms underlying the island species–area relationship Frontiers of Biogeography Area per se Alpha-diversity Beta-diversity Biodiversity Gamma-Diversity Heterogeneity Fragmentation Island Sampling Effects Scale Species–Area Relationship Individual-Based Rarefaction |
| title | A framework for disentangling ecological mechanisms underlying the island species–area relationship |
| title_full | A framework for disentangling ecological mechanisms underlying the island species–area relationship |
| title_fullStr | A framework for disentangling ecological mechanisms underlying the island species–area relationship |
| title_full_unstemmed | A framework for disentangling ecological mechanisms underlying the island species–area relationship |
| title_short | A framework for disentangling ecological mechanisms underlying the island species–area relationship |
| title_sort | framework for disentangling ecological mechanisms underlying the island species area relationship |
| topic | Area per se Alpha-diversity Beta-diversity Biodiversity Gamma-Diversity Heterogeneity Fragmentation Island Sampling Effects Scale Species–Area Relationship Individual-Based Rarefaction |
| url | http://escholarship.org/uc/item/86b9971p |
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