New article: A framework for disentangling ecological mechanisms underlying the island species–area relationship
28. May
New article of the director of the Methodology Center Prof. Dr. Felix May
There are more species on larger islands and habitat areas than on smaller ones. This relationship, the so-called "island species-area relationship - ISAR", is one of the most fundamental patterns in ecology and biogeography. However, the specific mechanisms leading to an increase in biodiversity with island and habitat size are often unclear, although a detailed understanding of these mechanisms is necessary to predict changes in biodiversity in anthropogenically fragmented landscapes. In this article, we describe new methods to distinguish and quantify the importance of different mechanisms. Thus, we contribute to a better mechanistic understanding of biodiversity patterns on islands and to improved predictions of biodiversity changes in fragmented landscapes.
The article is published in the OpenAccess Journal Frontiers of Biogeography.
Contact: felix.may@leuphana.de