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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.
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.
This is especially obvious in the field of insular biogeography. Combined with the well-established geological theory of plate tectonics , common descent provides a way to combine facts about the current distribution of species with evidence from the fossil record to provide a logically consistent explanation of how the distribution of living ...
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.
These patterns are explained by the theory of insular biogeography, a concept that explains how evolution progresses when populations are restricted into isolated pockets. This theory was originally developed for oceanic islands , but it can be applied equally well to any other ecosystem that is fragmented, only existing in small patches and ...
Inherent – Natural features stabilize the border location. Induced – Transient natural disturbances (e.g., fire or flood) or human related activities, subject borders to successional changes over time.