The study of insular systems has a long history in ecology and biogeography. Island plants often differ remarkably from their noninsular counterparts, constituting excellent models for exploring ...eco-evolutionary processes. Trait-based approaches can help to answer important questions in island biogeography, yet plant trait patterns on islands remain understudied. We discuss three key hypotheses linking functional ecology to island biogeography: (i) plants in insular systems are characterized by distinct functional trait syndromes (compared with noninsular environments); (ii) these syndromes differ between true islands and terrestrial habitat islands; and (iii) island characteristics influence trait syndromes in a predictable manner. We are convinced that implementing trait-based comparative approaches would considerably further our understanding of plant ecology and evolution in insular systems.
Trait-based approaches may provide important insights into the dynamics of insular systems (i.e., true islands and terrestrial habitat islands) and can help to address key questions in island biogeography.However, the study of plant traits on islands is in its infancy and a robust framework tailored to island biogeography is lacking.Plants in insular systems, compared with the mainland, experience unique eco-evolutionary histories and are influenced by specific processes such as those related to isolation. These factors should be reflected in specific patterns of plant traits.
The Azores, Madeira, Selvagens, Canary Islands and Cabo Verde are commonly united under the term "Macaronesia". This study investigates the coherency and validity of Macaronesia as a biogeographic ...unit using six marine groups with very different dispersal abilities: coastal fishes, echinoderms, gastropod molluscs, brachyuran decapod crustaceans, polychaete annelids, and macroalgae. We found no support for the current concept of Macaronesia as a coherent marine biogeographic unit. All marine groups studied suggest the exclusion of Cabo Verde from the remaining Macaronesian archipelagos and thus, Cabo Verde should be given the status of a biogeographic subprovince within the West African Transition province. We propose to redefine the Lusitanian biogeographical province, in which we include four ecoregions: the South European Atlantic Shelf, the Saharan Upwelling, the Azores, and a new ecoregion herein named Webbnesia, which comprises the archipelagos of Madeira, Selvagens and the Canary Islands.
The theory of island biogeography revisited Losos, Jonathan B; Losos, Jonathan B; Ricklefs, Robert E
Princeton University Press eBooks,
2010., 20091019, 2009, 2010-01-01
eBook
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Robert H. MacArthur and Edward O. Wilson's The Theory of Island Biogeography, first published by Princeton in 1967, is one of the most influential books on ecology and evolution to appear in the past ...half century. By developing a general mathematical theory to explain a crucial ecological problem--the regulation of species diversity in island populations--the book transformed the science of biogeography and ecology as a whole. In The Theory of Island Biogeography Revisited, some of today's most prominent biologists assess the continuing impact of MacArthur and Wilson's book four decades after its publication. Following an opening chapter in which Wilson reflects on island biogeography in the 1960s, fifteen chapters evaluate and demonstrate how the field has extended and confirmed--as well as challenged and modified--MacArthur and Wilson's original ideas. Providing a broad picture of the fundamental ways in which the science of island biogeography has been shaped by MacArthur and Wilson's landmark work, The Theory of Island Biogeography Revisited also points the way toward exciting future research.
Towards an integrative understanding of soil biodiversity Thakur, Madhav P.; Phillips, Helen R. P.; Brose, Ulrich ...
Biological reviews of the Cambridge Philosophical Society,
April 2020, Letnik:
95, Številka:
2
Journal Article
Recenzirano
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ABSTRACT
Soil is one of the most biodiverse terrestrial habitats. Yet, we lack an integrative conceptual framework for understanding the patterns and mechanisms driving soil biodiversity. One of the ...underlying reasons for our poor understanding of soil biodiversity patterns relates to whether key biodiversity theories (historically developed for aboveground and aquatic organisms) are applicable to patterns of soil biodiversity. Here, we present a systematic literature review to investigate whether and how key biodiversity theories (species–energy relationship, theory of island biogeography, metacommunity theory, niche theory and neutral theory) can explain observed patterns of soil biodiversity. We then discuss two spatial compartments nested within soil at which biodiversity theories can be applied to acknowledge the scale‐dependent nature of soil biodiversity.
Whale Optimization Algorithm (WOA) is a popular swarm-based algorithm with some spotted defects in its generated patterns during the searching phases. In this study, an enhanced WOA-based method is ...proposed in order to overcome the drawbacks of slow convergence speed and easy falling of WOA into the local optimum. The designed variant is called enhanced WOA (EWOA), which combines two strategies at the same time. First, a new communication mechanism (CM) is embedded into the basic WOA to promote the global optimal search ability and the exploitation tendency of the WOA. Then, the Biogeography-based Optimization (BBO) algorithm is partially utilized to harmonize the exploration and exploitation trends. A representative set of comprehensive benchmark cases and three engineering cases are utilized to verify the advantages of the proposed EWOA. The experimental results show that the exploration ability, exploitation ability, state of the balance, and convergence style of the algorithm has been improved significantly. Based on results, the proposed EWOA is a promising and excellent algorithm, and it has achieved better solution quality and faster convergence rate compared with other most advanced algorithms. For access to material and guide for users of this paper, we host an online page at https://aliasgharheidari.com.
Macaronesia is a biogeographical region comprising five Atlantic Oceanic archipelagos: the Azores, Madeira, Selvagen (Savage Islands), Canaries and Cape Verde. It has strong affinities with the ...Atlantic coast of the Iberian Peninsula and the north-western fringes of Africa. This paper re-evaluates the biogeographical history and relationships of Macaronesia in the light of geological evidence, which suggests that large and high islands may have been continuously available in the region for very much longer than is indicated by the maximum surface area of the oldest current island (27 Ma) - possibly for as long as 60 million years. We review this literature, attempting a sequential reconstruction of Palaeo-Macaronesia from 60 Ma to the present. We consider the implications of these geological dynamics for our understanding of the history of colonization of the present islands of Macaronesia. We also evaluate the role of these archipelagos as stepping stones and as both repositories of palaeo-endemic forms and crucibles of neo-endemic radiations of plant and animal groups. Our principal focus is on the laurel forest communities, long considered impoverished relicts of the Palaeotropical Tethyan flora. This account is therefore contextualized by reference to the long-term climatic and biogeographical history of Southern Europe and North Africa and by consideration of the implications of changes in land-sea configuration, climate and ocean circulation for Macaronesian biogeography. We go on to provide a synthesis of the more recent history of Macaronesian forests, which has involved a process of impoverishment of the native elements of the biota that has accelerated since human conquest of the islands. We comment briefly on these processes and on the contemporary status and varied conservation opportunities and threats facing these forests across the Macaronesian biogeographical region.
This paper explores biogeography-based learning particle swarm optimization (BLPSO). Specifically, based on migration of biogeography-based optimization (BBO), a new biogeography-based learning ...strategy is proposed for particle swarm optimization (PSO), whereby each particle updates itself by using the combination of its own personal best position and personal best positions of all other particles through the BBO migration. The proposed BLPSO is thoroughly evaluated on 30 benchmark functions from CEC 2014. The results are very promising, as BLPSO outperforms five well-established PSO variants and several other representative evolutionary algorithms.
Nonequilibrium dynamics and non‐neutral processes, such as trait‐dependent dispersal, are often missing from quantitative island biogeography models despite their potential explanatory value. One of ...the most influential nonequilibrium models is the taxon cycle, but it has been difficult to test its validity as a general biogeographical framework. Here, we test predictions of the taxon cycle model using six expected phylogenetic patterns and a time‐calibrated phylogeny of Indo‐Pacific Odontomachus (Hymenoptera: Formicidae: Ponerinae), one of the ant genera that E.O. Wilson used when first proposing the hypothesis. We used model‐based inference and a newly developed trait‐dependent dispersal model to jointly estimate ancestral biogeography, ecology (habitat preferences for forest interiors, vs. “marginal” habitats, such as savannahs, shorelines, disturbed areas) and the linkage between ecology and dispersal rates. We found strong evidence that habitat shifts from forest interior to open and disturbed habitats increased macroevolutionary dispersal rate. In addition, lineages occupying open and disturbed habitats can give rise to both island endemics re‐occupying only forest interiors and taxa that re‐expand geographical ranges. The phylogenetic predictions outlined in this study can be used in future work to evaluate the relative weights of neutral (e.g., geographical distance and area) and non‐neutral (e.g., trait‐dependent dispersal) processes in historical biogeography and community ecology.
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