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The theory of the nested species–area relationship: geometric foundations of biodiversity scaling
Author(s) -
Storch David
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
journal of vegetation science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.1
H-Index - 115
eISSN - 1654-1103
pISSN - 1100-9233
DOI - 10.1111/jvs.12428
Subject(s) - species richness , ecology , relative abundance distribution , species diversity , abundance (ecology) , biodiversity , macroecology , spatial ecology , extinction (optical mineralogy) , spatial distribution , geography , relative species abundance , biology , remote sensing , paleontology
The relationship between sampled area and the number of species within that area, the species–area relationship ( SAR ), is a major biodiversity pattern and one of a few law‐like regularities in ecology. While the SAR for isolated units (islands or continents) is assumed to result from the dynamics of species colonization, speciation and extinction, the SAR for contiguous areas in which smaller plots are nested within larger sample areas can be attributed to spatial patterns in the distribution of individuals. The nested SAR is typically triphasic in logarithmic space, so that it increases steeply at smaller scales, decelerates at intermediate scales and increases steeply again at continental scales. I will review current theory for this pattern, showing that all three phases of the SAR can be derived from simple geometric considerations. The increase of species richness with area in logarithmic space is generally determined by overall species rarity, so that the rarer the species are on average, the higher is the local slope z . Rarity is scale‐dependent: species occupy only a minor proportion of area at broad spatial scales, leading to upward accelerating shape of the SAR at continental scales. Similarly, species are represented by only a few individuals at fine spatial scales, leading to high SAR slope also at small areas. Geometric considerations reveal links of the SAR to other macroecological patterns, namely patterns of β‐diversity, the species–abundance distribution, and the relationship between energy availability (or productivity) and species richness. Knowledge of the regularities concerning nested SAR s may be used for standardizing unequal areas, upscaling species richness and estimating species loss due to area loss, but all these applications have their limits, which also follow from the geometric considerations.

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