Island Biogeography

The theory of island biogeography, put forward by Robert MacArthur and E. O. Wilson, quantitatively expounds the relationship between species richness and area on islands. The theory of island biogeography first expounds the relationship between species richness and area and isolation degree from the dynamic aspect, and holds that the species richness on islands depends on the migration of new species and the extinction of species that originally occupied islands. The mutual growth and decline of these two processes leads to the dynamic change of species richness on islands. When the migration rate is equal to the extinction rate, the number of island species reaches a dynamic equilibrium state, that is, the number of species is relatively stable, but the composition of species is constantly changing and renewing. In this state, the species renewal rate is numerically equal to the migration rate or extinction rate at that time, which is usually called Species turnover rate. This is the core content of island biogeography theory.

Edited and Translated by Zhang Yifei