HOME >> BIOLOGY >> NEWS
Study illustrates diversification, speciation in biological "islands"

Lizard species on large Caribbean islands are more numerous than those on smaller islands because there is more evolution going on.

The bigger the island, the faster species proliferate and diversify.

Jonathan B. Losos, Ph.D., associate professor of biology in Arts and Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis, proved this species-area relationship in a study of 143 species of Caribbean Anolis lizards on 147 islands. Focusing on the four largest islands, Cuba, Hispaniola, Jamaica and Puerto Rico, collectively known as the Greater Antilles, Losos showed that the diversity of lizard species is primarily a result of the evolutionary process of speciation, rather than the ecological processes of colonization and extinction.

Losos, and co-author Dolph Schluter, Ph.D., professor of biology at the University of British Columbia, published these results in the Dec. 14, 2000 issue of Nature. The study is an important and novel extension of a 33 year old theory on the genesis of biological diversity.

"When you focus on the larger islands, the rate of speciation is a function of island area," said Losos. "A large island equals more speciation events. At some level this is intuitive, but it has never been demonstrated before that differences in the rate of speciation, of evolution, can produce the species-area relationship."

Losos and Schluters results complement the well-known "Equilibrium Theory of Island Biogeography," proposed in 1967 by the late Robert MacArthur of Princeton University and E.O. Wilson of Harvard University. MacArthur and Wilsons ecological theory proposed that the number of species on any island reflects a balance between the rate at which new species colonize it and the rate at which populations of established species become extinct.

An "island" in this sense is not strictly an island in a stream or ocean, but any ecosystem, say a forest, surrounded by barriers. A major component of this theory i
'"/>

Contact: Tony Fitzpatrick
tony_fitzpatrick@aismail.wustl.edu
314-935-5272
Washington University in St. Louis
13-Dec-2000


Page: 1 2 3

Related biology news :

1. Study: Emission of smog ingredients from trees is increasing rapidly
2. Study explores gene transfer to modify underlying course of Alzheimers disease
3. Study reveals why eyes in some paintings seem to follow viewers
4. Study by Israeli scientists provides insight on DNA code
5. Study reveals first genetic step necessary for prostate cancer growth
6. Study of flu patients reveals virus outsmarting key drug
7. Study in Science reveals recreational fishing takes big bite of ocean catch
8. Study suggests cell-cycle triggers might be cancer drug targets
9. Study narrows search for genes placing men at increased risk for prostate cancer
10. Study links high carbohydrate diet to increased breast cancer risk
11. Study explains spatial orientation differences between sexes

Post Your Comments:
(Date:5/20/2013)... known as the lungs of the planet, inhales carbon dioxide ... air to grow parts that eventually fall to the ground ... rainfall. , Until recently people believed much of the ... up deep in the ocean. University of Washington research showed ... dioxide though left open the question of how that ...
(Date:5/20/2013)... Geology articles posted online ahead of print ... swath of geoscience subdisciplines, including minerals exploration, archaeology, ... studied include Siberia; the Sumatran subduction margin; the ... Mars; and the Southeastern U.S. Atlantic Margin. Brief ... plate tectonics;, 2. The clear fingerprint of ice ...
(Date:5/18/2013)... 18, 2013) Research presented today at Digestive Disease ... with findings about the impact of coffee on autoimmune ... While coffee consumption recently has been associated with reduced ... a few more cups of java each month also ... disease. Researchers at the Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, linked ...
Breaking Biology News(10 mins):Amazon River exhales virtually all carbon taken up by rain forest 2Amazon River exhales virtually all carbon taken up by rain forest 3New in GEOLOGY: Gems, Darwin, Mars, Hemp, Snowball Earth, a Siberian Impact Crater, and More 2New in GEOLOGY: Gems, Darwin, Mars, Hemp, Snowball Earth, a Siberian Impact Crater, and More 3New in GEOLOGY: Gems, Darwin, Mars, Hemp, Snowball Earth, a Siberian Impact Crater, and More 4New in GEOLOGY: Gems, Darwin, Mars, Hemp, Snowball Earth, a Siberian Impact Crater, and More 5New in GEOLOGY: Gems, Darwin, Mars, Hemp, Snowball Earth, a Siberian Impact Crater, and More 6New in GEOLOGY: Gems, Darwin, Mars, Hemp, Snowball Earth, a Siberian Impact Crater, and More 7New in GEOLOGY: Gems, Darwin, Mars, Hemp, Snowball Earth, a Siberian Impact Crater, and More 8New in GEOLOGY: Gems, Darwin, Mars, Hemp, Snowball Earth, a Siberian Impact Crater, and More 9New in GEOLOGY: Gems, Darwin, Mars, Hemp, Snowball Earth, a Siberian Impact Crater, and More 10New in GEOLOGY: Gems, Darwin, Mars, Hemp, Snowball Earth, a Siberian Impact Crater, and More 11Coffee consumption associated with reduced risk of autoimmune liver disease 2
(Date:5/20/2013)... , May 20, 2013  (PSHR) Pacific Shore ... based products across a broad range of product ... retained investor relations firm, BlueWater Advisory Group, to ... to trading process, and to direct the company,s ... Matthew Mills , ...
(Date:5/20/2013)... , May 20, 2013 Cempra, ... on developing differentiated antibiotics to meet critical medical ... announced that it presented data at the American ... Philadelphia demonstrating the antibacterial and ... Cempra,s prior Phase 2 clinical trial in outpatients ...
(Date:5/20/2013)... Del. (PRWEB) May 20, 2013 ... 14 young faculty members to its 2013 Class ... years, the company will provide this outstanding international ... work in advancing basic science to meet global ... designed to help promising young and untenured research ...
(Date:5/19/2013)... (PRWEB) May 19, 2013 Switzerland’s ... today announced a new speed record for a transatlantic ... Las Palmas, Spain, on April 25, 2013, the solar ... Ocean at the average speed of 5.3 knots before ... on May 18, 2013. The first-of-its-kind catamaran completed this ...
Breaking Biology Technology:Pacific Shore Holdings Retains Investor Relations Firm 2Cempra Presents Post-Phase 2 Analysis of Solithromycin's Efficacy and Safety Results from Patients with Community Acquired Bacterial Pneumonia (CABP) 2DuPont Celebrates Scientific Innovation by Recognizing Young Professors 2DuPont Celebrates Scientific Innovation by Recognizing Young Professors 3MS Tûranor PlanetSolar Sets World Speed Record for Transatlantic Crossing by Solar Electric Vessel 2MS Tûranor PlanetSolar Sets World Speed Record for Transatlantic Crossing by Solar Electric Vessel 3MS Tûranor PlanetSolar Sets World Speed Record for Transatlantic Crossing by Solar Electric Vessel 4MS Tûranor PlanetSolar Sets World Speed Record for Transatlantic Crossing by Solar Electric Vessel 5MS Tûranor PlanetSolar Sets World Speed Record for Transatlantic Crossing by Solar Electric Vessel 6
Cached News: