What do human economies, large islands and forest fragments reveal about the factors limiting ecosystem evolution?

Leigh, Egbert Giles; Vermeij, G. J.; Wikelski, Martin

What do human economies, large islands and forest fragments reveal about the factors limiting ecosystem evolution?

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Date

2009

Authors

Leigh, Egbert Giles

Vermeij, G. J.

Wikelski, Martin

Publication type

Journal article

Published in

Journal of Evolutionary Biology ; 22 (2009), 1. - pp. 1-12. - ISSN 1010-061X. - eISSN 1420-9101

Abstract

What factors limit ecosystem evolution? Like human economies, ecosystems are arenas where agents compete for locally limiting resources. Like economies, but unlike genes, ecosystems are not units of selection. In both economies and ecosystems, productivity, diversity of occupations or species and intensity of competition presuppose interdependence among many different agents. In both, competitive dominants need abundant, varied resources, and many agents' products or services, to support the activity and responsiveness needed to maintain dominance. Comparing different-sized land masses suggests that productivity is lower on islands whose area is too small to maintain some of the interdependences that maintain diversity, productivity and competitiveness in mainland ecosystems. Islands lacking the rare, metabolically active dominants that make competition so intense in mainland ecosystems are more easily invaded by introduced exotics. Studies of islets in reservoirs identify mechanisms generating these phenomena. These phenomena suggest how continued fragmentation will affect future 'natural' ecosystems.

Subject (DDC)

570 Biosciences, Biology

Keywords

diversity,fragmentation,intensity of competition,intensity of herbivory,interdependence,islands,productivity

Cite This

ISO 690

LEIGH, Egbert Giles, G. J. VERMEIJ, Martin WIKELSKI, 2009. What do human economies, large islands and forest fragments reveal about the factors limiting ecosystem evolution?. In: Journal of Evolutionary Biology. 22(1), pp. 1-12. ISSN 1010-061X. eISSN 1420-9101. Available under: doi: 10.1111/j.1420-9101.2008.01624.x

BibTex

@article{Leigh2009human-1228,
  year={2009},
  doi={10.1111/j.1420-9101.2008.01624.x},
  title={What do human economies, large islands and forest fragments reveal about the factors limiting ecosystem evolution?},
  number={1},
  volume={22},
  issn={1010-061X},
  journal={Journal of Evolutionary Biology},
  pages={1--12},
  author={Leigh, Egbert Giles and Vermeij, G. J. and Wikelski, Martin}
}

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Bibliography of Konstanz

Yes