Abstract
Consequences of species-area relationships (SARs) of the form S = cA(z) are derived. One consequence is an endemics-area relationship (EAR); it is of the same power-law form as the SAR but with an exponent z' that is a function only of z and that always exceeds unity. An explicit formula is derived for the dependence of species turnover in space on census plot size, interplot distance, and the SAR exponent z; this formula can be used to determine z over spatial scales that are too large to permit direct estimate of z by censusing of nested patches. The areal dependence of link-species patterns observed in food webs is also examined; SARs are shown to imply the approximate, but not exact, area-independence of link-species relationships of the form L = kS(y), where L is the number of trophic links and y ≤ 2. A relationship between the average range of species in a habitat patch and the exponent z is also derived, leading to the result that average range is a decreasing function of both patch area and z.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 417-427 |
Number of pages | 11 |
Journal | Oikos |
Volume | 80 |
Issue number | 3 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Dec 1997 |
Externally published | Yes |
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics