The species-area relationship and evolution

Authored by Henrik Jeldtoft Jensen, Daniel Lawson

Date Published: 2006

DOI: 10.1016/j.jtbi.2005.12.018

Sponsors: United Kingdom Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC)

Platforms: No platforms listed

Model Documentation: Other Narrative

Model Code URLs: Model code not found

Abstract

Models relating to the species-area curve usually assume the existence of species, and are concerned mainly with ecological timescales. We examine an individual-based model of co-evolution on a spatial lattice based on the tangled nature model in which species are emergent structures, and show that reproduction, mutation and dispersion by diffusion, with interaction via genotype space, produces power-law species-area relations as observed in ecological measurements at medium scales. We find that long-lasting co-evolutionary habitats form, allowing high diversity levels in a spatially homogenous system. (c) 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Tags

ecology Model Abundance Curves Tangled nature Neutral theory