Species Area Relationships

Question 1

What is a criticism of IBM?

Answer 1

It ignores functional differences of species, considering them all ecologically equivalent.

Question 2

What does IBM rely on?

Answer 2

Dynamic equilibrium of colonization and extinction processes only

Question 3

What does niche theory rely on?

Answer 3

Environmental heterogeneity and niche partitioning as drivers of species richness patterns.

Question 4

What can develop from IBM/niche theory two theories?

Answer 4

An integrated approach including deterministic and random components to enhance predictive ability.

Question 5

Why is SAR important for synergising Niche THeory/IBM?

Answer 5

Constitutes random aspects of integrative approahces, and allows differences among SAR, according to species trait(deterministic)

Question 6

What is a suggested integrative of NT/IBM?

Answer 6

Understanding SAR parameter interaction with modifying variables like species trait and area, to make predictions.

Question 7

What traits can extinction risk be related to?

Answer 7

Trophic rank, reproductive capacity, and mobility.

Question 8

How can feeding habits relate to extinction risk?

Answer 8

Generalist species have higher niche breadth than specialists.

Question 9

What can population persistence be affected by?

Answer 9

Population size, range size, or measures of rarity.

Question 10

What does Franzens 2012 study do?

Answer 10

Relates traitns of butterflies and moths to SAR, especially to processes of colonization and extinction.

Question 11

What species traits did Franzens 2012 anaylse?

Answer 11

Rperoductive potential, abundance, range size, temporal population trend, body size, adult activity temperature, and habitat niche.

Question 12

What were the results of Franzens 2012 study?

Answer 12

Positive relationship between species richness and area of 1016 species, with species traits increasing predictive power from 69% to 90%

Question 13

What traits were most sensitive to area in Franzens 2012 study?

Answer 13

Small range, low abundance, declining population trend

Question 14

Why is SAR useful?

Answer 14

Interpolates/extrapolates BD across scales, useful for hotspot identification and nature reserve design.

Question 15

How might sampling design influence SAR?

Answer 15

Nested/independent sampling, scale/grain size of design, sampling intensity and sampling design with varying starting locations

Question 16

What is an example of SAR differing among taxa?

Answer 16

Herbaceous plants have high dispersal rate and flatter SAR, as opposed to shorter dispersers like woody plants

Question 17

What does He et al., 2022 study do?

Answer 17

Investigate how SAR changes with plant life forms and sampling starting location, and how environmental heterogeneity contributes to SAR variation in subalpine coniferous forests

Question 18

What were the results of He et al., 2022 study?

Answer 18

Variation of SAR mong plant life

Question 19

How did Z values change in He et al., study?

Answer 19

Larger for herbaceous plants than for trees

Question 20

What is an important consideration regarding sampling design for SAR?

Answer 20

That when across few data points, stochasiticty and variation within SAR plots changes relationship

Question 21

What is the Z score?

Answer 21

This is value of the SAR slope, indicating species richness of a considered area.

Question 22

How did He et al., find sampling location to be important?

Answer 22

Soil and topographic heterogeneity changed SAR curve

Question 23

What is the fundamental SAR equation?

Answer 23

S = cA^z (S is number of species, A is area under consideration, c is a constant, and z is a scaling exponent)

Question 24

What does the SAR equation suggest?

Answer 24

As A increases, species increases but not lineraly, but that rate of accumulation slows down

Question 25

What do the values of SAR equation tell you?

Answer 25

If z is close to 1, rapid increase in species richness as area increases, if closer to 0, slower rate of increase

Question 26

How can SAR patterns be measured?

Answer 26

Distinguish between insular and non-insular systems, like Island Species Area Relationship

Question 27

What three mechanisms generate positive ISAR?

Answer 27

Increasing individuals with increasing area, increasing range for ecological conditions, and reduction in extinction rates, the two former sampling effects, the latter reducing stochastic extinction likelihood

Question 28

Why is measuring ISAR difficult?

Answer 28

Hard to control for number of individuals and range of environmental conditions, whilst controlling for area effects on species richness,

Question 29

What mechansism are important in dispersal impact on richness?

Answer 29

Spatial storage effect and Internal rescue effect.

Question 30

Spatial Storage Effect

Answer 30

This is that extinction on an isolate local community can only be balanced by colonization from an external source, whilst an extinction in a community within a metacommunity can be balanced by dispersal, thus increasing area promotes richness through enabling extinction-colonization dynamics.

Question 31

What is the internal rescue effect?

Answer 31

This is how dispersal from neighbouring communites may rescue species fluctuating to a small population size from risk of local extinction

Question 32

How might dispersal reduce species richness?

Answer 32

Reducing opportunities for competitive refuges, or reduction in coexistence likelihood by spatial niche partitioning, and increasing determininistic spatial niche partitioning likelihood

Question 33

What are competitive refuges?

Answer 33

Ability of competitively inferior species to spatially escape from super competitors