Preface to the Princeton Landmarks in Biology Edition vii Preface xi Symbols Used xiii 1. The Importance of Islands 3 2. Area and Number of Speicies 8 3. Further Explanations of the Area-Diversity Pattern 19 4. The Strategy of Colonization 68 5. Invasibility and the Variable Niche 94 6. Stepping Stones and Biotic Exchange 123 7. Evolutionary Changes Following Colonization 145 8. Prospect 181 Glossary 185 References 193 Index 201

The Theory of Island Biogeography

Statistical method for testing the neutral mutation hypothesis by DNA polymorphism.

I. the origin of species by means of natural selection

Human activities, especially conversion and degradation of habitats, are causing global biodiversity declines. How local ecological assemblages are responding is less clear--a concern given their importance for many ecosystem functions and services. We analysed a terrestrial assemblage database of unprecedented geographic and taxonomic coverage to quantify local biodiversity responses to land use and related changes. Here we show that in the worst-affected habitats, these pressures reduce within-sample species richness by an average of 76.5%, total abundance by 39.5% and rarefaction-based richness by 40.3%. We estimate that, globally, these pressures have already slightly reduced average within-sample richness (by 13.6%), total abundance (10.7%) and rarefaction-based richness (8.1%), with changes showing marked spatial variation. Rapid further losses are predicted under a business-as-usual land-use scenario; within-sample richness is projected to fall by a further 3.4% globally by 2100, with losses concentrated in biodiverse but economically poor countries. Strong mitigation can deliver much more positive biodiversity changes (up to a 1.9% average increase) that are less strongly related to countries' socioeconomic status.

/pdf/global-effects-of-land-use-on-local-terrestrial-biodiversity-31yzxze5ly.pdf

Global effects of land use on local terrestrial biodiversity

A census of the biomass on Earth is key for understanding the structure and dynamics of the biosphere. However, a global, quantitative view of how the biomass of different taxa compare with one another is still lacking. Here, we assemble the overall biomass composition of the biosphere, establishing a census of the ≈550 gigatons of carbon (Gt C) of biomass distributed among all of the kingdoms of life. We find that the kingdoms of life concentrate at different locations on the planet; plants (≈450 Gt C, the dominant kingdom) are primarily terrestrial, whereas animals (≈2 Gt C) are mainly marine, and bacteria (≈70 Gt C) and archaea (≈7 Gt C) are predominantly located in deep subsurface environments. We show that terrestrial biomass is about two orders of magnitude higher than marine biomass and estimate a total of ≈6 Gt C of marine biota, doubling the previous estimated quantity. Our analysis reveals that the global marine biomass pyramid contains more consumers than producers, thus increasing the scope of previous observations on inverse food pyramids. Finally, we highlight that the mass of humans is an order of magnitude higher than that of all wild mammals combined and report the historical impact of humanity on the global biomass of prominent taxa, including mammals, fish, and plants.

https://www.pnas.org/content/pnas/115/25/6506.full.pdf

The biomass distribution on Earth

Forty common swifts (Apus apus), synanthropic birds living in an urban environment closely with humans and other animals, were hospitalized in the public veterinary hospital of the Regional Reference Center of Urban Veterinary Hygiene located in Naples, Campania Region, Italy. Each bird was sampled for bacteriological analyses. Out of 40 common swifts examined, eight were found positive for Salmonella enterica serovar Infantis although no sign of salmonellosis (e.g. diarrhoea) was shown. This is believed to be the first report of Salmonella spp. infection in common swifts. Our results suggest this avian species as a novel potential reservoir for one of most important Salmonella serovars.

First report of Salmonella enterica serovar Infantis in common swifts (Apus apus).

Howler monkeys (genus Alouatta) are large folivorous primates living in South America. We tested for the application of both Rensch’s rule and Bergmann’s rule to body size variation in Alouatta. We found that Rensch’s rule does apply in howlers. In Alouatta, males exploit dominance rank competition, and take advantage from seasonal abundance of high nutritious fruit supply in their diet. This mating system and dietary charateristics suggest positive male selection for body size is responsible for Rensch’s rule. However, since folivory favors large body size in primates (to lower mass specific metabolic rate) and it is the primary dietary habitus in howlers, larger species do occur in the Amazon basin, originating a reversed Bergmann’s rule pattern for both males and females at the interspecific level. The spatial and phylogenetic components of such body size patterns of variation are both important, implying Alouatta ecomorphological differences to occur above the species level, justifying their non-overlapping geographic distribution.

http://www.italian-journal-of-mammalogy.it/pdf-83722-28713?filename=Rensch_s and Bergmann_s.pdf

Rensch’s and Bergmann’s Rules in Cis-Andean South-American Howler Monkeys (Mammalia: Alouatta )

When a species evolves as a unit into another, the progression is termed anagenesis. If a species splits into two (or more), the process is called cladogenesis. Emerson and Patiño [1] recently argued that these terms imply both ‘trait change among species, and the mechanistic . . . basis of such change’. They suggest that ‘the usage of anagenetic and cladogenetic speciation should be abandoned’. We claim that these propositions are false, confuse patterns with processes, mix speciation patterns with the geography of speciation, and call for abandonment of extremely valuable, straightforward, and widely used terms.

Anagenesis and Cladogenesis Are Useful Island Biogeography Terms

We describe the new ichnospecies Oichnus taddeii, a bioerosion trace left by parasitic capulids on fossil brachiopods, prevalently Quaternary Terebratula species. We present the diagnosis of the new ichnospecies and discuss its status. The trace was previously attributed to either Oichnus or Lacrimichnus ichngenera. We provide a statistical assessment of the trace distribution on brachiopod shells, in order to infer the capulid behaviour, and the parasitic activity the trace represents

/pdf/oichnus-taddeii-a-new-fossil-trace-produced-by-capulids-on-5pu87jg2ye.pdf

Oichnus taddeii, a new fossil trace produced by capulids on brachiopod shells

Rates of biological evolution on islands are often presumed to exceed rates on the mainland. We tested this postulation by computing the evolutionary rate of head shape in Italian wall lizard Podarcis siculus, occurring on four islands off the coast of Southern Italy. We calculated the evolutionary rate using a phylogenetic tree whose node ages were derived from Lambeck et al. predicted ages of geographic isolation of the islands. Such ages are based on a relative sea-level change model for the late Pleistocene–Holocene. Through a likelihood optimization procedure, our method allows computing, besides the evolutionary rate, biological estimates of the ages of insular populations, with this indirectly testing Lambeck et al.’s model estimates. We found that the rate of evolution in Podarcis head shapes on islands is not statistically different from the mainland rate, although insular lizards have distinctive head shapes. Overall, the insular phenotype took 1–4000 years to arise (differing among islands). Th...

Pasquale Raia

Papers

First report of Salmonella enterica serovar Infantis in common swifts (Apus apus).

Rensch’s and Bergmann’s Rules in Cis-Andean South-American Howler Monkeys (Mammalia: Alouatta )

Anagenesis and Cladogenesis Are Useful Island Biogeography Terms

Oichnus taddeii, a new fossil trace produced by capulids on brachiopod shells

Predicted sea-level changes and evolutionary estimates for age of isolation in Central Mediterranean insular lizards