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

The commonly observed high diversity of trees in tropical rain forests and corals on tropical reefs is a nonequilibrium state which, if not disturbed further, will progress toward a low-diversity equilibrium community. This may not happen if gradual changes in climate favor different species. If equilibrium is reached, a lesser degree of diversity may be sustained by niche diversification or by a compensatory mortality that favors inferior competitors. However, tropical forests and reefs are subject to severe disturbances often enough that equilibrium may never be attained.

https://www.colby.edu/biology/BI358j/Readings/Diversity%20in%20rainforests%20and%20coral%20reefs.pdf

Diversity in tropical rain forests and coral reefs.

The planetary boundaries framework defines a safe operating space for humanity based on the intrinsic biophysical processes that regulate the stability of the Earth system. Here, we revise and update the planetary boundary framework, with a focus on the underpinning biophysical science, based on targeted input from expert research communities and on more general scientific advances over the past 5 years. Several of the boundaries now have a two-tier approach, reflecting the importance of cross-scale interactions and the regional-level heterogeneity of the processes that underpin the boundaries. Two core boundaries—climate change and biosphere integrity—have been identified, each of which has the potential on its own to drive the Earth system into a new state should they be substantially and persistently transgressed.

/pdf/planetary-boundaries-guiding-human-development-on-a-changing-5gmf909etg.pdf

Planetary boundaries: Guiding human development on a changing planet

Anthropogenic pressures on the Earth System have reached a scale where abrupt global environmental change can no longer be excluded. We propose a new approach to global sustainability in which we define planetary boundaries within which we expect that humanity can operate safely. Transgressing one or more planetary boundaries may be deleterious or even catastrophic due to the risk of crossing thresholds that will trigger non-linear, abrupt environmental change within continental- to planetary-scale systems. We have identified nine planetary boundaries and, drawing upon current scientific understanding, we propose quantifications for seven of them. These seven are climate change (CO2 concentration in the atmosphere <350 ppm and/or a maximum change of +1 W m-2 in radiative forcing); ocean acidification (mean surface seawater saturation state with respect to aragonite ≥ 80% of pre-industrial levels); stratospheric ozone (<5% reduction in O3 concentration from pre-industrial level of 290 Dobson Units); biogeochemical nitrogen (N) cycle (limit industrial and agricultural fixation of N2 to 35 Tg N yr-1) and phosphorus (P) cycle (annual P inflow to oceans not to exceed 10 times the natural background weathering of P); global freshwater use (<4000 km3 yr-1 of consumptive use of runoff resources); land system change (<15% of the ice-free land surface under cropland); and the rate at which biological diversity is lost (annual rate of <10 extinctions per million species). The two additional planetary boundaries for which we have not yet been able to determine a boundary level are chemical pollution and atmospheric aerosol loading. We estimate that humanity has already transgressed three planetary boundaries: for climate change, rate of biodiversity loss, and changes to the global nitrogen cycle. Planetary boundaries are interdependent, because transgressing one may both shift the position of other boundaries or cause them to be transgressed. The social impacts of transgressing boundaries will be a function of the social-ecological resilience of the affected societies. Our proposed boundaries are rough, first estimates only, surrounded by large uncertainties and knowledge gaps. Filling these gaps will require major advancements in Earth System and resilience science. The proposed concept of "planetary boundaries" lays the groundwork for shifting our approach to governance and management, away from the essentially sectoral analyses of limits to growth aimed at minimizing negative externalities, toward the estimation of the safe space for human development. Planetary boundaries define, as it were, the boundaries of the "planetary playing field" for humanity if we want to be sure of avoiding major human-induced environmental change on a global scale.

/pdf/planetary-boundaries-exploring-the-safe-operating-space-for-ir5ysgjg96.pdf

Planetary boundaries: Exploring the safe operating space for humanity

Acts in what Hutchinson (1965) has called the 'ecological theatre' are played out on various scales of space and time. To understand the drama, we must view it on the appropriate scale. Plant ecologists long ago recognized the importance of sampling scale in their descriptions of the dispersion or distribution of species (e.g. Greig-Smith, 1952). However, many ecologists have behaved as if patterns and the processes that produce them are insensitive to differences in scale and have designed their studies with little explicit attention to scale. Kareiva & Andersen (1988) surveyed nearly 100 field experiments in community ecology and found that half were conducted on plots no larger than 1 m in diameter, despite considerable differences in the sizes and types of organisms studied. Investigators addressing the same questions have often conducted their studies on quite different scales. Not surprisingly, their findings have not always matched, and arguments have ensued. The disagreements among conservation biologists over the optimal design of nature reserves (see Simberloff, 1988) are at least partly due to a failure to appreciate scaling differences among organisms. Controversies about the role of competition in structuring animal communities (Schoener, 1982; Wiens, 1983, 1989) or about the degree of coevolution in communities (Connell, 1980; Roughgarden, 1983) may reflect the

https://www.jstor.org/stable/info/2389612

Spatial Scaling in Ecology

Atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration is expected to exceed 500 parts per million and global temperatures to rise by at least 2 degrees C by 2050 to 2100, values that significantly exceed those of at least the past 420,000 years during which most extant marine organisms evolved. Under conditions expected in the 21st century, global warming and ocean acidification will compromise carbonate accretion, with corals becoming increasingly rare on reef systems. The result will be less diverse reef communities and carbonate reef structures that fail to be maintained. Climate change also exacerbates local stresses from declining water quality and overexploitation of key species, driving reefs increasingly toward the tipping point for functional collapse. This review presents future scenarios for coral reefs that predict increasingly serious consequences for reef-associated fisheries, tourism, coastal protection, and people. As the International Year of the Reef 2008 begins, scaled-up management intervention and decisive action on global emissions are required if the loss of coral-dominated ecosystems is to be avoided.

/pdf/coral-reefs-under-rapid-climate-change-and-ocean-398ioolbkj.pdf

Coral Reefs Under Rapid Climate Change and Ocean Acidification

Basics: PF Sale, Introduction WN McFarland, The Visual World of Coral Reef Fishes JH Choat and DR Bellwood, Reef Fishes: Their History and Evolution Trophic Ecology: ES Hobson, Trophic Relationships of Fishes Specialized to Feed on Zooplankters above Coral Reefs ME Hay, Fish-1Seaweed Interactions on Coral Reefs: Effects of Herbivorous Fishes and Adaptation of Their Prey JH Choat, The Biology of Herbivorous Fishes on Coral Reefs GP Jones, DJ Ferrell, and PF Sale, Fish Predation and Its Impact on the Invertebrates of Coral Reefs and Adjacent Sediments Larval and Juvenile Ecology: JM Leis, The Pelagic Stage of Reef Fishes: The Larval Biology of Coral Reef Fishes BC Victor, Settlement Strategies and Biogeography of Reef Fishes PJ Doherty, Spatial and Temporal Patterns in Recruitment GP Jones, Postrecruitment Processes in the Ecology of Coral Reef Fish Populations: A Multifactorial Perspective Reproductive and Life History Patterns: DY Shapiro, Intraspecific Variability in Social Systems of Coral Reef Fishes DR Robertson, The Role of Adult Biology in the Timing of Spawning of Tropical Reef Fishes RR Warner, The Use of Phenotypic Plasticity in Coral Reef Fishes as Tests of Theory in Evolutionary Ecology Community Organization: RE Thresher, Geographic Variability in the Ecology of Coral Reef Fishes: Evidence, Evolution, and Possible Implications D McB Williams, Patterns and Processes in the Distribution of Coral Reef Fishes MA Hixon, Predation as a Process Structuring Coral Reef Fish Communities AW Ebeling and MA Hixon, Tropical and Temperate Reef Fishes: Comparison of Community Structures PF Sale, Reef Fish Communities--Open Nonequilibrial Systems Fisheries and Management: GR Russ, Coral Reef Fisheries: Effects and Yields References Index

The Ecology of fishes on coral reefs

The Ecology of Fishes on Coral Reefs

As well as serving valuable biodiversity conservation roles, functioning no-take fishery reserves protect a portion of the fishery stock as insurance against future overfishing. So long as there is adequate compliance by the fishing community, it is likely that they will also sustain and even enhance fishery yields in the surrounding area. However, there are significant gaps in scientific knowledge that must be filled if no-take reserves are to be used effectively as fishery management tools. Unfortunately, these gaps are being glossed over by some uncritical advocacy. Here, we review the science, identify the most crucial gaps, and suggest ways to fill them, so that a promising management tool can help meet the growing challenges faced by coastal marine fisheries.

/pdf/critical-science-gaps-impede-use-of-no-take-fishery-reserves-55iq1ufpy8.pdf

Critical science gaps impede use of no-take fishery reserves

"Coral Reef Fishes" is the successor of "The Ecology of Fishes on Coral Reefs". This new edition includes provocative reviews covering the major areas of reef fish ecology. Concerns about the future health of coral reefs, and recognition that reefs and their fishes are economically important components of the coastal oceans of many tropical nations, have led to enormous growth in research directed at reef fishes. "Coral Reef Fishes" is much more than a simple revision of the earlier volume; it is a companion that supports and extends the earlier work. The included syntheses provide readers with the current highlights in this exciting science. It offers an up-to-date review of key research areas in reef fish ecology, with a bibliography including hundreds of citations, most from the last decade. Authoritative, up-to-date, provocative chapters are written to suggest future research priorities. It includes discussions of regulation of fish populations, dispersal or site fidelity of larval reef fishes, sensory and motor capabilities of reef fish larvae, and complexities of management of reef species and communities.

Peter F. Sale

Papers

Coral Reefs Under Rapid Climate Change and Ocean Acidification

The Ecology of fishes on coral reefs

The Ecology of Fishes on Coral Reefs

Critical science gaps impede use of no-take fishery reserves

Coral reef fishes : dynamics and diversity in a complex ecosystem