Island biogeography

Island biogeography explains how island size and isolation shape species richness through the balance of immigration and extinction. Its classic equilibrium model predicts a dynamic number of species rather than a fixed set.

Equilibrium theory of island biogeography: A model in which island species richness settles near a dynamic balance between immigration and extinction. This is the theory’s classic framework for predicting how island size and isolation affect richness.
Robert H. MacArthur: An American ecologist whose mathematical models helped shape modern community ecology. He developed the island-equilibrium framework with E. O. Wilson.
SLOSS debate: A conservation debate over whether one large or several small reserves better protect biodiversity. The theory’s area and isolation predictions helped frame reserve-design arguments.
Dynamic equilibrium model: A general model in which opposing rates balance while the system’s components continue to change. Island biogeography’s classic account is a specific ecological example of dynamic equilibrium.
Species–area relationship: The recurring ecological pattern that larger areas contain more species. Larger islands generally support more species and have lower extinction rates in the classic model.
E. O. Wilson: An American biologist known for research on ants, biodiversity, and sociobiology. His field studies and collaboration with MacArthur helped establish the theory.
Habitat fragmentation: The division of continuous habitat into smaller, more isolated patches. Habitat fragments can function like islands, though they differ in important ways.
Unified neutral theory of biodiversity: A theory explaining community diversity through ecological equivalence, dispersal, speciation, and extinction. It offers a broader community-level account that differs from the classic island-specific model.
Species turnover: The replacement of species in a community over time as some disappear and others arrive. The equilibrium can persist even as individual island species are lost and replaced.
The Theory of Island Biogeography: A 1967 book by Robert H. MacArthur and E. O. Wilson presenting their theory of island species richness. The book gave the theory its influential formal statement.

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