data acquisition
; ecological theory
; ecosystem function
; evolutionary theory
; gene flow
; island biogeography
; molecular analysis
; research method
; speciation (biology)
; species diversity
; zoogeography
; biodiversity
; biological model
; ecology
; ecosystem
; evolution
; gene flow
; geography
; island (geological)
; population dynamics
; social isolation
; species differentiation
; Biodiversity
; Biological Evolution
; Ecology
; Ecosystem
; Gene Flow
; Genetic Speciation
; Geography
; Islands
; Models, Biological
; Population Dynamics
; Social Isolation
英文摘要:
The study of islands as model systems has played an important role in the development of evolutionary and ecological theory. The 50th anniversary of MacArthur and Wilson's (December 1963) article, 'An equilibrium theory of insular zoogeography', was a recent milestone for this theme. Since 1963, island systems have provided new insights into the formation of ecological communities. Here, building on such developments, we highlight prospects for research on islands to improve our understanding of the ecology and evolution of communities in general. Throughout, we emphasise how attributes of islands combine to provide unusual research opportunities, the implications of which stretch far beyond islands. Molecular tools and increasing data acquisition now permit re-assessment of some fundamental issues that interested MacArthur and Wilson. These include the formation of ecological networks, species abundance distributions, and the contribution of evolution to community assembly. We also extend our prospects to other fields of ecology and evolution - understanding ecosystem functioning, speciation and diversification - frequently employing assets of oceanic islands in inferring the geographic area within which evolution has occurred, and potential barriers to gene flow. Although island-based theory is continually being enriched, incorporating non-equilibrium dynamics is identified as a major challenge for the future. � 2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd/CNRS.
Institute of Systematic Botany, University of Zurich, Zollikerstrasse 107, Zurich, Switzerland; Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN, United States; UMR PVBMT, Universit� de La R�union-CIRAD, 7 chemin de l'IRAT, Ligne Paradis, Saint Pierre, R�union, France; Department of Biology, University of Missouri at St. Louis, 8001 Natural Bridge Road, St. Louis, MO, United States; Laboratoire Evolution and Diversit� Biologique, UMR 5174 CNRS-Universit� Paul Sabatier-ENFA, Toulouse Cedex 9, France; CNRS, UMR 7641 Centre de Math�matiques Appliqu�es (Ecole Polytechnique), Route de Saclay, Palaiseau, France; D�partement de Biologie, Universit� du Qu�bec � Rimouski 300, All�e des Ursulines, Rimouski, QC, Canada; Institut de Biologie de l'Ecole Normale Sup�rieure (IBENS), UMR CNRS 8197, 46 rue d'Ulm, Paris, France; Institut des Sciences de l'Evolution, UMR 5554, CNRS, Univ. Montpellier 2, CC 065 Place Eug�ne Bataillon, Montpellier Cedex 05, France; Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London, Silwood Park Campus, Ascot, Berkshire, United Kingdom; Island Ecology and Biogeography Group, Instituto Universitario de Enfermedades Tropicales y Salud P�blica de Canarias (IUETSPC), Universidad de La Laguna, Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain; ISRIC-World Soil Information, Wageningen, Netherlands; Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics, Institute for Interdisciplinary Studies, University of Amsterdam, Science Park 904, Amsterdam, Netherlands; Real Jard�n Bot�nico, RJB-CSIC, Plaza de Murillo 2, Madrid, Spain; Department of Ecology and Taxonomy, Faculty of Biology, National and Kapodistrian University, Athens, Greece; Oxford University Centre for the Environment, South Parks Road, Oxford, United Kingdom; Unit of Evolutionary Biology/Systematic Zoology, Institute of Biochemistry and Biology, University of Potsdam, Karl-Liebknecht-Strasse 24-25, Germany; Division of Organisms and Environment, University of California, Berkeley, CA, United States; Island Ecology and Evolution Research Group, Instituto de Productos Naturales y Agrobiolog�a (IPNA-CSIC), C/Astrof�sico Francisco S�nchez 3, La Laguna, Spain; CESAB / FRB, Domaine du Petit Arbois, Av Louis Philibert, Aix-en-Provence, France
Recommended Citation:
Warren B.H.,Simberloff D.,Ricklefs R.E.,et al. Islands as model systems in ecology and evolution: Prospects fifty years after MacArthur-Wilson[J]. Ecology Letters,2015-01-01,18(2)