http://zoology.muohio.edu/labs/Nagel_Lesson_Plan_Inquiry.pdf
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Island_biogeography
The number of species living in an isolated space, such as an island,
can be seen as a balance between the immigration of new species and the
extinction of established ones. While the population is low, the
balance will be non-interactive, i.e. different species multiply
without interference. However, when populations are large enough, they
interact and immigration and extinction are affected.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Island_biogeography
Factors that Influence Island Communities
- Degree of isolation (distance to nearest neighbor, and mainland)
- Length of isolation (time)
- Size of island (larger area usually facilitates greater diversity)
- Climate (tropical versus arctic, humid versus arid, etc.)
- Location relative to ocean currents (influences nutrient, fish, bird, and seed flow patterns)
- Initial plant and animal composition if previously attached to a larger land mass (e.g., marsupials, primates, etc.)
- The species composition of earliest arrivals (if always isolated)
- Serendipity (the impacts of chance arrivals)
- Human activity
The number of species living in an isolated space, such as an island,
can be seen as a balance between the immigration of new species and the
extinction of established ones. While the population is low, the
balance will be non-interactive, i.e. different species multiply
without interference. However, when populations are large enough, they
interact and immigration and extinction are affected.
