Species Richness and Population Dynamics of Animal Assemblages. Patterns in Body Size: Abundance Space

Links between population dynamics, the relative abundance of species and the richness of animal communities are reviewed within the framework of a simple conceptual model, based on body size and abundance. Populations of individual species occupy positions in this body size: abundance space. Problem...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B. Biological sciences 1990-11, Vol.330 (1257), p.283-291
Main Author: Lawton, J. H.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animals
Body size
Ecological competition
Ecological modeling
Population density
Population dynamics
Population ecology
Population size
Species
Synecology
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Summary:Links between population dynamics, the relative abundance of species and the richness of animal communities are reviewed within the framework of a simple conceptual model, based on body size and abundance. Populations of individual species occupy positions in this body size: abundance space. Problems of relative abundance and absolute species-richness revolve around a number of simple questions, including: what determines the upper and lower bounds (maximum and minimum population densities) of species in the assemblage; what determines the overall density of points (number of species) within these bounds; and how are the vertical and horizontal partitioning rules between species decided? The answers to these, and related questions, are briefly reviewed.
ISSN:0962-8436
1471-2970
DOI:10.1098/rstb.1990.0199