Spatial aggregation and the species–area relationship across scales

There has been a considerable effort to understand and quantify the spatial distribution of species across different ecosystems. Relative species abundance (RSA), beta diversity and species–area relationship (SAR) are among the most used macroecological measures to characterize plants communities in...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of theoretical biology 2012-11, Vol.313, p.87-97
Main Authors: Grilli, Jacopo, Azaele, Sandro, Banavar, Jayanth R., Maritan, Amos
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
biogeography
Conspecific aggregation
Ecosystem
ecosystems
Field theory for biogeography
forests
Models, Biological
Neutral theory
plant communities
Poisson cluster processes
Poisson Distribution
species diversity
Species Specificity
Species–area relationship
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Summary:There has been a considerable effort to understand and quantify the spatial distribution of species across different ecosystems. Relative species abundance (RSA), beta diversity and species–area relationship (SAR) are among the most used macroecological measures to characterize plants communities in forests. In this paper we introduce a simple phenomenological model based on Poisson cluster processes which allows us to exactly link RSA and beta diversity to SAR. The framework is spatially explicit and accounts for the spatial aggregation of conspecific individuals. Under the simplifying assumption of neutral theory, we derive an analytical expression for the SAR which reproduces tri-phasic behavior as sample area increases from local to continental scales, explaining how the tri-phasic behavior can be understood in terms of simple geometric arguments. We also find an expression for the endemic area relationship (EAR) and for the scaling of the RSA. ► We introduce a simple phenomenological model based on Poisson cluster processes. ► The shape of the Species-Area Relationship is linked to the RSA and the beta-diversity. ► We derive an analytical expression for the SAR which reproduces tri-phasic behavior. ► We find an expression for the endemic area relationship and for the scaling of the RSA. ► The model allows one to understand the necessary (geometrical or biological) mechanisms at the core of the observed macroecological patterns.
ISSN:0022-5193
1095-8541
DOI:10.1016/j.jtbi.2012.07.030