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Modes of speciation and the lifespans of species under neutrality: a response to the comment of Robert E. Ricklefs

Ricklefs (2003) has presented a thoughtful critique of the two modes of speciation discussed in my recent book (Hubbell 2001a). His main point is that under point mutation speciation, a plethora of species is produced with extremely short lifespans, whereas under random fission speciation, lifespans...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Oikos 2003-01, Vol.100 (1), p.193-199
Main Author: Hubbell, S.P.
Format: Article
Language:English
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Summary:Ricklefs (2003) has presented a thoughtful critique of the two modes of speciation discussed in my recent book (Hubbell 2001a). His main point is that under point mutation speciation, a plethora of species is produced with extremely short lifespans, whereas under random fission speciation, lifespans are too long, particularly in large metacommunities. The issue is easily resolved if one regards point mutation speciation and random fission speciation as the theoretical extremes of a speciation continuum. The mean lifespan of a species in the theory depends upon the size of the species population at its origination. If initial population sizes are fairly small, but not as small as the extreme of individual-founded lineages as under point mutation, then intermediate distributions of species lifespans are obtained. To examine this further, I consider a third model of speciation that I call "peripheral isolate speciation." There should be a signature of peripheral isolate speciation in the distribution of metacommunity relative species abundance, just as there is in the case of point mutation speciation and random fission speciation. Other points made by Ricklefs and several others are addressed in the body of the text.
ISSN:0030-1299
1600-0706
DOI:10.1034/j.1600-0706.2003.12450.x