The Species-Area Relationship: Theory and Application

Description

The species-area relationship (SAR) describes a range of related phenomena that are fundamental to the study of biogeography, macroecology and community ecology. While the subject of ongoing debate for a century, surprisingly, no previous book has focused specifically on the SAR. This volume addresses this shortfall by providing a synthesis of the development of SAR typologies and theory, as well as empirical research and application to biodiversity conservation problems. It also includes a compilation of recent advances in SAR research, comprising novel SAR-related theories and findings from the leading authors in the field. The chapters feature specific knowledge relating to terrestrial, marine and freshwater realms, ensuring a comprehensive volume relevant to a wide range of fields, with a mix of review and novel material and with clear recommendations for further research and application.

Thomas J. Matthews is a Research Fellow at the University of Birmingham, a Research Member of the Azorean Biodiversity Group, Portugal, and a Visiting Researcher at the University of the Ryukyus, Japan. He is a leading researcher in the fields of macroecology and biogeography, and much of his research involves the species-area relationship in some form. He is also the lead-author of a key SAR software resource, and an Associate Editor of Frontiers of Biogeography. Kostas A. Triantis is an Assistant Professor at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens. He is Associate Editor of the Journal of Biogeography and, since 2015, has been Director-at-Large of the International Biogeography Society. He is a biogeographer with broad interests in island biogeography, macroecology, and conservation biology and has a long-term fascination with the species-area relationship. Robert J. Whittaker is an expert in island biogeography and conservation biogeography. He has been Professor of Biogeography at the University of Oxford since 2004, and a part-time Professor at University of Copenhagen, in the Centre for Macroecology, Evolution and Climate, since 2015. He has published over 150 articles, and three previous books. He is editor-in-chief of Frontiers of Biogeography, the scientific journal of the International Biogeography Society.

'Each chapter of the text is a technical paper written by researchers who have been actively exploring little-known facets of the species-area relationship that have escaped the attention of mainstream ecologists. The results of this effort are frequently interesting and occasionally surprisingly insightful. Community ecologists, landscape ecologists, and conservationists will find useful information about the species-area relationship in this volume ... each chapter is presented in standard, scientific communication format. Recommended.' S. R. Fegley, Choice