The species-area relationship and evolution.
Models relating to the species-area curve usually assume the existence of species, and are concerned mainly with ecological timescales. We examine an individual-based model of co-evolution on a spatial lattice based on the tangled nature model in which species are emergent structures, and show that reproduction, mutation and dispersion by diffusion, with interaction via genotype space, produces power-law species-area relations as observed in ecological measurements at medium scales. We find that long-lasting co-evolutionary habitats form, allowing high diversity levels in a spatially homogenous system.
Lawson
Daniel
D
Department of Mathematics, Imperial College London, South Kensington Campus, London, SW7 2AZ, UK.
Jensen
Henrik Jeldtoft
HJ
D000818:Animals; D044822:Biodiversity; D005075:Biological Evolution; D017753:Ecosystem; D008954:Models, Biological; D008957:Models, Genetic; D011157:Population Dynamics; D013045:Species Specificity; D013598:Systems Theory