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Mammalian island biogeography: effects of area, isolation and vagility

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Summary

In this paper I reviewed mammalian biogeography for 19 archipelagoes and tested the applicability of the equilibrium theory of island biogeography to mammalian faunas in general. The species-area and species-isolation relationships of terrestrial mammals were consistent with the basic predictions of the equilibrium theory. The z-values for the species-area relationship did not differ significantly from Preston's canonical value of 0.26 (P>0.50), and the modal z-value for non-volant mammals was 0.25. Moreover, z-values increased with isolation and decreased with vagility of the fauna in question. Furthermore, the strength of the species-isolation correlation was negatively correlated with island area and vagility (P<0.001).

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  1. Department of Biology, State University of New York at Binghamton, 13901, Binghamton, NY, USA

    Mark V. Lomolino

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  1. Mark V. Lomolino
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Lomolino, M.V. Mammalian island biogeography: effects of area, isolation and vagility. Oecologia 61, 376–382 (1984). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00379638

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