Book contents
- The Species–Area Relationship
- Ecology, Biodiversity and Conservation
- The Species–Area Relationship
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Contributors
- Foreword
- Preface
- Part I Introduction and History
- Part II Diversity–Area Relationships: The Different Types and Underlying Factors
- Part III Theoretical Advances in Species–Area Relationship Research
- Part IV The Species–Area Relationship in Applied Ecology
- 13 The Identification of Biodiversity Hotspots Using the Species–Area Relationship
- 14 Using the Species–Area Relationship to Predict Extinctions Resulting from Habitat Loss
- 15 Using Network Analysis to Explore the Role of Dispersal in Producing and Maintaining Island Species–Area Relationships
- 16 Does Geometry Dominate Extinction due to Habitat Loss?
- 17 Using Relict Species–Area Relationships to Estimate the Conservation Value of Reservoir Islands to Improve Environmental Impact Assessments of Dams
- 18 An Investigation of Species–Area Relationships in Marine Systems at Large Spatial Scales
- Part V Future Directions in Species–Area Relationship Research
- Index
- References
18 - An Investigation of Species–Area Relationships in Marine Systems at Large Spatial Scales
from Part IV - The Species–Area Relationship in Applied Ecology
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 11 March 2021
- The Species–Area Relationship
- Ecology, Biodiversity and Conservation
- The Species–Area Relationship
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Contributors
- Foreword
- Preface
- Part I Introduction and History
- Part II Diversity–Area Relationships: The Different Types and Underlying Factors
- Part III Theoretical Advances in Species–Area Relationship Research
- Part IV The Species–Area Relationship in Applied Ecology
- 13 The Identification of Biodiversity Hotspots Using the Species–Area Relationship
- 14 Using the Species–Area Relationship to Predict Extinctions Resulting from Habitat Loss
- 15 Using Network Analysis to Explore the Role of Dispersal in Producing and Maintaining Island Species–Area Relationships
- 16 Does Geometry Dominate Extinction due to Habitat Loss?
- 17 Using Relict Species–Area Relationships to Estimate the Conservation Value of Reservoir Islands to Improve Environmental Impact Assessments of Dams
- 18 An Investigation of Species–Area Relationships in Marine Systems at Large Spatial Scales
- Part V Future Directions in Species–Area Relationship Research
- Index
- References
Summary
We examine species–area relationships (SARs) in the sea, a realm that is structured in fundamentally different ways to terrestrial systems. For example, the open seas and the benthic communities on their bottoms represent the largest ecosystems of the world, but are well connected due to the current systems and the presence of few barriers. This enables a considerable dispersal rate for many marine organisms, which subsequently has a high impact on the SAR in these systems. We provide some examples of studies in which marine SARs have been examined over very large spatial (latitudinal) scales and discuss why patterns in the marine realm might not follow terrestrial expectations. We also discuss some of the problems and limitations of constructing SARs in the marine realm and more generally. We argue that molecular tools probably represent the best opportunity for more detailed and uniform approaches to assessing sampled biodiversity in the future, particularly in the microbial realm, but this is not guaranteed. It will require a great deal of standardization in methods and procedures and a more detailed reporting of these procedures than is commonly the case today.
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- Information
- The Species–Area RelationshipTheory and Application, pp. 438 - 456Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2021