24
April 2003
Biodiversity and abundance: Some more equal than others?
Stephen P. Hubbell's book The Unified Neutral Theory of Biodiversity and Biogeography explained species biodiversity and abundance with a mathematical formula depending solely on random fluctuations in births and deaths, and the arrival of new species. This type of neutral theory, where one species is regarded as much the same as another, challenges conventional thinking because it implies that it is not necessarily the fittest or most appropriate species that fills a niche. In a new test of the theory, Brian J. McGill analysed data from the North American Breeding Bird Survey and the Barro Colarado Island tree data set. The number of rare and common species present does not follow distributions predicted by neutral theory, suggesting that competitive differences are important in establishing biodiversity.
A test of the unified neutral theory of biodiversity
BRIAN J. MCGILL
Nature 422, 881–885 (2003); doi:10.1038/nature01583
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