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Ecology

The how and why of biodiversity

Nature volume 421, pages 900–901 (2003)Cite this article

A study of reef fish in the Indian and Pacific oceans reveals that the structures of local communities and their regional context are intricately entwined. New species spread far from an oceanic 'hotspot' of diversity.

In the field of biodiversity, Rudyard Kipling's “six honest serving men”1 have progressed at very different speeds. What, Who, Where and When have established much about the basic distribution patterns of life across the Earth. But How and Why have been struggling, and their difficulties have been well aired2,3. The problem has not been an absence of ideas — if anything, quite the reverse. In particular, innumerable theories have been proffered to explain why there are more species in some areas than in others. But rigorous testing and discrimination among a core group of possible mechanisms has proved difficult. On page 933 of this issue4, Mora and colleagues give How and Why a helping hand.

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Figure 1

WORLDSAT INTL, J. KNIGHTON/SPL

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  1. the Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, S10 2TN, UK

    Kevin J. Gaston

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  1. Kevin J. Gaston
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Correspondence to Kevin J. Gaston.

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Gaston, K. The how and why of biodiversity. Nature 421, 900–901 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1038/421900a

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