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#E.O. Wilson

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Biogeography Complete

Who developed the Island Biogeography Theory?

“Robert MacArthur & E.O. Wilson” for who developed the island biogeography theory. This relationship follows from the ecological mechanism represented by the terms in the item, not merely from an association between their names. At equilibrium, species identities can continue to turn over even when richness is approximately stable. The model predicts a balance of rates, not an absence of colonization or extinction. The remaining alternatives—“Charles Darwin”, “Alfred Russel Wallace”, “Thomas M. Smith”—refer to different states, processes, or scales and therefore do not express the same causal relationship. Island biogeography explains species richness as a dynamic balance between immigration and extinction. Immigration generally declines as an island fills with species, whereas extinction rises as more species divide finite area and maintain smaller populations. Linking the wording to measurable consequences for fitness, abundance, or flux gives the conclusion its scientific meaning and prevents a purely mnemonic interpretation.

Ref: Biogeography, Lomolino et al., 5th Ed., Ch. 5-8

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Biogeography

Who proposed the theory of Island Biogeography?

“Robert MacArthur and E.O. Wilson” for who proposed the theory of island biogeography. This relationship follows from the ecological mechanism represented by the terms in the item, not merely from an association between their names. Island biogeography explains species richness as a dynamic balance between immigration and extinction. Immigration generally declines as an island fills with species, whereas extinction rises as more species divide finite area and maintain smaller populations. The remaining alternatives—“Charles Darwin and Alfred Wallace”, “Peter J. Mayhew and PD Sharma”, “Thomas M. Smith and Jane Reece”—refer to different states, processes, or scales and therefore do not express the same causal relationship. Larger islands usually support more habitats and larger populations, lowering extinction risk; less isolated islands receive colonists more readily and may experience rescue effects. These mechanisms also apply to habitat fragments that function as ecological islands. Field observations could test this account by measuring the proposed driver and the demographic or ecosystem response while controlling plausible confounding factors.

Ref: Biogeography, Lomolino et al., 5th Ed., Ch. 1-4

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