Age and area predict patterns of species richness in pumice rafts contingent on oceanic climatic zone encountered.

ABSTRACT: The theory of island biogeography predicts that area and age explain species richness patterns (or alpha diversity) in insular habitats. Using a unique natural phenomenon, pumice rafting, we measured the influence of area, age, and oceanic climate on patterns of species richness. Pumice rafts are formed simultaneously when submarine volcanoes erupt, the pumice clasts breakup irregularly, forming irregularly shaped pumice stones which while floating through the ocean are colonized by marine biota. We analyze two eruption events and more than 5,000 pumice clasts collected from 29 sites and three climatic zones. Overall, the older and larger pumice clasts held more species. Pumice clasts arriving in tropical and subtropical climates showed this same trend, where in temperate locations species

SUBMITTER: Velasquez E 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5980578 | biostudies-literature | 2018 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature