Summary
The equilibrium theory of island biogeography was a foundation of the “new conservation biology” of the 1970s. An influential series of refuge design “rules” was ostensibly based on the theory. Some of the rules, which advocate certain configurations for refuges, have been shown not to derive from the theory, and all of them are questionable on a variety of grounds, especially their focus on species richness and their failure to account for important factors. The equilibrium theory paradigm in conservation has been replaced by a metapopulation paradigm, but the equilibrium theory has left a crucial legacy: the search for causes of small population extinction. The metapopulation paradigm, like the equilibrium theory, may not accurately depict much of nature.
Biogeographic research also influences conservation through its emphasis on species’ ranges. Both gap analysis and the study of the spread of nonindigenous species require areographic detail. Even historical biogeography has a role in conservation in such matters as which species are truly indigenous, the extent to which species’ fates are intertwined, and the ways global climate change will affect species’ ranges. Species’ genetic structure is a growing research focus in both biogeography and conservation.
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© 1997 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht
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Simberloff, D. (1997). Biogeographic Approaches and the New Conservation Biology. In: Pickett, S.T.A., Ostfeld, R.S., Shachak, M., Likens, G.E. (eds) The Ecological Basis of Conservation. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-6003-6_27
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-6003-6_27
Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA
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