Lizard Stowaway Revise Principle of Ecology

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/lizard-stowaways-revise-principle-of-ecology/

Lizard Stowaway Revise Principle of Ecology

Emily Singer

10 October 2014

By mapping out the locations of exotic lizards in the Caribbean, a team of scientists have changed the theory of  island bio geography.  The old theory was that size and distance from the mainland were the two most influential factors of biodiversity on an island.This is because there are only two ways for a new species to integrate into  an ecosystem, either through migration or long term development (evolution). Since larger islands have more habits for species to both arise from and for immigrating species to survive in,  geographical size has been a key factor in predicting the richness of species. The second key factor from the old theory was the island's distance from the mainland. This is because the only way to get species on an island other than by long term development, is for the species to migrate to the island. This migration is very rare, and the only way for some animal species to get across the vast distance of water is by traveling on the odd log or other raft type thing between islands. But by mapping out the location of exotic lizards in the Caribbean however, the team noticed that trade is now the best indicator of an island's biodiversity. Stowaways lizards have been carried and established all around the Caribbean unintentionally on large trade vessels. This provide a third way for new species to arrive on an island, human trade. This new key factor is much more important than the geographical size and location of the island, as shown by mapping lizard species in the Caribbean.

This relates to this term's study of ecology and invasive species, as it discusses how animals (lizards) migrate and integrate into ecosystems, and the role humans play in that process.