Reptile extinctions on land-bridge islands: Life-history attributes and vulnerability to extinction

被引:175
作者
Foufopoulos, J [1 ]
Ives, AR [1 ]
机构
[1] Univ Wisconsin, Dept Zool, Madison, WI 53706 USA
关键词
extinction rates; vicariance; life history; body mass; longevity; specialization;
D O I
10.1086/303149
中图分类号
Q14 [生态学(生物生态学)];
学科分类号
071012 ; 0713 ;
摘要
One of the central questions of conservation biology is what life-history traits render a species prone to extinction. We addressed this problem by calculating extinction rates for 35 species of turtles and squamates (lizards and snakes) occurring on 87 landbridge islands in the Mediterranean Sea. We calculated extinction rates in two ways: first, by incorporating the known sequence of historical island separations and second by ignoring history and assuming that the islands became isolated simultaneously. The second procedure is simpler and more frequently used in the literature and produces estimates of extinction rates that are similar to the first, more complex procedure. We then determined the relationship between extinction rates (calculated using both methods) and body mass, longevity, habitat specialization, and population abundance using two methods: first, by accounting for the phylogenetic relationships among species and, second, by ignoring them. Only population abundance and habitat specialization explained a significant amount of the observed variation in species extinction rates. Body mass itself did not explain variation in extinction rates, although it was strongly correlated with abundance. These conclusions were obtained using both procedures for calculating extinction rates and both procedures for correlating extinction rates with life-history traits.
引用
收藏
页码:1 / 25
页数:25
相关论文
共 171 条
[1]   ECOLOGICAL ATTRIBUTES OF EXTINCTION-PRONE SPECIES - LOSS OF FRESH-WATER FISHES OF VIRGINIA [J].
ANGERMEIER, PL .
CONSERVATION BIOLOGY, 1995, 9 (01) :143-158
[2]  
[Anonymous], BIOL GALLO HELLENICA
[3]  
[Anonymous], 1989, SYSTAT SYSTEM STAT
[4]  
[Anonymous], 1975, GUIDE REPTILES BATRA
[5]  
[Anonymous], ATTI ACCAD GIOENIA S
[6]  
[Anonymous], 1979, The Reptiles of Northern and Central Europe
[7]  
[Anonymous], 1988, Phylogenetic relationships of the lizard families: Essays commemorating Charles L. Camp
[8]  
[Anonymous], 1991, BISHOP MUSEUM B ZOOL
[9]  
[Anonymous], BIOL GALLO HELLENICA
[10]  
Arnold E.N., 1989, Bulletin of the British Museum (Natural History) Zoology, V55, P209