Abstract:

The species-area relationship has been in the focus of interest for a hundred years. The two main directions in the studies of the relationship are the mathematical description of the curve (where the X axis is the area, the Y is the species number), and the evaluation of the possible ecological explanations. Suggested explanations include passive sampling, includes the area per se, habitat diversity, disturbance, evolutionary and the species-energy theories. The biological meaning of the parameters of the species-area equations is not known for the intercept (C), and is contradictory for the slope (z). New directions in the study of species-area relation- ship include the mathematical investigation of the generating mechanism, and the deterministic or stochastic nature of island communities.