The Unified Neutral Theory of Biodiversity and Biogeography at Age Ten

The Unified Neutral Theory of Biodiversity and

Biogeography at Age Ten

James Rosindell1,2 , Stephen P. Hubbell3,4 and Rampal S. Etienne5,6

1 Institute of Integrative and Comparative Biology, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK, LS2 9JT

2 Institute of Bioinformatics and Evolutionary Studies, University of Idaho, Moscow, ID 83844, USA

3 Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA

4 Center for Tropical Forest Science, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Unit 0948, APO AA 34002-0948, Republic of Panama

5 Community and Conservation Ecology Group, Centre for Ecological and Evolutionary Studies, University of Groningen, Box 11103, 9700 CC Groningen, The Netherlands

6 Department of Soil and Physical Sciences, Faculty of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Lincoln University, Box 84, Lincoln 7647, Christchurch, New Zealand 

Trends in ecology & evolution 2011 v.26 no.7 pp. 340-348

  A decade has now passed since Hubbell published The Unified Neutral Theory of Biodiversity and Biogeography. Neutral theory highlights the importance of dispersal limitation, speciation and ecological drift in the natural world and provides quantitative null models for assessing the role of adaptation and natural selection. Significant advances have been made in providing methods for understanding neutral predictions and comparing them with empirical data. In this review, we describe the current state-of-the-art techniques and ideas in neutral theory and how these are of relevance to ecology. The future of neutral theory is promising, but its concepts must be applied more broadly beyond the current focus on species–abundance distributions.

The mystery of biodiversity

The history of neutral theory

Interpreting fits to empirical data

The other assumptions of the model

Zero-sum assumption

Point mutation speciation assumption

Spatially implicit spatial structure

Spatially explicit models

The future of neutral theory

Island biogeography

Dynamics

Palaeobiology

Phylogenies

Conservation

Discussion

Acknowledgements

References

Glossary

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