Colonisation (biology)

Colonisation (biology)

Colonisation is the process in biology by which a species spreads into new areas, regions, and continents. It is sometimes also referred to as immigration, but colonisation often refers to successful immigration with integration to a community, having resisted initial local extinction[citation needed].

One classic model in biogeography posits that species must continue to colonize new areas through its life cycle (called a taxon cycle) in order to achieve longevity.[1] Accordingly, colonisation and extinction are key components of island biogeography, a theory that has many applications in ecology, such as analysis of metapopulations. .

Contents

Scales

The term can be used to describe colonisation on:
  • biofilm scales: the formation of communities of microorganisms on surfaces.
  • small scales: colonising new sites, perhaps as a result of environmental change.
  • large scales: where a species expands its range to encompass new areas. This can be via a series of small encroachments or by long-distance dispersal. The term range expansion is often used.

Means

The term is generally only used to refer to the spread into new areas by natural means, as opposed to introduction or translocation by human agency, potentially becoming invasive species or introduced species.

Species colonization events

Some large-scale notable colonization events in the 20th Century are:

Birds

Dragonflies

Moths

  • Moth - the colonisation of Britain by Blair's Shoulder-knot

See also

References

  1. ^ Wilson, E.O. (1962) The nature of the Taxon Cycle in Melanesian ant fauna http://www.zoology.siu.edu/sears/Wilson1961.pdf The American Naturalist

External links




Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужно сделать НИР?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Colonisation De L'espace —  Pour les autres significations, voir colonisation de l espace en fiction. Dessin d artiste d un habitat spatial …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Colonisation espace — Colonisation de l espace  Pour les autres significations, voir colonisation de l espace en fiction. Dessin d artiste d un habitat spatial …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Colonisation spatiale — Colonisation de l espace  Pour les autres significations, voir colonisation de l espace en fiction. Dessin d artiste d un habitat spatial …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Colonisation de l'espace — Pour les autres significations, voir colonisation de l espace en fiction. Habitat spatial en construction de type tore de Stanford, Dessin d artiste pour la …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Colony (biology) — In biology, a colony reference to several individual organisms of the same species living closely together, usually for mutual benefit, such as stronger defense or the ability to attack bigger prey. Some insects (ants and honey bees, for example) …   Wikipedia

  • Range (biology) — Population distribution redirects here. For the probability distribution of a statistical population see Probability distribution and Statistical population. The three basic types of population distribution within an area. From top to bottom:… …   Wikipedia

  • Vagrancy (biology) — See also vagrancy (people) for an alternative use of the termVagrancy is a phenomenon in biology whereby individual animals appear well outside their normal range; individual animals which exhibit vagrancy are known as vagrants. The term… …   Wikipedia

  • Colonization (disambiguation) — Colonization can indicate several things: Colonization of an area by a foreign entity Colonization (series), a trilogy of books by Harry Turtledove A set of video games produced by Sid Meier Sid Meier s Colonization, a computer game released by… …   Wikipedia

  • Histoire évolutive des lémuriformes — Les microcèbes (ici Microcebus rufus), plus petits primates du monde, ont vécu isolés avec les autres lémuriformes sur l île de Madagascar. L histo …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Histoire évolutive des végétaux — Diversité des plantes modernes. Les végétaux ont évolué en atteignant des niveaux croissants de complexité, depuis les premières algues, en passant par les bryophytes, les lycopodes et les fougères, jusqu aux complexes gymnospermes et angios …   Wikipédia en Français

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”