Stochastic Communities: A Mathematical Theory of Biodiversity

ISBN-13: 9781138197022 / Angielski / Twarda / 2017 / 194 str.

Alexander Keewatin Dewdney

Opis

Stochastic Communities presents a theory of biodiversity by analyzing the distribution of abundances among species in the context of a community. The basis of this theory is a distribution called the -J distribution.- This distribution is a pure hyperbola and mathematically implied by the -stochastic species hypothesis- assigning equal probabilities of birth and death within the population of each species over varying periods of time. The J distribution in natural communities has strong empirical support resulting from a meta-study and strong theoretical support from a theorem that is mathematically implied by the stochastic species hypothesis.

Spis treści

The J-curve and the J distribution. The J-distribution and its variations. Sampling in practice and in theory. Compiling and analysing field data. Predictions from data. Extending the sample. Stochastic systems and the stochastic community. The metastudy: A review. Fossil J-curves. Summary of theory and open problems. Appendix A: Mathematical Notes and Computer Tools. Appendix B: Results of the metastudy for the J distribution. Appendix C: Results of the test for the J distribution in taxonomic data.

O autorze

Alexander Keewatin Dewdney is Professor Emeritus of the Department of Computer Science and the Centre for Environmental Science & Sustainability at the University of Western Ontario. He the author of dozens of peer reviewed schloarly articles and 12 books.