Understanding How Biodiversity Is Distributed in Space and Time

Abstract

Attention to biodiversity issues has been growing in the recent years. Despite the urgency of the problem, the development of a general theory of biodiversity is still underway. How can we develop such a theory? Two main approaches have dominated the field: the first approach has emphasized ecological controls of biodiversity, and has sought to explain static biodiversity patterns, often referred to as macroecological patterns; the second approach has emphasized historical controls of biodiversity, and has sought to explain more dynamic, evolutionary patterns of biodiversity, often referred to as macroevolutionary patterns. I will quickly summarize these approaches, focusing on the analytical and computational methods that have been used. Then, I will discuss how we can hope to integrate these two approaches to obtain a theory of biodiversity that better accounts for both historical and ecological factors.