The increase of species richness with area is one of the few known law-like biodiversity patterns. This study assembles species-area and endemics-area relationships for 12,000 bird, mammal and amphibian species across the continents. The data reveal a connection between the size of species' geographic ranges and the spatial 'scaling' of biodiversity that yields a single species-area curve for all taxa and continents.
展开▼
