The relation between species richness and area for a wide variety of taxa turns out to be a rectangular hyperbola. Give a brief explanation.
Species richness in any area depends on various factors. Some of them are as follows:
(a) Balance between immigration and extinction
(b) Rate and magnitude of disturbance in small area Vs large area
(c) Predator-prey dynamics
(d) Clustering of individuals of the same species because of dispersal limitations.
When the area increases up to a certain extent, the number of species increases, as shown by the graph, this can happen because of the reduced rate of disturbance and because of favourable predator-prey dynamics. Once the area increases beyond the threshold level, there is no growth in the number of species. This can happen because of dispersal limitations.