Note to users. If you're seeing this message, it means that your browser cannot find this page's style/presentation instructions -- or possibly that you are using a browser that does not support current Web standards. Find out more about why this message is appearing, and what you can do to make your experience of our site the best it can be.


Science 24 March 1978:
Vol. 199. no. 4335, pp. 1302 - 1310
DOI: 10.1126/science.199.4335.1302

Articles

Diversity in Tropical Rain Forests and Coral Reefs

Joseph H. Connell 1

1 Professor of biology at the University of California, Santa Barbara 93106

The commonly observed high diversity of trees in tropical rain forests and corals on tropical reefs is a nonequilibrium state which, if not disturbed further, will progress toward a low-diversity equilibrium community. This may not happen if gradual changes in climate favor different species. If equilibrium is reached, a lesser degree of diversity may be sustained by niche diversification or by a compensatory mortality that favors inferior competitors. However, tropical forests and reefs are subject to severe disturbances often enough that equilibrium may never be attained.


THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES:
Abrupt forest ecosystem change in SW Sweden during the late Holocene.
G. Gustavsson, G. Lemdahl, and M.-J. Gaillard (2009)
The Holocene 19, 691-702
   Abstract »    PDF »
Diversity of aquatic malacofauna within a floodplain of a large lowland river (lower Bug River, Eastern Poland).
E. Jurkiewicz-Karnkowska (2009)
J. Mollus. Stud. 75, 223-234
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Effects of competition on size and growth rates of Caracolus caracolla (L.) in Puerto Rico.
C. P. Bloch and M. R. Willig (2009)
J. Mollus. Stud. 75, 133-138
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Intraguild predation, thermoregulation, and microhabitat selection by snakes.
J. K. Webb, R. M. Pringle, and R. Shine (2009)
Behav. Ecol. 20, 271-277
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Spatial Genetic Structure of the Southeastern North American Endemic, Ceratiola ericoides (Empetraceae).
D. W. Trapnell, J. P. Schmidt, and J. L. Hamrick (2008)
J. Hered. 99, 604-609
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Biological indicators of disturbance at a dredged-material disposal site in Liverpool Bay, UK: an assessment using time-series data.
P. Whomersley, S. Ware, H. L. Rees, C. Mason, T. Bolam, M. Huxham, and H. Bates (2008)
ICES J. Mar. Sci. 65, 1414-1420
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Climate-mediated mechanical changes to post-disturbance coral assemblages.
J. S Madin, M. J O'Donnell, and S. R Connolly (2008)
Biol Lett 4, 490-493
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Fire: plant functional types and patch mosaic burning in fire-prone ecosystems.
H.D. Allen (2008)
Progress in Physical Geography 32, 421-437
   Abstract »    PDF »
Availability of prey resources drives evolution of predator-prey interaction.
V.-P. Friman, T. Hiltunen, J. Laakso, and V. Kaitala (2008)
Proc R Soc B 275, 1625-1633
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Ice Scour Disturbance in Antarctic Waters.
D. A. Smale, K. M. Brown, D. K. A. Barnes, K. P. P. Fraser, and A. Clarke (2008)
Science 321, 371
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Effect of Wastewater Treatment Plant Effluent on Microbial Function and Community Structure in the Sediment of a Freshwater Stream with Variable Seasonal Flow.
S. A. Wakelin, M. J. Colloff, and R. S. Kookana (2008)
Appl. Envir. Microbiol. 74, 2659-2668
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Mutational load distribution analysis yields metrics reflecting genetic instability during pancreatic carcinogenesis.
G. Tarafa, D. Tuck, D. Ladner, M. Topazian, R. Brand, C. Deters, V. Moreno, G. Capella, H. Lynch, P. Lizardi, et al. (2008)
PNAS 105, 4306-4311
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
A biophysical perspective on dispersal and the geography of evolution in marine and terrestrial systems.
M. N Dawson and W. M Hamner (2008)
J R Soc Interface 5, 135-150
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Predation defeats competition on the seafloor.
S. M. Stanley (2008)
Paleobiology 34, 1-21
   Full Text »    PDF »
The discovery of kelp forests in deep-water habitats of tropical regions.
B. Santelices (2007)
PNAS 104, 19163-19164
   Full Text »    PDF »
Concurrent niche and neutral processes in the competition-colonization model of species coexistence.
M. W. Cadotte (2007)
Proc R Soc B 274, 2739-2744
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Complementarity in mineral nitrogen use among dominant plant species in a subalpine community.
A. Pornon, N. Escaravage, and T. Lamaze (2007)
Am. J. Botany 94, 1778-1785
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Negative plant-soil feedbacks may limit persistence of an invasive tree due to rapid accumulation of soil pathogens.
S. Nijjer, W. E Rogers, and E. Siemann (2007)
Proc R Soc B 274, 2621-2627
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
A palaeolimnological record of diatom-community dynamics and late-Holocene climatic changes from Prescott Island, Nunavut, central Canadian Arctic.
S. A. Finkelstein and K. Gajewski (2007)
The Holocene 17, 803-812
   Abstract »    PDF »
Progress in the use of remote sensing for coral reef biodiversity studies.
A. Knudby, E. LeDrew, and C. Newman (2007)
Progress in Physical Geography 31, 421-434
   Abstract »    PDF »
Techniques for predicting the lifetimes of wave-swept macroalgae: a primer on fracture mechanics and crack growth.
K. J. Mach, D. V. Nelson, and M. W. Denny (2007)
J. Exp. Biol. 210, 2213-2230
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Death by small forces: a fracture and fatigue analysis of wave-swept macroalgae.
K. J. Mach, B. B. Hale, M. W. Denny, and D. V. Nelson (2007)
J. Exp. Biol. 210, 2231-2243
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Development of a large area biodiversity monitoring system driven by remote sensing.
D. C. Duro, N. C. Coops, M. A. Wulder, and T. Han (2007)
Progress in Physical Geography 31, 235-260
   Abstract »    PDF »
Riparian Plant Material Inputs to the Murray River, Australia: Composition, Reactivity, and Role of Nutrients.
G. Esslemont, W. Maher, P. Ford, and I. Lawrence (2007)
J. Environ. Qual. 36, 963-974
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Self-assembling Plants and Integration across Ecological Scales.
R. Hunt and R. L. Colasanti (2007)
Ann. Bot. 99, 1023-1034
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
A NEW, EXTINCT PLEISTOCENE REEF CORAL FROM THE MONTASTRAEA "ANNULARIS" SPECIES COMPLEX.
J. M. PANDOLFI (2007)
Journal of Paleontology 81, 472-482
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Interaction of Plant Species Diversity on Grazing Behavior and Performance of Livestock Grazing Temperate Region Pastures.
K. J. Soder, A. J. Rook, M. A. Sanderson, and S. C. Goslee (2007)
Crop Sci. 47, 416-425
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Disturbance, colonization and development of Antarctic benthic communities.
D. K.A Barnes and K. E Conlan (2007)
Phil Trans R Soc B 362, 11-38
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Virus-Specific Responses of Heterosigma akashiwo to Infection.
J. E. Lawrence, C. P. D. Brussaard, and C. A. Suttle (2006)
Appl. Envir. Microbiol. 72, 7829-7834
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Ecological, taxonomic, and taphonomic components of the post-Paleozoic increase in sample-level species diversity of marine benthos.
M. Kowalewski, W. Kiessling, M. Aberhan, F. T. Fursich, D. Scarponi, S. L. B. Wood, and A. P. Hoffmeister (2006)
Paleobiology 32, 533-561
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
From the Cover: Self-organized similarity, the evolutionary emergence of groups of similar species.
M. Scheffer and E. H. van Nes (2006)
PNAS 103, 6230-6235
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Denitrifier Community Composition along a Nitrate and Salinity Gradient in a Coastal Aquifer..
A. E. Santoro, A. B. Boehm, and C. A. Francis (2006)
Appl. Envir. Microbiol. 72, 2102-2109
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
From the Cover: Nonsynchronous recovery of community characteristics in island spiders after a catastrophic hurricane.
T. W. Schoener and D. A. Spiller (2006)
PNAS 103, 2220-2225
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Nonrandom Processes Maintain Diversity in Tropical Forests.
C. Wills, K. E. Harms, R. Condit, D. King, J. Thompson, F. He, H. C. Muller-Landau, P. Ashton, E. Losos, L. Comita, et al. (2006)
Science 311, 527-531
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Indicators of the health of the North Sea fish community: identifying reference levels for an ecosystem approach to management.
S. P.R. Greenstreet and S. I. Rogers (2006)
ICES J. Mar. Sci. 63, 573-593
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Models, data and mechanisms: quantifying wildfire regimes.
J. D. A. Millington, G. L. W. Perry, and B. D. Malamud (2006)
Geological Society, London, Special Publications 261, 155-167
   Abstract »    PDF »
Remote Sensing of Geomorphology and Facies Patterns on a Modern Carbonate Ramp (Arabian Gulf, Dubai, U.A.E.).
S. J. Purkis, B. M. Riegl, and S. Andrefouet (2005)
Journal of Sedimentary Research 75, 861-876
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Putting the Plants Back into Plant Ecology: Six Pragmatic Models for Understanding and Conserving Plant Diversity.
P. KEDDY (2005)
Ann. Bot. 96, 177-189
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Cross-fostering reveals seasonal changes in the relative fitness of two competing species of flycatchers.
A. Qvarnstrom, N. Svedin, C. Wiley, T. Veen, and L. Gustafsson (2005)
Biol Lett 1, 68-71
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Increased Zooxanthellae Nitric Oxide Synthase Activity Is Associated With Coral Bleaching.
H. Trapido-Rosenthal, S. Zielke, R. Owen, L. Buxton, B. Boeing, R. Bhagooli, and J. Archer (2005)
Biol. Bull. 208, 3-6
   Full Text »    PDF »
Vegetation history in western Uganda during the last 1200 years: a sedimentbased reconstruction from two crater lakes.
I. Ssemmanda, I. Ssemmanda, D. B. Ryves, O. Bennike, and P. G. Appleby (2005)
The Holocene 15, 119-132
   Abstract »    PDF »
Long-term impacts of logging on forest diversity in Madagascar.
K. A. Brown and J. Gurevitch (2004)
PNAS 101, 6045-6049
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Taphonomic Alteration of Reef Corals: Effects of Reef Environment and Coral Growth Form II: The Florida Keys.
(2003)
Palaios 18, 495-509
Paleoecology of the oldest known animal communities: Ediacaran assemblages at Mistaken Point, Newfoundland.
(2003)
Paleobiology 29, 527-544
The Soil FungiLog procedure: method and analytical approaches toward understanding fungal functional diversity.
E. A. Sobek and J. C. Zak (2003)
Mycologia 95, 590-602
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Diatom community responses to late-Holocene climatic variability, Baffin Island, Canada: a comparison of numerical approaches.
A. P. Wolfe and A. P. Wolfe (2003)
The Holocene 13, 29-37
   Abstract »    PDF »
Humped Pattern of Diversity: Fact or Artifact?.
M. Arim, O. Barbosa, J.-F. Molino, and D. Sabatier (2002)
Science 297, 1763a-1763
   Full Text »    PDF »
Temporal changes in the phytoplankton community structure in a tropical and eutrophic reservoir (Barra Bonita, S.P.--Brazil).
M. C. Calijuri, A. C. A. Dos Santos, and S. Jati (2002)
J. Plankton Res. 24, 617-634
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Prokaryotic Diversity--Magnitude, Dynamics, and Controlling Factors.
V. Torsvik, L. Ovreas, and T. F. Thingstad (2002)
Science 296, 1064-1066
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Measuring the intensity of disturbancein zooplankton communities of Mediterranean salt marshes using multivariate analysis.
X. D. Quintana (2002)
J. Plankton Res. 24, 255-265
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
RECENT GLOBAL WARMING AND ITS INFLUENCE ON MARINE PALYNOLOGY WITHIN THE CENTRAL SANTA BARBARA BASIN, OFFSHORE SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA, U.S.A..
M. L. Prauss and M. L. PRAUSS (2002)
Palynology 26, 217-238
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Zooxanthellae of the Montastraea annularis Species Complex: Patterns of Distribution of Four Taxa of Symbiodinium on Different Reefs and Across Depths.
W. W. Toller, R. Rowan, and N. Knowlton (2001)
Biol. Bull. 201, 348-359
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Tree Diversity in Tropical Rain Forests: A Validation of the Intermediate Disturbance Hypothesis.
J.-F. Molino and D. Sabatier (2001)
Science 294, 1702-1704
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Natural Restoration of the Species-Area Relation for a Lizard After a Hurricane.
T. W. Schoener, D. A. Spiller, and J. B. Losos (2001)
Science 294, 1525-1528
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Why are tropical rain forests so species rich? Classifying, reviewing and evaluating theories.
J. L. Hill and R. A. Hill (2001)
Progress in Physical Geography 25, 326-354
   Abstract »    PDF »
Fluctuations in the carbonate production of Phanerozoic reefs.
W. Kiessling, E. Flugel, and J. Golonka (2000)
Geological Society, London, Special Publications 178, 191-215
   Abstract »    PDF »
River morphology and management in New Zealand.
P. Mosley and I. Jowett (1999)
Progress in Physical Geography 23, 541-565
   Abstract »    PDF »
Tree Species Diversity in Logged Rainforests.
D. Sheil, J. A. Sayer, T. O'Brien;, C. H. Cannon, D. R. Peart, and M. Leighton; (1999)
Science 284, 1587a-1587
   Full Text »
Light-Gap Disturbances, Recruitment Limitation, and Tree Diversity in a Neotropical Forest.
S. P. Hubbell, R. B. Foster, S. T. O'Brien, K. E. Harms, R. Condit, B. Wechsler, S. J. Wright, and S. L. de Lao (1999)
Science 283, 554-557
   Abstract »    Full Text »
Impact of a Catastrophic Hurricane on Island Populations.
D. A. Spiller, J. B. Losos, and T. W. Schoener (1998)
Science 281, 695-697
   Abstract »    Full Text »
Temporal variation, dormancy, and coexistence: A field test of the storage effect.
C. E. Caceres (1997)
PNAS 94, 9171-9175
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Evolution of Scleractinian Corals Inferred from Molecular Systematics.
S. L. Romano and S. R. Palumbi (1996)
Science 271, 640-642
   Abstract »    PDF »
The 9000-year histo of vegetation development and disturbance patterns of a swamp-forest in Dalama, northern Sweden.
U. Segerstrom, U. Segerstrom, G. Hornberg, and R. Bradshaw (1996)
The Holocene 6, 37-48
   Abstract »    PDF »
Catastrophes, Phase Shifts, and Large-Scale Degradation of a Caribbean Coral Reef.
T. P. Hughes and T. P. Hughes (1994)
Science 265, 1547-1551
   Abstract »    PDF »
Biological Diversity, Soils, and Economics.
M. Huston and M. Huston (1993)
Science 262, 1676-1680
   Abstract »    PDF »
Influence of Productivity on the Stability of Real and Model Ecosystems.
J. C. Moore, P. C. de Ruiter, and H. W. Hunt (1993)
Science 261, 906-908
   Abstract »    PDF »
The use of Rarefaction Analysis for Estimating Palynological Richness from Quaternary Pollen-Analytical Data.
H. J. B. Birks, H. J.B. Birks, and J. M. Line (1992)
The Holocene 2, 1-10
   Abstract »    PDF »
When Biotas Meet: Understanding Biotic Interchange.
G. J. Vermeij and G. J. VERMEIJ (1991)
Science 253, 1099-1104
   Abstract »    PDF »
Evidence from Sediments of Long-Term Acanthaster planci Predation on Corals of the Great Barrier Reef.
P. D. Walbran, P. D. WALBRAN, R. A. HENDERSON, A. J. T. JULL, and M. J. HEAD (1989)
Science 245, 847-850
   Abstract »    PDF »
Ecological Effects of a Major Oil Spill on Panamanian Coastal Marine Communities.
J. B. C. JACKSON, J. D. CUBIT, B. D. KELLER, V. BATISTA, K. BURNS, H. M. CAFFEY, R. L. CALDWELL, S. D. GARRITY, C. D. GETTER, C. GONZALEZ, et al. (1989)
Science 243, 37-44
   Abstract »    PDF »
Self-Organization, Transformity, and Information.
H. T. Odum (1988)
Science 242, 1132-1139
   Abstract »    PDF »
Ecosystem stability: some recent perspectives.
A.R. Hill (1987)
Progress in Physical Geography 11, 315-333
   PDF »
Community Diversity: Relative Roles of Local and Regional Processes.
R. E. RICKLEFS (1987)
Science 235, 167-171
   Abstract »    PDF »
Disturbance and Ecologic Succession in an Upper Ordovician Cobble-Dwelling Hardground Fauna.
M. A. Wilson and M. A. WILSON (1985)
Science 228, 575-577
   Abstract »    PDF »
Amazon Rain-Forest Fires.
R. L. Sanford, R. L. SANFORD JR., J. SALDARRIAGA, K. E. CLARK, C. UHL, and R. HERRERA (1985)
Science 227, 53-55
   Abstract »    PDF »
Damselfish as Keystone Species in Reverse: Intermediate Disturbance and Diversity of Reef Algae.
M. A. HIXON and W. N. BROSTOFF (1983)
Science 220, 511-513
   Abstract »    PDF »
Hurricane Allen's Impact on Jamaican Coral Reefs.
J. D. Woodley, J. D. Woodley, E. A. Chornesky, P. A. Clifford, J. B. C. Jackson, L. S. Kaufman, N. Knowlton, J. C. Lang, M. P. Pearson, J. W. Porter, et al. (1981)
Science 214, 749-755
   Abstract »    PDF »
Mutualism Among Sessile Invertebrates: A Mediator of Competition and Predation.
R. W. OSMAN and J. A. HAUGSNESS (1981)
Science 211, 846-848
   Abstract »    PDF »
Earthquake-Caused Landslides: A Major Disturbance to Tropical Forests.
N. C. Garwood, N. C. GARWOOD, D. P. JANOS, and N. BROKAW (1979)
Science 205, 997-999
   Abstract »    PDF »
Disaster, Catastrophe, and Local Persistence of the Sea Palm Postelsia palmaeformis.
R. T. PAINE (1979)
Science 205, 685-687
   Abstract »    PDF »
Intermediate-Disturbance Hypothesis.
J. F. FOX (1979)
Science 204, 1344-1345
   PDF »
Tree Dispersion, Abundance, and Diversity in a Tropical Dry Forest.
S. P. Hubbell (1979)
Science 203, 1299-1309
   Abstract »    PDF »
Rapid transition in the structure of a coral reef community: The effects of coral bleaching and physical disturbance.
G. K. Ostrander, K. M. Armstrong, E. T. Knobbe, D. Gerace, and E. P. Scully (2000)
PNAS 97, 5297-5302
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Chaotic flow: The physics of species coexistence.
G. Karolyi, A. Pentek, I. Scheuring, T. Tel, and Z. Toroczkai (2000)
PNAS 97, 13661-13665
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »



To Advertise     Find Products


Science. ISSN 0036-8075 (print), 1095-9203 (online)