Saturday, August 2, 2014

My Year of Darwin: 8/2/2014 Biotic Resistance Hypothesis?

 Charles Darwin


"I have been led to consider that the spreading & number of the organic beings of any country depend less on its external features, than on the number of forms, which have been there originally created or produced." Charles Darwin, Letter to J.D. Hooker 8 September 1844

Darwin is most well known for his theory of natural selection and, if that was his only contribution, he would still be one of the greatest scientists. In fact, his theory of natural selection may overshadow his other great contributions - many outside of biology, such as his description of how coral atolls develop. 

Here, from what I can read into it, is the Biotic Resistance Hypothesis (BRH). The BRH predicts that communities that are species rich will be more resistant to invasive species and is supposed to explain why islands have so many species - because of their isolation, they are relatively species poor. I don't know the history of the BRH but I don't think Darwin gets cited for it. 

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