Colonisation (biology)

For the same species living closely together, see Colony (biology).

Colonisation or colonization is the process in biology by which a species spreads to new areas. Colonisation often refers to successful immigration where a population becomes integrated into a community, having resisted initial local extinction.

One classic model in biogeography posits that species must continue to colonize new areas through its life cycle (called a taxon cycle) in order to achieve longevity.[1] Accordingly, colonisation and extinction are key components of island biogeography, a theory that has many applications in ecology, such as metapopulations.

Scales

The term can be used to describe colonisation on:

Means

The term is generally only used to refer to the spread into new areas by natural means, as opposed to introduction or translocation by humans, which are called introduced species and sometimes becoming invasive species.

Species colonisation events

Some large-scale notable colonisation events in the 20th Century are:

Birds

Dragonflies

Moths

See also

References

  1. Wilson, E.O. (1962) The nature of the Taxon Cycle in Melanesian ant fauna http://www.zoology.siu.edu/sears/Wilson1961.pdf The American Naturalist
  2. Livezey KB. 2009a. Range expansion of Barred Owls, part I: chronology and distribution. American Midland Naturalist 161:49–56.
  3. Livezey KB. 2009b. Range expansion of Barred Owls, part 2: facilitating ecological changes. American Midland Naturalist 161:323–349.

External links

Look up colonise in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.


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