Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Foreword
- List of contributors
- Acknowledgments
- Introduction
- Part I Nonequilibrium and Equilibrium in Populations and Metapopulations
- Part II Nonequilibrium and Equilibrium in Communities
- Part III Equilibrium and Nonequilibrium on Geographical Scales
- Part IV Latitudinal Gradients
- Part V Effects Due to Invading Species, Habitat Loss and Climate Change
- 13 The physics of climate: equilibrium, disequilibrium and chaos
- 14 Episodic processes, invasion and faunal mosaics in evolutionary and ecological time
- 15 The emerging infectious diseases crisis and pathogen pollution
- 16 Establishment or vanishing: fate of an invasive species based on mathematical models
- 17 Anthropogenic footprints on biodiversity
- 18 Worldwide decline and extinction of amphibians
- 19 Climatic change and reptiles
- 20 Equilibrium and nonequilibrium in Australian bird communities – the impact of natural and anthropogenic effects
- 21 Population dynamics of insects: impacts of a changing climate
- 22 The futures of coral reefs
- Part VI Autecological Studies
- Part VII An Overall View
- Index
- References
20 - Equilibrium and nonequilibrium in Australian bird communities – the impact of natural and anthropogenic effects
from Part V - Effects Due to Invading Species, Habitat Loss and Climate Change
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 March 2013
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Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Foreword
- List of contributors
- Acknowledgments
- Introduction
- Part I Nonequilibrium and Equilibrium in Populations and Metapopulations
- Part II Nonequilibrium and Equilibrium in Communities
- Part III Equilibrium and Nonequilibrium on Geographical Scales
- Part IV Latitudinal Gradients
- Part V Effects Due to Invading Species, Habitat Loss and Climate Change
- 13 The physics of climate: equilibrium, disequilibrium and chaos
- 14 Episodic processes, invasion and faunal mosaics in evolutionary and ecological time
- 15 The emerging infectious diseases crisis and pathogen pollution
- 16 Establishment or vanishing: fate of an invasive species based on mathematical models
- 17 Anthropogenic footprints on biodiversity
- 18 Worldwide decline and extinction of amphibians
- 19 Climatic change and reptiles
- 20 Equilibrium and nonequilibrium in Australian bird communities – the impact of natural and anthropogenic effects
- 21 Population dynamics of insects: impacts of a changing climate
- 22 The futures of coral reefs
- Part VI Autecological Studies
- Part VII An Overall View
- Index
- References
Summary
Introduction
The concept of nonequilibrium has been applied to populations that do not trend towards an equilibrium point, and in which the direction of changes in population size appear not to be dependent on density (Rohde, 2005). Furthermore, communities, such as those on islands or in nature reserves, would be considered to be in nonequilibrium if their species richness or diversity changes progressively over time. Many studies on the concept of equilibrium have been on birds.
In this chapter I identify several examples from Australian birds that I believe support the concept of nonequilibrium at both population and community levels. First, the majority of Australia is arid or semi-arid, with low and unpredictable rainfall, meaning that conditions are usually difficult for birds, but occasionally there are times of relative plenty, after heavy rain, which allow population increases. Next, I examine the concept of species equilibrium on Australian islands, and extend this to the declining woodland birds of the fertile grassy woodlands of southern Australia, which have become fragmented and degraded by human activity. Finally, Australia is experiencing climate change, which is likely to intensify in the future, so I shall consider the probable impacts of this on Australia’s birds.
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- The Balance of Nature and Human Impact , pp. 295 - 310Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2013
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