Assembly Rules
The term assembly rules encompasses an ecological theory by the American biogeographer Jared Diamond . Assembly rules can be translated as "rules of assembly". Diamond thus describes a rule-based understanding of communities in which there is competition for biotic resources. This approach can be statistically proven and, for example, tested and questioned with the null hypothesis .
Then z. B. a rule: "The forbidden combinations of species". For example, the presence of the black honey eater (Certhionyx niger) excludes that of the silk nectar bird (Myzomela pammelaena) . The black honey eater lives on 23 of 41 islands in the Papua New Guinean Bismarck Archipelago , and the silk nectar bird lives on the other 14 islands. Both birds share many similar physiological characteristics (including size) and both have an arched beak for drinking nectar. Diamond found that the competitive effects influenced the diffusion. Diamond's hypothesis was that competition, not irregular immigration, was the driving force behind the distribution of species across the islands.
Assembly rules have been used increasingly in nature conservation since the 1990s .
Individual evidence
- ^ Carl Beierkuhnlein: Biogeography . Ulmer Verlag, 2007, p. 203.