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Summary
One of the first patterns in ecology to be elucidated was the species-area relationship: Larger areas harbor more species than smaller areas. This relationship was explained by theoretical ecologists in terms of a log-normal distribution of species abundance, but Harte and colleagues provide a more accurate mathematical explanation of the species-area relationship. Michael Rosenzweig discusses this new mathematical interpretation in his Perspective and explains how it can be used to help to conserve species diversity.
