A list of datasets containing the presence-absence data gathered originally by Simberloff and Wilson in their defaunation experiment of six mangrove islands in the Florida Keys.
A list with 6 dataframes, each corresponding to the survey of a different island. Dataframes have in columns:
Taxa considered
Presence-absence before the defaunation process
Several columns with presence-absence data for the day specified
Highest taxonomical unit considered
Second highest taxonomical unit considered
Genera of the identified taxon
Island of identification of the taxon
The defaunation experiment of Simberloff and Wilson was aimed to test experimentally the Theory of Island Biogeography. The approach sought was eliminating the fauna of several islands and following the recolonization proccess.
After some trials, six red mangrove islets of Florida Bay were chosen for the task. These islets had to be stripped of all arthropofauna without harming the vegetation and then all the colonists were identified. The result of these defaunation experiments supported the existence of species equilibria and were consistent with the basic MacArthur-Wilson equilibrium model.
Wilson, E. O.. (2010). Island Biogeography in the 1960s: THEORY AND EXPERIMENT. In J. B. Losos and R. E. Ricklefs (Eds.), The Theory of Island Biogeography Revisited (pp. 1--12). Princeton University Press. Simberloff, D. S., and Wilson, E. O.. (1969). Experimental Zoogeography of Islands: The Colonization of Empty Islands. Ecology, 50(2), 278--296. http://doi.org/10.2307/1934856 Wilson, E. O., and Simberloff, D. S.. (1969). Experimental Zoogeography of Islands: Defaunation and Monitoring Techniques. Ecology, 50(2), 267--278. http://doi.org/10.2307/1934855 Simberloff, D. S.. (1969). Experimental Zoogeography of Islands: A Model for Insular Colonization. Ecology, 50(2), 296--314. http://doi.org/10.2307/1934857