Heeding the Warning in Biodiversity's Basic Law

Abstract
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][1] 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. [1]: http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/short/284/5412/334