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Island biogeography studies the effect of:

A. ecological relationships
B. mainland extinctions
C. natural disasters
D. climate change

on islands.

Answer :

Final answer:

Island biogeography examines the ecological relationships influencing species diversity on islands, focusing on the equilibrium between species immigration and extinction. This field also studies adaptive radiation, as seen in Darwin's finch examples from the Galápagos Islands.

Explanation:

Island biogeography is the study of the life on island chains and how the geography of these islands interacts with the diversity of species found there. This field specifically studies the effect of ecological relationships on islands and how factors like area, isolation, and habitat fragmentation influence species richness. The fundamental theory, developed by MacArthur and Wilson, posits that species richness on an island is a dynamic equilibrium between immigration of new species and the extinction of existing ones. The theory also extends to habitat fragments, which are analogous to 'islands', in a 'sea' of developed land.

Additionally, adaptive radiation is a key concept within island biogeography, describing how one species can evolve into many new species to fill various ecological niches. This is exemplified by the finch species that Darwin studied in the Galápagos Islands, which evolved from a single ancestor species into multiple species, each adapted to different food sources on the islands.

The synthesis of knowledge from island biogeography and population biology has enriched our understanding of species diversity, distribution, and the processes of speciation and extinction.

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