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Why do so many species live in tropical forests and coral reefs?

10-31-2007 · EurekAlert!

The latest development in a major debate over a controversial hypothesis of biodiversity and species abundance will be published in the Nov. 1, 2007, issue of Nature. The authors report good agreement between the species richness of two of the most vulnerable ecosystems -- tropical forests and coral reefs -- and a simple mathematical model building on the "neutral theory of biodiversity." The research could aid the effort to protect terrestrial biodiversity from climate change and urban development.

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Keywords: many, species, live, tropical, forests, coral, reefs, specy, forest, reef

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