Abstract:
Analysis of species records of plants from 34
sand cays on the barrier reef and atolls of Belize,
Central Amerca, shows a linear relationship between species number and the logarithm of island
area over the range 0.13 ha to 16.50 ha. Shrubs
and trees show only a slight increase in numbers
with area, because of the small number of shrubs
available to colonize available habitats and the
clearing of native woodland for coconut plantations. Herb numbers increase more strongly with
island area, probably as a result of disturbance of
habitats by man. Distance from source areas
forms a much weaker control of species numbers, because of the proximity of the cays to Central
America and their equal distance from eastern
Caribbean source areas. Comparison with other island groups, however, shows that the Belize cays
have much larger floras than more remote oceanic
islands of similar sizes. Limited inferences on
colonization and extinction can be made from
the species records.
