In
ecology
Ecology () is the study of the relationships between living organisms, including humans, and their physical environment. Ecology considers organisms at the individual, population, community, ecosystem, and biosphere level. Ecology overlaps wi ...
, a supertramp species is any type of animal which follows the "supertramp" strategy of high dispersion among many different habitats, towards none of which it is particularly specialized. Supertramp species are typically the first to arrive in newly available habitats, such as
volcanic island
Geologically, a high island or volcanic island is an island of volcanic origin. The term can be used to distinguish such islands from low islands, which are formed from sedimentation or the uplifting of coral reefs (which have often formed ...
s and freshly
deforested
Deforestation or forest clearance is the removal of a forest or stand of trees from land that is then converted to non-forest use. Deforestation can involve conversion of forest land to farms, ranches, or urban use. The most concentrated d ...
land; they can have profoundly negative effects on more highly specialized flora and fauna, both directly through predation and indirectly through competition for resources.
The name was coined by
Jared Diamond
Jared Mason Diamond (born September 10, 1937) is an American geographer, historian, ornithologist, and author best known for his popular science books ''The Third Chimpanzee'' (1991); ''Guns, Germs, and Steel'' (1997, awarded a Pulitzer Prize); ...
in 1974, as an allusion to both the
itinerant
An itinerant is a person who travels habitually. Itinerant may refer to:
*"Travellers" or itinerant groups in Europe
*Itinerant preacher, also known as itinerant minister
*Travelling salespeople, see door-to-door, hawker, and peddler
*Travelling sh ...
lifestyle of the
tramp
A tramp is a long-term homeless person who travels from place to place as a vagrant, traditionally walking all year round.
Etymology
Tramp is derived from a Middle English verb meaning to "walk with heavy footsteps" (''cf.'' modern English ''t ...
, and the then-popular band
Supertramp
Supertramp were an English rock band that formed in London in 1969. Marked by the individual songwriting of founders Roger Hodgson (vocals, keyboards, and guitars) and Rick Davies (vocals and keyboards), they are distinguished for blending pro ...
. Although Diamond originally applied the term only to birds, the term has since been applied to insects and reptiles as well, among others; ''any'' species which can migrate can be a supertramp.
In an evolutionary context, the supertramp may represent the
first stage of the taxon cycle.
[Pepke, M. L., Irestedt, M., Fjeldså, J., Rahbek, C., & Jønsson, K. A. (2019). Reconciling supertramps, great speciators and relict species with the taxon cycle stages of a large island radiation (Aves: Campephagidae). ''Journal of Biogeography'', 46(6), 1214-1225. doi:10.1111/jbi.13577]
See also
*
Assembly rules
Community assembly rules are a set of controversial rules in ecology, first proposed by Jared Diamond.
Rules
The rules were developed after more than a decade of research into the avian assemblages on islands near New Guinea. The rules assert th ...
References
*
Ecological processes
Ecology terminology
Itinerant living
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