The species–area relationship and evolution

Models relating to the species–area curve usually assume the existence of species, and are concerned mainly with ecological timescales. We examine an individual-based model of co-evolution on a spatial lattice based on the tangled nature model in which species are emergent structures, and show that reproduction, mutation and dispersion by diffusion, with interaction via genotype space, produces power-law species–area relations as observed in ecological measurements at medium scales. We find that long-lasting co-evolutionary habitats form, allowing high diversity levels in a spatially homogenous system.