物种多样性地理分布格局及其成因是生物地理学和宏观生态学研究的核心问题之一。为了解释物种多样性的分布格局,人们提出了多种假说,其中讨论最多的是能量假说。该假说认为,物种多样性的变化受能量控制。根据能量的不同形式及其对物种多样性的影响机制,能量假说包括以下几种形式:生产力假说(productivity hypothesis)、水分-能量动态假说(water-energy dynamic hypothesis)、环境能量假说(ambient energy hypothesis)、寒冷忍耐假说(freezing tolerance hypothesis)及生态学代谢假说(metabolic theory of ecology,MTE)。本文系统介绍了每种能量假说的含义、所使用的能量形式及表征变量,以及对物种多样性的影响机制,并对不同形式的能量假说进行了比较,在此基础上,分析了每种能量假说的优点和缺点以及各自面临的问题。
Large-scale patterns of species diversity are one of the most important and attractive issues for ecology and biogeography. Many hypotheses have been proposed to understand the mechanisms that shape and maintain the diversity patterns. Among them, the energy hypothesis, which focuses on the influence of energy on species diversity, has generated the most attention. Based on the forms of energy and the mechanisms of energy effects on diversity patterns, five versions of the energy hypothesis have been recognized, i.e. productivity hypothesis, water-energy dynamic hypothesis, ambient energy hypothesis, freezing tolerance hypothesis, and metabolic theory of ecology. The current paper reviews the development of the energy hypothesis, and then presents the context, energy forms, variables, predictions, and underlying mechanisms for the five versions of the energy hypothesis. Furthermore, we discuss the advantages, shortcomings, and challenges of each version of the energy hypothesis.