Colonisation (biology)

Colonisation or colonization is the process in biology by which a species spreads to new areas. Colonisation often refers to successful immigration where a population becomes integrated into a community, having resisted initial local extinction.

One classic model in biogeography posits that species must continue to colonize new areas through its life cycle (called a taxon cycle) in order to achieve longevity. Accordingly, colonisation and extinction are key components of island biogeography, a theory that has many applications in ecology, such as metapopulations.

Colonisation occurs on several scales:

The term is generally only used to refer to the spread into new areas by natural means, as opposed to introduction or translocation by humans, which are called introduced species and sometimes becoming invasive species.

Some large-scale notable colonisation events in the 20th Century are:

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