Figure 44.12: The Theory of Island Biogeography Can Be Tested By experimentally defaunating (removing all the arthropods from) four small mangrove islands of equal size but at different distances from the mainland, Simberloff and Wilson were able to observe the process of recolonization and compare the results with the predictions of island biogeography theory.a See Apply the Concept on p. 910 for a test of a possible alternative explanation of the species diversity on the mangrove islands.