THE BIOGEOGRAPHY OF LABORATORY ISLANDS

The biogeography of avian extinctions on oceanic islands

Island avifaunas have suffered a disproportionately high number and rate of extinctions (Manne et al., 1999). In a study of extinctions on oceanic islands, Blackburn et al. (2004) found that the number of human-introduced mammalian predators was significantly associated with the proportion of native bird species that have become extinct during the period since European colonization of the islan...

The West Indies as a laboratory of biogeography and evolution.

Islands have long provided material and inspiration for the study of evolution and ecology. The West Indies are complex historically and geographically, providing a rich backdrop for the analysis of colonization, diversification and extinction of species. They are sufficiently isolated to sustain endemic forms and close enough to sources of colonists to develop a dynamic interaction with surrou...

Functional biogeography of oceanic islands and the scaling of functional diversity in the Azores.

Analyses of species-diversity patterns of remote islands have been crucial to the development of biogeographic theory, yet little is known about corresponding patterns in functional traits on islands and how, for example, they may be affected by the introduction of exotic species. We collated trait data for spiders and beetles and used a functional diversity index (FRic) to test for nonrandomne...

Molecular biogeography and diversification of the endemic terrestrial fauna of the Hawaiian Islands.

Oceanic islands have played a central role in biogeography and evolutionary biology. Here, we review molecular studies of the endemic terrestrial fauna of the Hawaiian archipelago. For some groups, monophyly and presumed single origin of the Hawaiian radiations have been confirmed (achatinelline tree snails, drepanidine honeycreepers, drosophilid flies, Havaika spiders, Hylaeus bees, Laupala cr...

The Generation of a Biodiversity Hotspot: Biogeography and Phylogeography of the Western Indian Ocean Islands