Results of the study by Blackburn et al. (2004a) of avifauna on oceanic islands suggest that distance from the mainland and time since European colonization have major influences on species extinctions and that island area is a significant but secondary contributing factor. After augmenting the data of the study on geographical properties for some of the islands they examined, we used a causal ...

Predicting invasion potential has global signifi cance for managing ecosystems as well as important theoretical implications for understanding community assembly. Phylogenetic relationships of introduced species to the extant community may be predictive of establishment success because of the opposing forces of competition/shared enemies (which should limit invasions by close relatives) versus ...

Florida has a mild climate, diverse natural habitats, and a growing, mobile human population. Florida also hosts thousands of species of introduced plants, fish, and wildlife. A recent compilation lists 196 non-native bird species, comprising 15 orders, which have occurred in Florida. The list includes 72 species of parrots and parakeets (psittaciformes), 51 passerines, and 22 species of waterf...

Here we report on three new species of ornithuromorph birds from the Lower Cretaceous Xiagou Formation in the Changma Basin of Gansu Province, northwestern China: Yumenornis huangi gen. et sp. nov., Changmaornis houi gen. et sp. nov., and Jiuquanornis niui gen. et sp. nov.. The last of these is based on a previously published but unnamed specimen: GSGM-05-CM-021. Although incomplete, the specim...

In the past 1000 years New Zealand has experienced a major 'extinction event', losing 40-50% of the avifauna, at least 50% of the frog fauna, and unknown proportions of the lizard and invertebrate faunas. During this period, bird species became extinct at different times and rates depending on the particular aspects of their ecology and life history which made them vulnerable to habitat loss, h...

The efficacy of communication relies on the detection of signals against background noise. Some species are known to alter the timing of vocalizations to avoid acoustic interference from similar signals of other species, but nothing is known about the possibility of coordinated adjustments in the timing of receivers' attention. I examined the possibility that co-occurring species might respond ...