Early recognition by Ball and Hooker in 1878 of plant back-colonization (boomerang) events from Macaronesia to Africa

Recent work in island biogeography has shown that back-colonization (‘boomerang’ events) from islands to continents have occurred more frequently than previously understoodWe report possibly the earliest inference of this pattern, by John Ball and Joseph Dalton Hooker in a book published in 1878

An Essay: Geoedaphics and Island Biogeography for Vascular Plants

Islands of discontinuity in the distribution of plants are common in mainland (continental) regions. Such discontinuities should be amenable to testing the tenets of MacArthur and Wilson\u27s island biogeography theory. Mainland gaps are often the result of discontinuities in various geological attributes-the geoedaphic syndrome of topography, lithology and soils. To discover ifgeoedaphically caused patterns of isolation are congruent with island biogeography theory, the effects of topographic discontinuity on plant distributions are examined first. Then a similar inspection is made of discontinuities in parent materials and soils. Parallels as well as differences are detected, indicating that island biogeography theory may be applied to mainland discontinuities, but with certain reservations

Geographic Distribution of Siphonaptera Collected From Small Mammals on Lake Michigan Islands

The distribution of ten flea species collected from five small mammal host species on 13 Lake Michigan islands is described. Four new eastern and southern records for Hystrichopsylla dippiei Rothschild are given. Speculative suggestions are made regarding dispersal routes of some of the small mammal host species, and the distribution of flea species from Peromyscus maniculatus gracilis LeConte is dis- cussed in the context of island biogeography theory

Identifying summary statistics for approximate Bayesian computation in a phylogenetic island biogeography model

Estimation of parameters of evolutionary island biogeography models, such as colonization and diversification rates, is important for a better understanding of island systems. A popular statistical inference framework is likelihood-based estimation of parameters using island species richness and phylogenetic data. Likelihood approaches require that the likelihood can be computed analytically or numerically, but with the increasing complexity of island biogeography models, this is often unfeasible. Simulation-based estimation methods may then be a promising alternative. One such method is approximate Bayesian computation (ABC), which compares summary statistics of the empirical data with the output of model simulations. However, ABC demands the definition of summary statistics that sufficiently describe the data, which is yet to be explored in island biogeography. Here, we propose a set of summary statistics and use it in an ABC framework for the estimation of parameters of an island biogeography model, DAISIE (Dynamic Assembly of Island biota through Speciation, Immigration and Extinction). For this model, likelihood-based inference is possible, which gives us the opportunity to assess the performance of the summary statistics. DAISIE currently only allows maximum likelihood estimation (MLE), so we additionally develop a likelihood-based Bayesian inference framework using Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) to enable comparison with the ABC results (i.e., making the same assumptions on prior distributions). We simulated phylogenies of island communities subject to colonization, speciation, and extinction using the DAISIE simulation model and compared the estimated parameters using the three inference approaches (MLE, MCMC and ABC). Our results show that the ABC algorithm performs well in estimating colonization and diversification rates, except when the species richness or amount of phylogenetic information from an island are low. We find that compared to island species diversity statistics, summary statistics that make use of phylogenetic and temporal patterns (e.g., the number of species through time) significantly improve ABC inference accuracy, especially in estimating colonization and anagenesis rates, as well as making inference converge considerably faster and perform better under the same number of iterations. Island biogeography is rapidly developing new simulation models that can explain the complexity of island biodiversity, and our study provides a set of informative summary statistics that can be used in island biogeography studies for which likelihood-based inference methods are not an option.Competing Interest StatementThe authors have declared no competing interest

New directions in island biogeography

Aim: Much of our current understanding of ecological and evolutionary processes comes from island research. With the increasing availability of data on distributions and phylogenetic relationships and new analytical approaches to understanding the processes that shape species distributions and interactions, a re-evaluation of this ever-interesting topic is timely. Location: Islands globally. Methods: We start by arguing that the reasons why island research has achieved so much in the past also apply to the future. We then critically assess the current state of island biogeography, focusing on recent changes in emphasis, including research featured in this special issue of Global Ecology and Biogeography. Finally, we suggest promising themes for the future. We cover both ecological and evolutionary topics, although the greater emphasis on island ecology reflects our own backgrounds and interests. Results: Much ecological theory has been directly or indirectly influenced by research on island biotas. Currently, island biogeography is renascent, with research focusing on, among other things, patterns and processes underlying species interaction networks, species coexistence and the assembly of island communities through ecological and evolutionary time. Continuing island research should provide additional insight into biological invasions and other impacts of human activities, functional diversity and ecosystem functioning, extinction and diversification, species pools and more. Deeper understanding of the similarities and differences between island and mainland systems will aid transferability of island theory to continental regions. Main conclusions: As research in biogeography and related fields expands in new directions, islands continue to provide opportunities for developing insights, both as natural laboratories for ecology and evolution and because of the exceptions islands often present to the usual ‘rules’ of ecology. New data collection initiatives are needed on islands world-wide and should be directed towards filling gaps in our knowledge of within-island distributions of species, as well as the functional traits and phylogenetic relationships of island species

Causes of exotic bird establishment across oceanic islands

The probability that exotic species will successfully establish viable populations varies between regions, for reasons that are currently unknown. Here, we use data for exotic bird introductions to 41 oceanic islands and archipelagos around the globe to test five hypotheses for this variation: the effects of introduction effort, competition, predation, human disturbance and habitat diversity (island biogeography). Our analyses demonstrate the primary importance of introduction effort for avian establishment success across regions, in concordance with previous analyses within regions. However, they also reveal a strong negative interaction across regions between establishment success and predation; exotic birds are more likely to fail on islands with species-rich mammalian predator assemblages

The nourishing sea: Partnered guardianship of fishery and seabed mineral resources for the economic viability of small Pacific Island Nations

While island biogeography and modern economics portray Pacific island nations as isolated, ecologically fragile, resource poor and barely viable economies forever dependent on foreign aid, Pacific island history and culture conceives of their islands as

Species-Area Relationships Are Controlled by Species Traits

The species-area relationship (SAR) is one of the most thoroughly investigated empirical relationships in ecology. Two theories have been proposed to explain SARs: classical island biogeography theory and niche theory. Classical island biogeography theory considers the processes of persistence, extinction, and colonization, whereas niche theory focuses on species requirements, such as habitat and resource use. Recent studies have called for the unification of these two theories to better explain the underlying mechanisms that generates SARs. In this context, species traits that can be related to each theory seem promising. Here we analyzed the SARs of butterfly and moth assemblages on islands differing in size and isolation. We tested whether species traits modify the SAR and the response to isolation. In addition to the expected overall effects on the area, traits related to each of the two theories increased the model fit, from 69% up to 90%. Steeper slopes have been shown to have a particularly higher sensitivity to area, which was indicated by species with restricted range (slope  = 0.82), narrow dietary niche (slope  = 0.59), low abundance (slope  = 0.52), and low reproductive potential (slope  = 0.51). We concluded that considering species traits by analyzing SARs yields considerable potential for unifying island biogeography theory and niche theory, and that the systematic and predictable effects observed when considering traits can help to guide conservation and management actions

The Upper Respiratory Tract as a Microbial Source for Pulmonary Infections in Cystic Fibrosis. Parallels from Island Biogeography

A continuously mixed series of microbial communities inhabits various points of the respiratory tract, with community composition determined by distance from colonization sources, colonization rates, and extinction rates. Ecology and evolution theory developed in the context of biogeography is relevant to clinical microbiology and could reframe the interpretation of recent studies comparing communities from lung explant samples, sputum samples, and oropharyngeal swabs. We propose an island biogeography model of the microbial communities inhabiting different niches in human airways. Island biogeography as applied to communities separated by time and space is a useful parallel for exploring microbial colonization of healthy and diseased lungs, with the potential to inform our understanding of microbial community dynamics and the relevance of microbes detected in different sample types. In this perspective, we focus on the intermixed microbial communities inhabiting different regions of the airways of patients with cystic fibrosis