New directions in island biogeography
Ana M. C. Santos 1,2*, Richard Field 3
and Robert E. Ricklefs 4
1 Department of Biogeography and Global Change, Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales (CSIC), 28006 Madrid, Spain,
2 Centre for Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Changes (cE3c)/Azorean Biodiversity Group, Azores and Lisbon, Portugal
3 School of Geography, University of Nottingham, Nottingham NG7 2RD, UK,
4 Department of Biology, University of Missouri at St Louis, One University Boulevard, St Louis, MO 63121, USA
*Correspondence: Ana M. C. Santos, Department of Biogeography and Global Change, Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales (CSIC), C/ Jose Gutierrez Abascal 2, 28006 Madrid, Spain. E-mail: ana.margarida.c.santos@gmail.com
Global ecology and biogeography, 2016, v.25, no.7, pp. 751-768
ABSTRACT
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.
Keywords Climatic niche, community assembly, equilibrium theory of island biogeography, evolutionary processes, general dynamic model, invasive species, marine environments, natural laboratories, species–area relationship, species interactions
CONCLUDING REMARKS
From the observations and patterns described by naturalists during the first European expeditions around the globe, to the studies by Darwin and Wallace, and to the development of the ETIB (Box 1), islands have long influenced our understanding of ecological and evolutionary patterns and processes (Tables 1 & S1). This interest continues to the present, reinvigorated by new perspectives and analytical approaches to community ecology, evolutionary diversification and the biogeographical distributions of species. This special issue of Global Ecology and Biogeography is a reflection of the continued relevance of island systems for understanding ecology and evolution more generally. We hope you will agree that the papers in this special issue set a good collective example for continuing research on island systems.
Existing datasets from island systems are globally valuable and have provided important insights for ecology and evolution, largely because of the relative simplicity and possibility for independent replication offered by islands and archipelagos. However, although databases for island characteristics, and for species distributions and ecological requirements, traits and phylogenetic relationships continue to grow (e.g. Cardillo & Meijaard, 2010; Weigelt et al., 2013, 2015; Whittaker et al., 2014; Santos et al., 2016), many gaps need filling to realize the full potential of future research. Inventories of island floras and faunas, particularly of non-vertebrate groups, are far from complete (e.g. Hortal et al., 2007; Schipper et al., 2008; Santos et al., 2010), with many species still waiting to be described. Detailed information on the distribution of species within islands, which could be used for investigation of community assembly and, in some systems, adaptive radiation, is still limited in many cases. More information on functional traits and phylogenetic relationships may help us to interpret community assembly and structure in terms of ecological and evolutionary processes, including adaptive radiation. We advocate a continuing effort to build comprehensive island data for multiple taxa, to serve the wider scientific community in the coming decades.
The current excitement around islands reflects island biogeography as being a vibrant, active field of research. We hope this enthusiasm will continue and that the knowledge and theories developed from island systems will continue to produce insight into the natural world more generally.
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