Plants on Islands

This thorough and meticulous study, the result of nearly a quarter-century of research, examines the island biogeography of plants on continental islands in Barkley Sound, British Columbia. Invaluable both because of its geographical setting and because of the duration of the study, Plants on Islands summarizes the diversity, dynamics, and distribution of the approximately three hundred species of plants on more than two hundred islands. Martin Cody uses his extensive data set to test various aspects of island biogeographic theory. His thoughtful analysis, constrained by taxon and region, elucidates and enhances the understanding of the biogeographic patterns and dynamics. He provides an overview of the basic theory, concepts, and analytical tools of island biogeography. Also discussed are island relaxation to lower equilibrium species numbers post-isolation, plant distributions variously limited by island area, isolation and climatic differences, adaptation to local abiotic and biotic environments within islands, and the evolution of different island phenotypes. The book concludes with a valuable consideration of equilibrium concepts and of the interplay of coexistence and competition. Certain to challenge, Plants on Islands is among the first books to critically analyze the central tenets of the theory of island biogeography.

Martin L. Cody is Professor of Biology at the University of California, Los Angeles. Among the books he has coedited are Biogeography of Islands in the Sea of Cortez (2002), Long-Term Studies of Vertebrate Communities (1996), Ecology and Evolution of Communities (1985), and Habitat Selection in Birds (1975).

Preface

1. INTRODUCTION

2. ISLANDS IN BARKLEY SOUND, BRITISH COLUMBIA
Geography and History
Geology and Topography
Climate
More Island Geography and
Topography
Flora and Vegetation
Methodological Notes

3. ISLAND BIOGEOGRAPHY: CONCEPTS, THEORY, AND DATA
The Basic Model
Some Embellishments
Incidence Functions
Colonization and Extinction Data
Historical Legacies
Generalities, Specifics, and Modifications
of the M/W Model

4. SPECIES NUMBER, ISLAND AREA,
AND ISOLATION
Equilibrium or Nonequilibrium Species
Numbers?
Variation in Species Counts on
Islands
Cumulative Species Numbers
Species Richness on Islands

5. NESTEDNESS AND ASSEMBLY RULES
Inferences from Species-by-Sites
Matrices
Forest Species
Shoreline Habitats
Edge Habitats

6. SPECIES TURNOVER IN SPACE AND TIME
Colonization and Extinction, Persistence
and Turnover
Species Turnover in Time, and Island
Size
Species Turnover in Space

7. DISPERSAL SYNDROMES, INCIDENCE,
AND DYNAMICS
Dispersal in Plants: Options
Ferns
Fruiting Shrubs
Hydrochores: Drifters on the Sea
Anemochores: Drifters on the Wind

8. ECOLOGICAL AND EVOLUTIONARY SHIFTS ON CONTINENTAL ISLANDS
Alien Invaders
Ecological Shifts in Impoverished
Biotas
Evolutionary Shifts in Isolated
Populations

9. SYNOPSIS: LESSONS FROM A CONTINENTAL ARCHIPELAGO
The Barkley Sound Scene
Is There an Equilibrium out There?
Colonization and Extinction
Dynamics
Coexistence and a Potential Role for
Competition
Adaptation, Evolution, Conservation

Appendixes
References
Index