Islands: Biological Diversity and Ecosystem Function

✍ Scribed by Peter M. Vitousek, Henning Adsersen, Lloyd L. Loope (auth.), Prof. Dr. Peter M. Vitousek, Dr. Lloyd L. Loope, Prof. Dr. Henning Adsersen (eds.)

Publisher: Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg
Year: 1995
Tongue: English
Leaves: 245
Series: Ecological Studies 115
Edition: 1
Category: Library

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✦ Synopsis

Oceanic islands represent a set of systems in which biological diversity varies as a consequence of remoteness or size, not environment; they are also generally simpler than continental ecosystems. Islands therefore provide an opportunity to determine the direct effects of biological diversity on ecosystem function.
The volume addresses the components of biological diversity on islands and their patterns of variation; the modern threats to the maintenance of biological diversity on islands; the consequences of island biology and its modification by humanity regarding aspects of ecosystem function; the global implications of islands for conservation; and how islands can help one to understand the processes inducing changes throughout the world.

✦ Table of Contents

Front Matter....Pages I-XVII
Introduction-Why Focus on Islands?....Pages 1-4
Front Matter....Pages 5-5
Research on Islands: Classic, Recent, and Prospective Approaches....Pages 7-21
Evolution, Speciation, and the Genetic Structure of Island Populations....Pages 23-33
Patterns of Diversity in Island Plants....Pages 35-50
Vertebrate Patterns on Islands....Pages 51-56
Patterns of Diversity in Island Soil Fauna: Detecting Functional Redundancy....Pages 57-71
Ecosystem and Landscape Diversity: Islands as Model Systems....Pages 73-84
Front Matter....Pages 85-85
Prehistoric Extinctions and Ecological Changes on Oceanic Islands....Pages 87-102
Biological Invasions as Agents of Change on Islands Versus Mainlands....Pages 103-121
Climate Change and Island Biological Diversity....Pages 123-132
Front Matter....Pages 133-133
Ecosystem-Level Consequences of Species Additions and Deletions on Islands....Pages 135-147
Biological Diversity and the Maintenance of Mutualisms....Pages 149-162
Biological Diversity and Disturbance Regimes in Island Ecosystems....Pages 163-175
Effects of Diversity on Productivity: Quantitative Distributions of Traits....Pages 177-186
Front Matter....Pages 187-187
Insular Lessons for Global Biodiversity Conservation with Particular Reference to Alien Invasions....Pages 189-203
Saint Helena: Sustainable Development and Conservation of a Highly Degraded Island Ecosystem....Pages 205-217
Front Matter....Pages 219-219
Biodiversity and Ecosystem Function: Using Natural Attributes of Islands....Pages 221-226
Experimental Studies on Islands....Pages 227-232
Back Matter....Pages 233-241

✦ Subjects

Geoecology/Natural Processes; Nature Conservation; Ecology; Zoology; Plant Sciences

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