![]() ![]() Many species are unable to cross the large distances that separate islands from neighbouring landmasses. Island life has sparked the imagination of generations of scientists. Consequently, we define functional island biogeography as the study of ecological and evolutionary processes that shape the structure, diversity and functioning of island assemblages, as viewed specifically through the lens of functional traits and plant ecological strategies. Island biogeography describes the spatial distribution of organisms, populations, species, communities or ecosystems on islands and other isolated habitats, and the processes generating these patterns (Whittaker & Fernández-Palacios, 2007). Functional traits are morphological and phenological characteristics of an organism or species that express aspects of its ecological strategy, scale up from individuals to properties of populations, communities and ecosystems, and can be used to quantify dimensions of ecological variation across organisms, populations, species, communities and ecosystems (Dı́az & Cabido, 2001 Westoby et al., 2002 Dı́az et al., 2016). In this review we hope to persuade readers that much can be gained from considering island biogeography in terms of functional traits that can surely inform us about the processes shaping island assemblages. ![]() We believe that the lens of functional ecology can shed more light on these forces than research approaches that do not consider functional differences among species. They illuminate the forces operating within mainland communities by showing what happens when those forces are released or changed. Islands have a justified reputation as research models. SECOND EXTINCTION ROADMAP 2021 DRIVERSSection E debates how functional ecology can be used to study multiple drivers of global change on islands and to formulate effective conservation measures. Section D discusses how evolution on islands leads to predictable changes in trait values and which traits are most susceptible to change. Section C reviews how traits indicate species biotic interactions and reproduction strategies and which traits promote intra-island dispersal. Section B discusses how traits help to predict species establishment, successional trajectories and natural extinctions on islands. Section A focuses on plant functional traits enabling species dispersal to islands. We organise our hypotheses under five overarching sections. Some of these are grounded on firm empirical evidence, others provide opportunities for future research. We formulate existing knowledge as 33 working hypotheses. We evaluate how functional traits on islands relate to core principles of species dispersal, establishment, extinction, reproduction, biotic interactions, evolution and conservation. While we focus on plants, the general considerations and concepts may be extended to other groups of organisms. Here, we review and discuss the potential for integrating functional traits into island biogeography. Functional traits are expected to be shaped by these processes. ![]() Clades that do colonise often embark on distinct ecological and evolutionary pathways, some because of distinctive evolutionary forces on islands, and some because of the opportunities offered by freedom from competitors or herbivores or the absence of mutualists. However, strong dispersal, environmental and biotic-interaction filters as well as stochasticity associated with insularity modify this baseline. A baseline hypothesis is for traits and ecological strategies of island species to show similar patterns as a matched mainland environment. This has proved fruitful, but species traits can potentially offer new biological insights into the processes by which island life assembles and why some species perform better at colonising and persisting on islands.įunctional traits refer to morphological and phenological characteristics of an organism or species that can be linked to its ecological strategy and that scale up from individual plants to properties of communities and ecosystems. ![]() Classical approaches in island biogeography focused on species richness as the deterministic outcome of these processes. Island diversity is structured by five classes of process: dispersal, establishment, biotic interactions, extinction and evolution. Island biogeography is the study of the spatio-temporal distribution of species, communities, assemblages or ecosystems on islands and other isolated habitats. ![]()
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