Islands Biological Diversity and Ecosystem Function
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
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Edited by
O.L. Lange, Wiirzburg, FRG H.A. Mooney, Stanford, USA
Ecological Studies Volumes published since 1989 are listed at the end of this book.
Springer
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Peter M. Vitousek Lloyd L. Loope Henning Adsersen (Eds.)
Islands
Biological Diversity and Ecosystem Function
With 17 Figures
,
Springer
Prof. Dr. Peter M. Vitousek Department of Biological Sciences Stanford University Stanford, CA 94305, USA Dr. Lloyd L. Loope National Biological Survey Haleakala National Park Makawao, Maui, HI 96768, USA Prof. Dr. Henning Adsersen Department of Plant Ecology Botanical Institute University of Copenhagen 0ster Farimagsgade 2D DK1353 Copenhagen K, Denmark
Front cover: Illustration by Kirsten Madsen
Famous examples of island biodiversity: the dodo, a giant flightless dove, evolved and became extinct on Mauritius; the sea coconut, producer of the world's biggest seed, endemic to the Seychelles, possibly a relic from a sunken subcontinent; and the Darwin finches of the Galapagos Islands, inspiration for Darwin and later evolutionists and ubiquitous textbook example of adaptive radiation.
ISBN-13 :978-3-642-78965-6 DOl: 10.1007/978-3-642-78963-2
e-ISBN-13:978-3-642-78963-2
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data. Islands: biological diversity and ecosystem function/Peter M. Vitousek, Lloyd Loope, Henning Adsersen (eds.). p. cm. - (Ecological studies;v. 115) Includes bibliographical references and index. I. Island ecology . 2. Biological diversity. I. Vitousek, Peter Morrison. II. Loope, Lloyd L. III. Adsersen, H. IV. Series. QH541.5.18184 1995 574.5'267--dc20 95-3817 This work is subject to copyright. All rights are reserved, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilm or in any other way, and storage in data banks. Duplication of this publication or parts thereof is permitted only under the provisions of the German Copyright Law of September9, 1965, in its current version, and permission for use must always be obtained from SpringerVerlag. Violations are liable for prosecution under the German Copyright Law.
© Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 1995 Softcover reprint ofthe hardcover 1st edition 1995 The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. Typesetting: Thomson Press (India) Ltd., Madras SPIN: 10426981
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Foreword
The threat, and reality, of global change has caused us to examine more closely the controls on the abundances and distributions of organisms. As a result, the study of biogeography and palaeoecology is receiving renewed attention. New insights are being attained that are providing the tools to make predic
