Functional biogeography of oceanic islands and the scaling of functional diversity in the Azores.

ABSTRACT: Analyses of species-diversity patterns of remote islands have been crucial to the development of biogeographic theory, yet little is known about corresponding patterns in functional traits on islands and how, for example, they may be affected by the introduction of exotic species. We collated trait data for spiders and beetles and used a functional diversity index (FRic) to test for nonrandomness in the contribution of endemic, other native (also combined as indigenous), and exotic species to functional-trait space across the nine islands of the Azores. In general, for both taxa and for each distributional category, functional diversity increases with species richness, which, in turn scales with island area. Null simulations support the hypothesis that each distributional group contributes

SUBMITTER: Whittaker RJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4183340 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature