Oceanic island biogeography through the lens of the general dynamic model: assessment and prospect.

Michael K Borregaard,José M Fernández‐Palacios,Jonathan Price,Juliano S Cabral,Richard Field,Konstantinos A Triantis,Thomas J Matthews,Robert J Whittaker,Manuel J Steinbauer,Lawrence R Heaney,Francois Rigal,Jens M Olesen,Holger Kreft,Isabel R Amorim,Patrick Weigelt,Luis Valente,Paulo A V Borges

doi:10.1111/brv.12256

Abstract

The general dynamic model of oceanic island biogeography (GDM) has added a new dimension to theoretical island biogeography in recognizing that geological processes are key drivers of the evolutionary processes of diversification and extinction within remote islands. It provides a dynamic and essentially non-equilibrium framework generating novel predictions for emergent diversity properties of oceanic islands and archipelagos. Its publication in 2008 coincided with, and spurred on, renewed attention to the dynamics of remote islands. We review progress, both in testing the GDM's predictions and in developing and enhancing ecological-evolutionary understanding of oceanic island systems through the lens of the GDM. In particular, we focus on four main themes: (i) macroecological tests using a space-for-time rationale; (ii) extensions of theory to islands following different patterns of ontogeny; (iii) the implications of GDM dynamics for lineage diversification and trait evolution; and (iv) the potential for downscaling GDM dynamics to local-scale ecological patterns and processes within islands. We also consider the implications of the GDM for understanding patterns of non-native species diversity. We demonstrate the vitality of the field of island biogeography by identifying a range of potentially productive lines for future research.

Highlights

We demonstrate the vitality of the field of island biogeography by identifying a range of potentially productive lines for future research
THE GENERAL DYNAMIC MODEL “I believe that a principal cause of the rarity or extinction of old species on oceanic islands is the subsidences they have all experienced
The general dynamic model of oceanic island biogeography depicts the responses of the key processes of immigration, speciation and extinction to the ontogeny of volcanic islands formed over oceanic plates via magma plumes (Whittaker et al, 2007; Whittaker, Triantis & Ladle, 2008, 2010; Borregaard, Matthews & Whittaker, 2015)

Summary

Introduction

THE GENERAL DYNAMIC MODEL “I believe that a principal cause of the rarity or extinction of old species on oceanic islands is the subsidences they have all experienced. The GDM is based on three key premises: (i) that the processes of immigration, speciation and extinction operate as functions of island isolation and area, as represented within MacArthur & Wilson’s (1967) equilibrium theory of island biogeography (ETIB); (ii) that diversification is driven by unutilized ecological opportunity and within-island allopatry; and (iii) that species carrying capacity and within-island allopatry vary over time with the geological ontogeny of the island.

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Conclusion