1 Introduction — Why Focus on Islands?.- Section A: Patterns and Levels of Diversity.- 2 Research on Islands: Classic, Recent, and Prospective Approaches.- 2.1 Introduction.- 2.2 Classic Approaches.- 2.2.1 The Dodo Approach.- 2.2.2 The Finch Approach.- 2.2.3 The Island Biogeography Approach.- 2.3 Recent Approaches.- 2.3.1 The Spider Approach.- 2.3.2 The Biodiversity Approach.- 2.3.2.1 Endemism.- 2.3.2.2 Isolation.- 2.3.2.3 Distribution Pattern and Biodiversity.- 2.3.2.4 “Dodos” and Biodiversity.- 2.3.2.5 “Finches” and Biodiversity.- 2.3.2.6 “Spiders” and Biodiversity.- 2.3.2.7 Conservation and Biodiversity.- 2.3.3 The Ecosystem Functions Approach.- 2.3.4 The Conservation Approach.- 2.4 Recapitulation.- 2.4.1 Islands as Model Ecosystems.- 2.4.2 Isolates that are Not Islands.- 2.5 Prospective Approaches.- References.- 3 Evolution, Speciation, and the Genetic Structure of Island Populations.- 3.1 Introduction.- 3.2 The Biota of the Hawaiian Islands.- 3.3 Geological Features of the Hawaiian Islands.- 3.4 Natural Selection Versus Sexual Selection.- 3.5 Classical Sexual Selection Theory.- 3.6 The Differential Selection Model.- 3.7 Small Populations and Founder Event Speciation.- 3.8 The Biology of Small Populations.- 3.9 Population Bottlenecks and the Genetic Variability Paradox.- 3.10 The Role of Natural Hybridization.- 3.11 The Role of Sexual Selection in Conservation Biology.- 3.12 Conclusions.- References.- 4 Patterns of Diversity in Island Plants.- 4.1 Introduction.- 4.2 Disharmony and Endemism.- 4.3 Adaptive Radiation.- 4.4 Morphological Features of Island Plants.- 4.4.1 Island Woodiness.- 4.4.2 Loss of Dispersibility.- 4.4.3 Changes in Reproductive Biology.- 4.5 Selected Examples of Adaptive Radiation in Hawaii and the Galápagos Islands.- 4.5.1 The Hawaiian Silversword Alliance.- 4.5.2 Lipochaeta in Hawaii.- 4.5.3 Lobelioideae in Hawaii.- 4.5.4 Scalesia in the Galápagos.- 4.5.5 Macraea in the Galápagos.- 4.5.6 Lecocarpus in the Galápagos.- References.- 5 Vertebrate Patterns on Islands.- 5.1 Introduction.- 5.2 Islands and Biodiversity.- 5.3 Islands as Microcosms.- References.- 6 Patterns of Diversity in Island Soil Fauna: Detecting Functional Redundancy.- 6.1 Introduction.- 6.2 The Role of Soil Fauna in Ecosystem Processes.- 6.3 Taxonomic Impediments.- 6.4 Patterns of Diversity for Island Soil Fauna in Hawaii.- 6.4.1 Age Gradient.- 6.4.2 Elevational Gradient.- 6.4.3 Disturbance Gradients.- 6.5 Conclusion.- References.- 7 Ecosystem and Landscape Diversity: Islands as Model Systems.- 7.1 Introduction.- 7.2 Ecosystem Diversity on Islands.- 7.3 The State Factors and Their Interactions.- 7.3.1 Climate.- 7.3.2 Organisms.- 7.3.3 Relief.- 7.3.4 Parent Material.- 7.3.5 Time.- 7.3.6 Interactions.- 7.4 Ecosystem Diversity and Ecosystem Function.- References.- Section B: Threats to Diversity on Islands.- 8 Prehistoric Extinctions and Ecological Changes on Oceanic Islands.- 8.1 Introduction.- 8.2 Diversity.- 8.3 Prehuman Extinctions.- 8.4 Prehuman Biological Invasions.- 8.5 Anthropogenic Deletions.- 8.6 Vertebrate Feeding Guilds.- 8.7 Future Directions.- References.- 9 Biological Invasions as Agents of Change on Islands Versus Mainlands.- 9.1 Introduction.- 9.2 Are Islands Inherently More Subject to Invasion?.- 9.3 Effects of Introduced Species.- 9.3.1 Species-Level Effects.- 9.3.2 Ecosystem-Level Effects.- 9.4 Ecosystem Function and Species Loss as a Result of Invasion.- 9.5 Conclusions.- References.- 10 Climate Change and Island Biological Diversity.- 10.1 Introduction.- 10.2 Quaternary Climates of Islands: What Do We Know?.- 10.2.1 Quaternary Environments of Oceans.- 10.2.2 Pertinent Information on Quaternary Environments of the African and South American Tropics.- 10.2.3 Hawaiian Islands.- 10.2.3.1 Present-Day conditions.- 10.2.3.2 What Do We Know About Quaternary Paleoenvironments in Hawaii?.- 10.2.4 Galápagos Islands.- 10.2.5 Easter Island and Other Sites in the Southern Pacific.- 10.3 Biological Effects of Warming on Islands.- 10.4 Conclusions: Prognosis for Potential Effects of Global Warming on Island Biological Diversity.- References.- Section C: Diversity and Ecosystem Function.- 11 Ecosystem-Level Consequences of Species Additions and Deletions on Islands.- 11.1 Introduction.- 11.2 Linking Biodiversity to Ecosystem Processes.- 11.3 Additions and Deletions on Islands.- 11.3.1 Functional Properties of Island Species.- 11.3.1.1 Land Crabs and Snails on Christmas Island.- 11.3.1.2 Manuring, Moths, and Mice on Marion Island.- 11.3.1.3 Moose on Isle Royale.- 11.4 Predicting Consequences of Additions and Deletions.- 11.4.1 Probabilistic Rules.- 11.4.2 Problems with Probabilistic Rules.- 11.5 Island-Mainland Comparisons.- 11.6 Functional “Redundancy”.- References.- 12 Biological Diversity and the Maintenance of Mutualisms.- 12.1 Ecological Interactions.- 12.2 Representative Examples of Mutualisms.- 12.2.1 Ant-Plant Relationships.- 12.2.2 Ants and Other Invertebrates.- 12.2.3 Figs and Insect Pollinators.- 12.2.4 Bat Pollination Systems.- 12.3 Chatham Islands: Ecosystem Disruption and Mutualisms.- 12.3.1 Sophora microphylla Pollination.- 12.3.2 Rhopalostylis Seed Dispersal.- 12.4 Seabirds and Soil — Commensalisms or Indirect Mutualisms.- 12.5 The Survival of Mutualisms on Islands.- 12.6 Management Under a Monoculture Scenario.- References.- 13 Biological Diversity and Disturbance Regimes in Island Ecosystems.- 13.1 Introduction.- 13.2 Disturbance Regimes and Biodiversity Patterns Across the Pacific Islands.- 13.2.1 Disturbance Regimes.- 13.2.2 Biodiversity Patterns.- 13.2.3 The Concept of Biological Diversity.- 13.3 Disturbance Regimes and Biodiversity as Factors in Ecosystem Development.- 13.3.1 Factors in Ecosystem and Vegetation Development.- 13.3.2 Case Examples.- 13.4 Disturbance Regime and Stand Demography.- 13.4.1 Disturbance as a Multivariate Regime.- 13.4.2 Developmental Stages in Stand Demography.- 13.4.3 Interaction Between Scale Variables and the Ecological Community.- 13.5 Tree Mortality Patterns as Mediated by Biodiversity and Disturbance Regime.- 13.6 Summary and Conclusion.- References.- 14 Effects of Diversity on Productivity: Quantitative Distributions of Traits.- 14.1 Introduction.- 14.2 Simple Distributions of Traits.- 14.3 Distributions of Two or More Traits.- 14.4 Complementarity and Tradeoffs Among Traits.- 14.5 Biodiversity and the Usefulness of Production.- 14.6 Conclusions.- References.- Section D: Conservation Implications.- 15 Insular Lessons for Global Biodiversity Conservation with Particular Reference to Alien Invasions.- 15.1 Introduction.- 15.2 Insular Lessons for Conservation.- 15.2.1 Island Biogeographic Theory.- 15.2.2 Susceptability of Insular Biotas to Alien Invasions.- 15.2.3 Additions of Species.- 15.2.4 The Loss of “Key” Species.- 15.2.5 Changing Disturbance Regimes Favour Alien Invasions.- 15.2.6 Alien-Dominated Ecosystems Are Unstable in the Long-Term.- 15.3 Conclusion.- References.- 16 Saint Helena: Sustainable Development and Conservation of a Highly Degraded Island Ecosystem.- 16.1 Introduction: Small Islands and Sustainable Development.- 16.2 Geology and Climate of St Helena.- 16.3 The Original Ecology of St Helena.- 16.4 Mechanisms of Environmental Degradation.- 16.4.1 Extinctions and Habitat Loss.- 16.5 Species Recovery and Habitat Restoration on St Helena.- 16.5.1 Sustainable Environment and Development Strategy for St Helena.- 16.6 Conclusions.- References.- Section E: Where Can We Go from Here?.- 17 Biodiversity and Ecosystem Function: Using Natural Attributes of Islands.- 17.1 Introduction.- 17.2 Using Island Gradients.- 17.3 Diversity, Disturbance, and Stability.- 17.4 Continental Islands: Terrestrial and Aquatic.- 17.5 Summary.- References.- 18 Experimental Studies on Islands.- 18.1 Introduction.- 18.2 Advantages of Islands.- 18.3 Examples.- 18.3.1 Within-Ecosystem Processes.- 18.3.2 Larger-Scale Phenomena.- 18.4 Conclusions.- Reference.