The Biology of Island Floras

David Bramwell, Juli Caujapé-Castells

• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Year: 2011
• Print ISBN:
  9780521118088
• eBook ISBN:
  9781139180122
• Topic: Ciencias biológicas
• Subtopic: Botánica

Oceanic islands offer biologists unparalleled opportunities to study evolutionary processes and ecological phenomena. However, human activity threatens to alter or destroy many of these fragile ecosystems, with recent estimates suggesting that nearly half of the world's insular endemics are threatened with extinction. Bringing together researchers from around the world, this book illustrates how modern research methods and new concepts have challenged accepted theories and changed our understanding of island flora. Particular attention is given to the impact of molecular studies and the insights that they provide into topics such as colonisation, radiation, diversification and hybridisation. Examples are drawn from around the world, including the Hawaiian archipelago, Galapagos Islands, Madagascar and the Macronesian region. Conservation issues are also highlighted, with coverage of alien species and the role of ex situ conservation providing valuable information that will aid the formulation of management strategies and genetic rescue programmes.

Table of contents

• Cover
• THE BIOLOGY OF ISLAND FLORAS
• Title
• Copyright
• Contents
• Preface
• 1 Introduction: islands and plants
• 2 The reproductive biology of island plants
• 3 Spatial methodologies in historical biogeography of islands
• 4 Origin and evolution of Hawaiian endemics: new patterns revealed by molecular phylogenetic studies
• 5 Origins and evolution of Galapagos endemic vascular plants
• 6 The plants of the Caribbean islands: a review of the biogeography, diversity and conservation of a storm-battered biodiversity hotspot
• 7 The biogeography of Madagascar palms
• 8 Evolution and biogeography of the flora of the Socotra archipelago (Yemen)
• 9 Biogeography and conservation of the flora of New Caledonia
• 10 Phytogeography and relationships of the Pitcairn Islands flora
• 11 Chromosomes and evolution in New Zealand endemic angiosperms and gymnosperms
• 12 Jesters, red queens, boomerangs and surfers: a molecular outlook on the diversity of the Canarian endemic flora
• 13 Endemism and evolution in Macaronesian and Mediterranean Limonium taxa
• 14 Dispersal, diversity and evolution of the Macaronesian cryptogamic floras
• 15 Invasive alien species and islands
• 16 Ecology, demography and conservation in the Galapagos Islands flora
• 17 New directions and challenges for the conservation of the flora of Madagascar
• 18 Climate change and island floras
• 19 Conservation status of endemic plants on Isla del Coco, Costa Rica: applying IUCN Red List criteria on a small island
• 20 Botanic gardens and the conservation of island floras
• 21 The hazardous future of island floras
• Index