Volume 40, Issue 1 pp. 117-130
ORIGINAL ARTICLE

Snails on oceanic islands: testing the general dynamic model of oceanic island biogeography using linear mixed effect models

Robert A. D. Cameron

Robert A. D. Cameron

Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, S10 4TN UK

Department of Zoology, The Natural History Museum, London, SW7 5BD UK

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Kostas A. Triantis

Corresponding Author

Kostas A. Triantis

Azorean Biodiversity Group, University of Azores, 9700-851, Angra do Heroísmo, Terceira, Azores, Portugal

Conservation Biogeography and Macroecology Programme, School of Geography and the Environment, University of Oxford, Oxford, OX1 3QY UK

Department of Ecology and Taxonomy, Faculty of Biology, National and Kapodistrian University, Athens, GR-15784 Greece

Correspondence: Kostas A. Triantis, Azorean Biodiversity Group, University of Azores, 9700-851 Angra do Heroísmo, Terceira, Azores, Portugal.

E-mail: [email protected]

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Christine E. Parent

Christine E. Parent

Section of Integrative Biology, University of Texas, Austin, TX 78712 USA

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François Guilhaumon

François Guilhaumon

Azorean Biodiversity Group, University of Azores, 9700-851, Angra do Heroísmo, Terceira, Azores, Portugal

‘Rui Nabeiro’ Biodiversity Chair, CIBIO – Universidade de Évora, Casa Cordovil, 7000-890, Évora, Portugal

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María R. Alonso

María R. Alonso

Departamento de Biología Animal, Universidad de La Laguna, E-38206 La Laguna, Tenerife, Canaries, Spain

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Miguel Ibáñez

Miguel Ibáñez

Departamento de Biología Animal, Universidad de La Laguna, E-38206 La Laguna, Tenerife, Canaries, Spain

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António M. de Frias Martins

António M. de Frias Martins

CIBIO-Açores, Department of Biology, University of the Azores, 9501-801 Ponta Delgada, Azores, Portugal

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Richard J. Ladle

Richard J. Ladle

Conservation Biogeography and Macroecology Programme, School of Geography and the Environment, University of Oxford, Oxford, OX1 3QY UK

Institute of Biological Sciences and Health, Federal University of Alagoas, AL, Brazil

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Robert J. Whittaker

Robert J. Whittaker

Conservation Biogeography and Macroecology Programme, School of Geography and the Environment, University of Oxford, Oxford, OX1 3QY UK

Centre for Macroecology, Evolution and Climate, Department of Biology, University of Copenhagen, DK-2100 Copenhagen, Denmark

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First published: 21 September 2012
Citations: 49

Abstract

Aim

We collate and analyse data for land snail diversity and endemism, as a means of testing the explanatory power of the general dynamic model of oceanic island biogeography (GDM): a theoretical model linking trends in species immigration, speciation and extinction to a generalized island ontogeny.

Location

Eight oceanic archipelagos: Azores, Canaries, Hawaii, Galápagos, Madeira, Samoa, Society, Tristan da Cunha.

Methods

Using data obtained from literature sources we examined the power of the GDM through its derivative ATT2 model (i.e. diversity metric = b1 + b2Area + b3Time + b4Time2), in comparison with all the possible simpler models, e.g. including only area or time. The diversity metrics considered were the number of (1) native species, (2) archipelagic endemic species, and (3) single-island endemic species. Models were evaluated using both log-transformed and untransformed diversity data by means of linear mixed effect models. For Hawaii and the Canaries, responses of different major taxonomic groups were also analysed separately.

Results

The ATT2 model was always included within the group of best models and, in many cases, was the single-best model and was particularly successful in fitting the log-transformed diversity metrics. In four archipelagos, a hump-shaped relationship with time (island age) is apparent, while the other four archipelagos show a general increase of species richness with island age. In Hawaii and the Canaries outcomes vary between different taxonomic groups.

Main conclusions

The GDM is an intentionally simplified representation of environmental and diversity dynamics on oceanic islands, which predicts a simple positive relationship between diversity and island area combined with a humped response to time. We find broad support for the applicability of this model, especially when a full range of island developmental stages is present. However, our results also show that the varied mechanisms of island origins and the differing responses of major taxa should be taken into consideration when interpreting diversity metrics in terms of the GDM. This heterogeneity is reflected in the fact that no single model outperforms all the other models for all datasets analysed.

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