Island biogeography — ecology, evolution and conservation

Island Biogeography — Ecology, Evolution and Conservation. Robert J. Whittaker. Oxford University Press, Oxford. 1998. Pp. 285. Price £50.00, hardback. ISBN 0 19 850021 1. I very much

enjoyed this book. It is well laid-out and comprehensive in its coverage of issues in insular biogeography. I particularly liked the way that the author discussed and compared evolutionary

versus ecological phenomena. The evolutionary and ecological theories of island biogeography have developed along very different lines, and there has been considerable confusion as to what

processes operate under what conditions. The author does an excellent job contrasting these approaches, and evaluating their applicability under different circumstances. I found the book to

be both enlightening and thought-provoking, as well as being very easy to read. The only major difficulty I had in reading the book was which of the citations reflected the primary

literature. For example, instead of citing authors of specific chapters, an edited book, Wagner and Funk (1995), is cited repeatedly. Likewise, as a reference to the radiation of the plant

genus _Cyrtandra_, the author uses Otte (1989), a book chapter on Hawaiian crickets! There are numerous instances of this throughout the book, and it made it very difficult to locate the

primary literature. Examples are heavily biased towards vertebrates. The author states (p. 46) that ‘No attempt will be made to cover the insects in a systematic fashion’. That is fine.

However, with insects providing some of the best insights into potential processes in the evolution of insular biotas, it would seem that they might have been worth including more

thoroughly. In particular, although still poorly known, the evolutionary biology of a broad spectrum of Hawaiian arthropods has been the subject of a recent symposium (Liebherr &

Polhemus, 1997, and references therein) and review (Roderick & Gillespie, 1998). Likewise, in terms of conservation there is little discussion of the conservation status of native

species and impacts of alien arthropods. I would have liked to have seen some reference to the huge problem of the introduction of social hymenoptera in Hawaii (Cole et al., 1992; Gambino et

al., 1990). One group of arthropods that is discussed in terms of speciation is the butterflies (pp. 47 and 49). Interestingly, the only radiations of butterflies are in the Bismarcks and

the Solomons. Citing Adler and Dudley (1994), the author suggests that a ‘plausible explanation’ for the lack of speciation on other islands may be ‘a consequence of the constraints of the

evolutionary ties with particular host plants required by butterfly larvae. This may limit their potential for rapid evolutionary change on islands’. This argument ignores the fact that

other host-plant specialists (moths, planthoppers, etc) have radiated extensively even in the most isolated islands (Howarth & Mull, 1992; Asche, 1997; Roderick 1997). More thorough

coverage of arthropods would have shown the inconsistency in the Adler and Dudley argument. Plants are also treated rather lightly compared with vertebrates. Little more than a passing

mention is given to the large Hawaiian plant radiations, and there is no mention of the recent outstanding work on groups such as the silverswords (Baldwin 1997; Baldwin & Robichaux

1995) and _Cyanea_ (Givnish et al., 1995). The sections on genetics could have been made clearer. For example, in discussing founder effects (p. 64) it is stated that ‘genetic variability

can be increased after establishment by mutation and resorting’. There is little evidence for any mutational changes subsequent to a bottleneck (Otto & Whitlock, 1997). It does appear,

however, that selection subsequent to a genetic bottleneck has an important effect on alleles that are initially rare and that would tend to be lost to stochastic events in populations of

constant size (Slatkin 1996). Also, in terms of the minimum viable population size (p. 194), the author states that ‘an increase in inbreeding in small populations reduces fitness in

animals’. Inbreeding will only occur in previously outbred populations; if populations evolve to small size over evolutionary time (as may be quite common on islands), then deleterious

alleles can be ‘purged’ from the population (Templeton & Read, 1984). Such populations may show very little genetic variability, but with little cost from inbreeding, and may be quite

adequately adapted to their environment. I should emphasize, however, that these problems are minor in consideration of what this book has achieved, both in its encyclopedic coverage and

readability. I know of no other book that offers such a solid foundation of information on island biogeography. I see the book as being an essential resource for classroom instruction on

island biogeography, in addition to being an indispensable reference for others interested in the topic. REFERENCES * Adler, G. H. and Dudley, R. (1994). Butterfly biogeography and endemism

on tropical Pacific Islands. _Biol J Linn Soc_, 52: 151–162. Article  Google Scholar  * Asche, M. (1997). A review of the systematics of Hawaiian planthoppers (Hemiptera: Fulgoroidea). _Pac

Sci_, 51: 366–376. Google Scholar  * Baldwin, B. (1997). Adaptive radiation of the Hawaiian silversword alliance: congruence and conflict of phylogenetic evidence from molecular and

non-molecular investigations. In: Givnish, T J and Sytsma, K J (eds). _Molecular Evolution and Adaptive Radiation_, pp. 103–128. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. Google Scholar  *

Baldwin, B. and Robichaux, R. (1995). Historical biogeography and ecology of the Hawaiian silversword alliance (Compositae): new molecular phylogenetic perspectives. In: Wagner, W. L. and

Funk, V. A. (eds). _Hawaiian Biogeography: Evolution on a Hot Spot Archipelago_, pp. 259–287. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, DC. * Cole, F. R., Medeiros, A. C. and Loope, L. L.

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Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, DC. Download references AUTHOR INFORMATION AUTHORS AND AFFILIATIONS * Center for Conservation Training and Research 3050 Maile Way Gilmore 409

University of Hawaii Honolulu, Hawaii, 96822, USA Rosemary G Gillespie Authors * Rosemary G Gillespie View author publications You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar

RIGHTS AND PERMISSIONS Reprints and permissions ABOUT THIS ARTICLE CITE THIS ARTICLE Gillespie, R. Island Biogeography — Ecology, Evolution and Conservation. _Heredity_ 83, 100–101 (1999).

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