Island floras are diverse with exceptionally high rates of endemicity, and they are also
severely threatened. Invasive plants are widespread on islands, but whether islands are …

Islands are ideal for investigating processes that shape species assemblages because they
are isolated and have discrete boundaries. Quantifying phylogenetic assemblage structure …

The extraordinary diversity of orchids has captivated scientists for more than a century, yet
their complex spatial patterns at large scales remain poorly resolved. On islands, orchid …

Plant–animal mutualisms such as seed dispersal can play an important role in enabling
some species to become invasive. For example, an introduced species could become …

The latitudinal diversity gradient (LDG) dominates global patterns of diversity,, but the factors
that underlie the LDG remain elusive. Here we use a unique global dataset to show that …

Ecological conditions, such as high habitat diversity and the absence of competitors, have
been proposed as key determinants of the patterns of speciation observed in oceanic island …

The hyperdiverse plant family Asteraceae, with over 32,000 species globally, forms an iconic
component of island floras, including many spectacular radiations, but a global picture of …

Traditional island biogeography has assumed that area size and remoteness are key factors
affecting species richness, but this theory has recently been challenged as increased human …

Oceanic islands offer biologists unparalleled opportunities to study evolutionary processes
and ecological phenomena. However, human activity threatens to alter or destroy many of …

We would like to thank Brian and Walker-Hale (1) for their insightful comments on our paper
(2). Their ideas prompt us to think differently and more deeply about morphological …