1. Global patterns and drivers of island arthropod biodiversity |
How does arthropod species richness respond to island area, age,
elevation and isolation? |
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To what extent are island arthropod assemblages species poor
and/or disharmonic? |
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What biogeographic processes drive island species-area
relationships (SARs)? |
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Is there a general island SAR across all arthropod fractions, or
do they vary? |
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How do arthropod SARs differ among oceanic, continental-shelf,
continental fragment and habitat islands? |
2. Island community assembly of arthropod biodiversity |
What are the relative roles of stochastic and niche-based
processes in driving arthropod community structure within insular
systems? |
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What is the role of niche conservatism for ecological assembly
across insular environmental gradients? |
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How do island area, elevation and isolation influence community
composition and dynamics? |
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What metrics (species richness, functional group composition,
phylogenetic diversity, interaction network properties, SADs, etc.)
characterise communities of different ages, disturbance regimes,
etc? |
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What factors contribute to the resilience of insular arthropod
communities to perturbation? |
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How can we best incorporate population genetic and/or
phylogenetic data to advance island biogeography models? |
3. Drivers of island arthropod speciation |
What are the
relative roles of ecological and geographical drivers for
diversification among arthropods within individual oceanic
islands? |
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What species traits underpin diversification within arthropod
island faunas? |
4. Arthropod species abundances, endemicity and rarity within
islands |
How and why do species abundances change as communities
assemble? |
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What are the linkages between species rarity (geographical,
habitat specificity and/or local population size) and endemicity in
islands? |
5. Biotic interactions of insular arthropods |
What role
do biotic interactions play in island community
assembly? |
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How do the interaction network properties impact island
ecosystem function and vulnerability to disturbance? |
6. Spatial and temporal monitoring to understand declines in and
threats to insular arthropods |
How, if at all, do island
arthropod biotas differ from continental biotas in their response to
global change? |
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Which islands and island habitats are more susceptible to
arthropod biodiversity loss? |
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Which island arthropod taxa are most at risk from global change
and what species-traits are associated with risk? |
7. Invasive arthropod species detection, identification and
implications for island biodiversity |
What is the magnitude of
arthropod species introduction and invasion within
islands? |
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What are the primary sources and mechanisms of arthropod
introduction in islands? |
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What are the dynamics of species naturalisation on
islands? |
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How and why do natural habitats vary in their resilience against
invasive species? |