Cyclones influence native plant diversity on 22 remote high islands of French Polynesia and Pitcairn (eastern Polynesia)

Larrue, Sébastien

doi:10.1080/02723646.2014.946808

Cited by 7 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 57 publications

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“…Ackerman et al, 2007;Diamond, 1975;Paulay, 1994;Preston, 1962aPreston, , 1962bRosenzweig, 1995). For example, Hamilton et al (1963) and Johnson and Raven (1973) reported that elevation was significant for native plant species richness and diversity in the Galapagos Archipelago and similar results were obtained on the tropical islands of the northeast coast of Australia (Buckley, 1985), West Indies (McMaster, 2005) and French Polynesia (Larrue, 2014). In addition, edaphic substrata, soil nutrients, climate and productivity (see species-energy theory) also influence species richness on the islands (Field et al, 2008;John et al, 2007;Kalmar and Currie, 2006;Wright, 1983).…”

Section: Introductionsupporting

confidence: 62%

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Native plant species richness on Eastern Polynesia’s remote atolls

Larrue

Butaud

Dumas

et al. 2015

Progress in Physical Geography: Earth and Environment

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Which abiotic factors influence the number of native plant species on remote atolls is an important question to understand better the spatial pattern of the species observed on these low and vulnerable coral islands. However, this issue is still very poorly documented, often due to human degradation, partial botanical surveys or the difficult geographic access of remote atolls for researchers. The remote atolls of Eastern Polynesia, which are among the most isolated in the world, are of great interest for studies of native species' distribution due to their isolation, low human density and urbanisation. In this study, we selected 49 remote atolls of Eastern Polynesia with complete botanical surveys to test the relative influence of eight abiotic factors on native plant species richness (i.e. indigenous and endemic species). Abiotic factors used as potential predictors included atoll area (km 2 ), shoreline length (km), atoll elevation (m) and index of isolation (UNEP), but also the coastal index of the atoll (I c ), the distance to the nearest similar atoll (km), the distance to the nearest large volcanic island ! 1000 km 2 (here, Tahiti as a potential stepping-stone island) and the distance to the nearest raised atoll ! 15 m a.s.l. (here, Makatea or Henderson as a potential refugium during sea-level highstands). Spearman's rank correlation, linear regression analysis and frequency diagrams were used to assess the relative influence of these factors on native species richness. No relationship was found between the species richness and the index of isolation or the distance to the nearest similar atoll. Atoll area and distance to the nearest raised atoll of Makatea explained 47.1% and 40%, respectively, of the native species richness variation observed on the remote atolls. The distance to the volcanic island of Tahiti and the coastal index explained 36.9% and 27.3% of the variation, while elevation and shoreline length explained 23.3% and 18.4% of the variation, respectively. Native species richness on the atolls surveyed increased with the

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Section: Introductionsupporting

confidence: 62%

“…In fact, the relationships between abiotic factors and species richness are well reported on high volcanic islands (e.g. Ackerman et al, 2007;Johnson and Raven, 1973;Larrue, 2014;McMaster, 2005;Triantis et al, 2003) but still poorly documented for the remote coral atolls.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Native plant species richness on Eastern Polynesia’s remote atolls

Larrue

Butaud

Dumas

et al. 2015

Progress in Physical Geography: Earth and Environment

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“…Our methods did not allow us to evaluate extreme events, because these are typically short in nature, and we had to average vector data to produce gap‐free layers for the cost analyses. However, these methods could be adapted in future analyses to target sporadic climatologic events as more complete data become available, which together with phylogenetic results will allow for testing the role that unusual events (e.g., tornadoes, tsunamis) really play in LDD (Carlton et al, ; Censky et al, ; Larrue, ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The role of abiotic mechanisms of long‐distance dispersal in the American origin of the Galápagos flora

Fajardo

Mateo

Vargas

et al. 2019

Global Ecol Biogeogr

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Aim Long‐distance dispersal research in plants has long been dominated by the assumption that an association between plant diaspore adaptations and related transport vectors (standard dispersal) determines the success of colonization. However, the role of diaspore adaptations in a biogeographic context is being increasingly questioned, as evidence reveals that unspecialized plants have been successful colonizers by recurrent non‐standard dispersal. We studied wind and oceanic currents as vectors for long‐distance plant dispersal between the Americas and the Galápagos Islands with the focus on diaspore specializations to gain knowledge on the net contribution of standard and non‐standard dispersal mechanisms. Location Eastern Pacific Ocean: the American continent and Galápagos. Major taxa studied Non‐endemic angiosperms native to Galápagos and the American continent. Methods We used connectivity models for prevailing wind and ocean currents based on satellite data to explore the correspondence between connectivity and species distribution patterns. Using a randomization test to eliminate the effect of wind and current directionality, we evaluated whether the proportion of species that is more connected than randomly expected varies for the five diaspore specialization groups. Results We found that a large percentage of the plants are present in areas of the continent where ocean current connectivity with the archipelago is higher than expected by chance, while the percentage is small for areas with high wind connectivity. We did not find correspondence between species long‐distance dispersal specialization and the connectivity provided by either of the two abiotic vectors. Main conclusions Our results of ocean current connectivity – over wind connectivity – lead us to hypothesize that rafting dispersal has been significant in connecting the biota of Central/South America and the Galápagos Islands. This result supports a more prominent role of non‐standard dispersal mechanisms in a biogeographic context than accepted in traditional schemes.

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“…Overall, native species richness (indigenous plus endemic) on the 111 atolls was significantly related to highest atoll elevation supporting the hypothesis that tidal waves and cyclones may be important factors controlling, at least partially, indigenous, and endemic plant communities on the coral atolls. Some authors have reported low native plant diversity on the low atolls due to frequent marine submersion during cyclones (Bayliss‐Smith, ; Fosberg, ; Waldren et al, ; Woodroffe & Stoddard, ) and these events are episodic in the Pacific Islands (de Scally, ; Goff et al, ; Larrue, ; Larrue & Chiron, ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Some special outlier characteristics with the level of human impact have been added the coral atolls. Some authors have reported low native plant diversity on the low atolls due to frequent marine submersion during cyclones (Bayliss-Smith, 1988;Fosberg, 1991;Waldren et al, 1995;Woodroffe & Stoddard, 1992) and these events are episodic in the Pacific Islands (de Scally, 2008;Goff et al, 2011;Larrue, 2014;Larrue & Chiron, 2010).…”

Section: Native Species Richnessmentioning

confidence: 99%

Persistence at the final stage of volcanic island ontogeny: Abiotic predictors explain native plant species richness on 111 remote Pacific atolls

Larrue

Butaud

Daehler

et al. 2018

Ecology and Evolution

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AimThe final island ontogeny of the general dynamic model (GDM) (i.e., before island submergence) in tropical oceans corresponds to the coral atoll stage. Here, we examined whether the species richness of native vascular plants (indigenous and endemic species) on atolls is controlled by spatial and/or physical processes. We also predicted that atolls strongly affected by anthropogenic disturbance would have lower native species richness than predicted by spatial and physical processes.LocationMarshall Islands, Kiribati Islands, Nauru, Niue, Johnston, Cook Islands, French Polynesia and Pitcairn Islands (Pacific Ocean).TaxonNative vascular plants.MethodsWe used stepwise regression to test the relative influence of five biogeographic variables on native species richness. Relationships were assessed for the full set of 111 Pacific coral atolls, as well as for atoll subsets ranging from 9 to 45 atolls. An index of human impact was then estimated, and residuals in the regression model predicting species richness from biogeographic variables were compared with the level of human impact.ResultsA regression model including atoll area, highest atoll elevation, the stepping stone distances from the nearest raised atoll and volcanic island explained native species richness on the 111 Pacific coral atolls. Regression models for different archipelagos and atoll subsets were also significant. Endemic species richness was significantly linked with highest atoll elevation and the stepping stone distances from the nearest raised atoll. Residuals in the biogeographic regression model were barely related to human impact across the 111 atolls but were significantly related to human impact in the Kiribati atolls.Main conclusionsNative species richness on atolls is mainly controlled by physical and spatial characteristics. However, anthropogenic disturbances have altered the predicted pattern of native species richness leading to a lower model fit in some atoll subsets.

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Cyclones influence native plant diversity on 22 remote high islands of French Polynesia and Pitcairn (eastern Polynesia)

Abstract: International audienc

Cited by 7 publications

References 57 publications

Native plant species richness on Eastern Polynesia’s remote atolls

Native plant species richness on Eastern Polynesia’s remote atolls

The role of abiotic mechanisms of long‐distance dispersal in the American origin of the Galápagos flora

Persistence at the final stage of volcanic island ontogeny: Abiotic predictors explain native plant species richness on 111 remote Pacific atolls

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