New Subject Editor: Julia Heinen
Submitted by editor on 29 February 2024.
I am fascinated by islands and how extinctions and introductions of species have influenced the interactions within their communities. For instance, the dispersal of seeds by animals that eat fruit is important for many plants. But the loss of many large fruit-eaters has left large-seeded plants without dispersers, consequently increasing their risk of going extinct as well. I combine the investigation of large-scale patterns on islands across the world with community-level patterns in the Mascarenes. Mauritius is famous for extinct species such as the Dodo and giant tortoises, but at the community level the consequences of those extinctions are not clear yet. Hopefully, better insight into community assembly and loss of species on islands can help prevent extinctions in the future.
Keywords: Islands, extinctions, introductions, communities, frugivory, seed dispersal, interactions, conservation, macroecology, biogeography.