We provide an overview of the current state of knowledge of island frugivory and seed dispersal and identify knowledge gaps that are important for fundamental research on—and applied conservation of—island ecosystems. We conducted a systematic literature search of frugivory and seed dispersal on islands, omitting large, continental islands. This revealed a total of 448 studies, most (75%) published during the last two decades,...

Each year, an average of 45 tropical cyclones affect coastal areas and potentially impact forests. The proportion of the most intense cyclones has increased over the past four decades and is predicted to continue to do so. Yet, it remains uncertain how topographical exposure and tree characteristics can mediate the damage caused by increasing wind speed. Here, we compiled empirical data on the damage caused by 11 cyclones occu...

Islands play a key role globally in the conservation of endemic species. Many island reserves have been highly modified since human colonization, and their restoration and management usually occur without knowledge of their prehuman state. However, conservation paleoecology is increasingly being recognized as a tool that can help to inform both restoration and conservation of island reserves by providing prehuman vegetation ba...

We investigated the short‐term effects on stream now, habitat, water temperature, periphyton biomass, and macroinvertebrate communities of applying integrated catchment management (ICM) to improve the poor economic and environmental performance of a hill farm used for sheep and cattle grazing. Stream responses to a range of changes in land use and riparian management were compared at four reaches in sub‐catchments within a pas...

Predators often exert multi‐trophic cascading effects in terrestrial ecosystems. However, how such predation may indirectly impact interactions between above‐ and below‐ground biota is poorly understood, despite the functional importance of these interactions. Comparison of rat‐free and rat‐invaded offshore islands in New Zealand revealed that predation of seabirds by introduced rats reduced forest soil fertility by disrupting...

Documentation is made of the discovery of the Poor Knights spleenwort, ( Asplenium pauperequitum ) in a sample of vascular plant specimens collected from The Forty Fours. These islands are the easternmost outlier of the Chatham Islands archipelago. Hitherto this fern had been believed endemic to the Poor Knights Islands and Mokohinau Islands of the Hauraki Gulf, off eastern Northland, North Island, New Zealand. Frond and spore...