Aim We examine spatial and temporal patterns of diversification among flightless weevils in the genus Rhyncogonus (Curculionidae: Entiminae), with respect to their passive mode of dispersal by rafting or upon birds and the geological context of Pacific island archipelagos. Location Archipelagos and islands of the Pacific Ocean, especially the South Pacific and Hawaii. Methods Nuclear and mitochondrial DNA sequence data were us...

Aim Understanding how ecological and evolutionary processes together determine patterns of biodiversity remains a central aim in biology. Guided by ecological theory, we use data from multiple arthropod lineages across the Hawaiian archipelago to explore the interplay between ecological (population dynamics, dispersal, trophic interactions) and evolutionary (genetic structuring, adaptation, speciation, extinction) processes. O...

Aim To assess hypotheses about the role of anthropogenic fire in the maintenance and origin of a fine‐scale vegetation mosaic of rain forest, eucalypt savanna and grassland. Location Bunya Mountains, subtropical eastern Australia. Methods A time series of vegetation maps was compiled from historical and recent aerial photography and field surveys. Geospatial models were constructed of environmental domains for rain forest, sav...

Aim Comparative analyses of fire regimes at large geographical scales can potentially identify ecological and climatic controls of fire. Here we describe A ustralia's broad fire regimes, and explore interrelationships and trade‐offs between fire regime components. We postulate that fire regime patterns will be governed by trade‐offs between moisture, productivity, fire frequency and fire intensity. Location Australia. Methods...

Biological invasions generally start from low initial population sizes, leading to reduced genetic variation in nuclear and especially mitochondrial DNA. Consequently, genetic approaches for the study of invasion history and population structure are difficult. An extreme example is the Mediterranean fruit fly, Ceratitis capitata (Medfly), for which successive invasions during this century have resulted in a loss of 60% of ance...