Islands are model systems for testing and developing ecological theories. Despite extensive research on island biodiversity, the importance of the biogeographic context for biodiversity–stability relationships is poorly understood. We addressed this knowledge gap by integrating the Equilibrium Theory of Island Biogeography (ETIB) with a functional perspective to explore island biodiversity–stability relationships. We conducted...

Over the past few decades, studies on empirical ecological networks have primarily focused on single antagonistic or mutualistic interactions. However, many species engage in multiple interactions that support distinct ecosystem functions. The architecture of networks integrating these interactions, along with their cascading effects on community dynamics, remains underexplored in ecological research. In this study, we compile...

Aim Island biogeography theory has been extended to include various species interactions, but has yet to consider intraguild mutualisms. We compare species‐area relationships for mixed‐species flocks to those for the entire bird community and determine how ‘nuclear’ species, those important to flock formation or cohesion, which often have functional traits such as intraspecific gregariousness, influence flock species richness....

Aim The equilibrium theory of island biogeography predicts the positive species–area relationship and the negative species–isolation relationship, resulting in higher species richness on large and close islands. Unlike species richness, soundscape diversity integrates sound from various sources (e.g. biophony, geophony and anthrophony). However, how soundscape diversity varies with island area and isolation still needs to be t...

Seed dispersal by frugivorous birds facilitates plant invasions, but it is poorly known how invasive plants integrate into native communities in fragmented landscapes. We surveyed plant–frugivore interactions, including an invasive plant ( Phytolacca americana ), on 22 artificial land‐bridge islands (fragmented forests) in the Thousand Island Lake, China. Focusing on frugivory interactions that may lead to seed dispersal, we b...

The Anthropocene's human‐dominated habitat expansion endangers global biodiversity. However, large mammalian herbivores experienced few extinctions during the 20th century, hinting at potentially overlooked ecological responses of a group sensitive to global change. Using dental microwear as a proxy, we studied large herbivore dietary niches over a century across mainland China before (1880s–1910s) and after (1970s–1990s) the...

Research on island species–area relationships (ISAR) has expanded to incorporate functional (IFDAR) and phylogenetic (IPDAR) diversity. However, relative to the ISAR, we know little about IFDARs and IPDARs, and lack synthetic global analyses of variation in form of these three categories of island diversity–area relationship (IDAR). Here, we undertake the first comparative evaluation of IDARs at the global scale using 51 avian...

Aims Whether a Single Large Or Several Small (SLOSS) habitat patches contain more species is central to the debate about how habitat fragmentation threatens species diversity. However, the geographical and biogeographical variables that affect emergent SLOSS patterns remain poorly understood. Here, we quantified SLOSS‐based diversity patterns of woody plant, bird and spider assemblages in a subtropical archipelago of land brid...

Aim How β‐diversity patterns are shaped by landscape‐level processes remains unclear across habitat island systems. Here we assessed landscape‐level bird β‐diversity in habitat island systems and aimed to (1) evaluate the relative contribution of turnover (β SIM ) and nestedness‐resultant (β SNE ) components to multisite β‐diversity (β SOR ) from taxonomic, functional and phylogenetic dimensions; (2) examine the influence of c...

Islands frequently harbour unique assemblages of species, yet their ecological roles and differences are largely ignored in island biogeography studies. Here, we examine eco‐evolutionary processes structuring mammal assemblages on oceanic islands worldwide, including all extant and extinct late‐Quaternary mammal species. We find island mammal assemblages tend to be phylogenetically clustered (share more recent evolutionary his...

Aims Glacial–interglacial climate stability and contemporary climate could affect bird diversity through their direct effects on diversification and physiological tolerance, and indirect effects on plant species richness, which could provide more food and ecological niches. This study aims to quantitatively assess the direct and indirect effects of these drivers on species richness, phylogenetic and functional structure of bir...