BACKGROUND Ever since Darwin, natural scientists have turned to islands for inspiration
and for model systems. For the past half century, they have done so largely within the …

Background Every year, billions of migratory animals cross the planet in pursuit of increased
foraging opportunities, improved safety, and higher reproductive output. In so doing, these …

In nature, many plants have evolved diverse flight mechanisms to disperse seeds by wind
and propagate their genetic information. Inspired by the flight mechanism of the dandelion …

For millennia, Amazonian peoples have managed forest resources, modifying the natural
environment in subtle and persistent ways. Legacies of past human occupation are striking …

Atmospheric aerosol particles of biological origin are a very diverse group of biological
materials and structures, including microorganisms, dispersal units, fragments and …

For hundreds of millions of years, large vertebrates (megafauna) have inhabited most of the
ecosystems on our planet. During the late Quaternary, notably during the Late P leistocene …

Wind-dispersed plants have evolved ingenious ways to lift their seeds,. The common
dandelion uses a bundle of drag-enhancing bristles (the pappus) that helps to keep their …

Human activities are rapidly changing ecosystems, landscapes and ecosystem service
provision, yet there remain significant gaps in our understanding of the spatial ecology of …

Ecology Letters (2012) 15: 378–392 Abstract Forest trees are the dominant species in many
parts of the world and predicting how they might respond to climate change is a vital global …

Motivation Although dispersal ability is one of the key features determining the spatial
dynamics of plant populations and the structure of plant communities, it is also one of the …