Plant dispersal characteristics shape the relationship of diversity with area and isolation

Aim This study disentangles how plant dispersal syndromes influence the relationship of species richness with area and isolation while also accounting for the human impact on island biodiversity. It builds on the potential of islands at the mesoscale and of similar origin to contribute to the ongoing discussion in island biogeography on what determines species richness and filtering.
Location Denmark, 54 saltwater and brackish water islands in the North and Baltic Sea
Taxon Vascular plants, including pteridophytes (ferns, clubmosses and horsetails)
Methods Generalized linear models (GLMs) and linear regressions are used to analyse how dispersal syndromes influence the relationships of species numbers with island area and isolation, as well as island inhabitation and human density, respectively.
Results Species numbers, as well as mean seed mass and the proportion of zoochore and anemochore species, are positively related to island area while the share of water-dispersed species decrease...