@article {92, title = {Repeated colonization of remote islands by specialized mutualists}, journal = {Biology LettersBiology Letters}, volume = {8}, number = {2}, year = {2012}, month = {April 23, 2012}, pages = {258-261}, abstract = {Mutualisms are ubiquitous in nature, but constraints imposed by specialization may limit their ability to colonize novel environments synchronously. The ability of mutualisms to reassemble following disturbance is central to understanding their response to global change. Here, we demonstrate that a highly specialized pollination mutualism considered to be obligate (Phyllanthaceae: Glochidion; Lepidoptera: Gracillariidae: Epicephala) has colonized some of the world{\textquoteright}s most isolated archipelagoes, and we record, to our knowledge, for the first time the presence of Epicephala moths from 19 host Glochidion species on 17 islands in the Pacific Ocean. Our findings appear to offer a remarkable example of mutualism persistence in an insect{\quotesinglbase}{\"A}{\`\i}plant interaction characterized by reciprocal specialization and mutual dependence. These findings also appear to contradict the island biogeography paradigm that taxa with specialized biotic interactions are unlikely to colonize oceanic islands.}, keywords = {BIOGEOGRAPHY, Epicephala, French Polynesia, Glochidion, Gracillariidae, LEPIDOPTERA, Pacific Insects, Phyllanthaceae}, author = {Hembry, David H. and Okamoto, Tomoko and Gillespie, Rosemary G.} } @article {93, title = {Phytophagous insect community assembly through niche conservatism on oceanic islands}, journal = {Journal of BiogeographyJournal of Biogeography}, volume = {40}, number = {2}, year = {2013}, pages = {225-235}, abstract = {Aim To determine whether a community of phytophagous insects on oceanic islands (the fauna of insects feeding internally on Glochidion trees in south-eastern Polynesia) was assembled predominantly through niche conservatism or adaptive radiation. Location The islands of south-eastern Polynesia (southern Cook, Austral, Society, Tuamotu-Gambier and Marquesas archipelagos) in the Cook Islands and French Polynesia. Methods Internally feeding insects were collected as larvae from 23 endemic species of Glochidion (Euphorbiaceae s.l., Phyllanthaceae: Phyllanthus s.l.) trees on 20 islands in south-eastern Polynesia, reared and identified. Rearing records were compared with host records previously known from the literature and museum collections of closely related taxa in Asia and Australasia. Results Ninety per cent of insect specimens collected fall into five taxa previously known to attack Glochidion in Asia and Australasia (>=~6000~km distant), indicating a strong role for niche conservatism in the assembly of this community. Three of these taxa, two seed-feeding moths (Gracillariidae: Epicephala; Tortricidae: Tritopterna) and a leaf-mining moth (Gracillariidae: Diphtheroptila) are only known from Phyllanthaceae or Euphorbiaceae s.l. on continents. Two more taxa, another leaf-mining moth (Gracillariidae: Caloptilia) and a leaf-rolling moth (Tortricidae: Dudua), contain many species known only from Phyllanthaceae on continents, and are also very likely to represent examples of niche conservatism. Conversely, many numerically dominant insect taxa known from Glochidion on continents (such as parasitoid Hymenoptera) are not reported from south-eastern Polynesia. This indicates that the insular community represents a subset of those taxa from the continental community, consistent with the well-established Pacific diversity gradient. Main conclusions These findings indicate that niche conservatism can play an important role in the assembly of phytophagous insect communities on oceanic islands, despite the constraints that specialization might be expected to pose on successful establishment. As a result of this niche conservatism, these communities may represent less species-rich versions of continental tropical communities rather than non-analogue insular ecosystems.}, keywords = {adaptive radiation, Austral Islands, Caloptilia, community assembly, Cook Islands, Diphtheroptila, Dudua, Epicephala, French Polynesia, Gracillariidae, LEPIDOPTERA, Marquesas, Moorea, niche conservatism, oceanic islands, Pacific Insects, Phyllantheae, phytophagous insects, Society Islands, south-eastern Polynesia, TORTRICIDAE, Tritopterna}, isbn = {1365-2699}, author = {Hembry, David H. and Okamoto, Tomoko and McCormack, Gerald and Gillespie, Rosemary G.} }