Are islands the end of the colonization road

摘要: Ecologists have, up to now, widely regarded colonization of islands from continents as a one-way journey, mainly because accepted assertions that less diverse island communities are easier invade. However, present large targets and species should be capable making the reverse considering they direct descendants successful colonists provided have not lost their dispersal abilities. Recent mapping geography onto molecular phylogenies has revealed several cases 'reverse colonization' (from continents). We suggest this phenomenon warrants closer attention in ecology biogeography. Assessing its significance will contribute understanding role establishment biogeographic distributions assembly natural biotas.