Evolution in Isolation : The Search for an Island Syndrome in Plants

'Kevin C. Burns has provided a beautifully written, well-paced and enjoyable review of island syndromes. He opens with a focus on some iconic animals, which he deploys to highlight the challenges involved in building on initial 'natural history' observations, to develop and then rigorously examine clear hypotheses of how evolution in isolation favours particular functional traits and syndromes. The following five chapters set out to review specific plant syndromes, each of which is clearly described, illustrated with examples (and some well selected figures), carefully considered and then rounded off with a clear set of conclusions. Burns succeeds in putting together a rigorous synthesis of existing information on island plant syndromes. Any student of island biology, from undergraduates to seasoned researchers will be sure to find something of interest in this book.' Robert J. Whittaker, University of Oxford 'In this slender, captivating volume, Kevin Burns surveys hypotheses about island syndromes - 'repeated patterns in plant form and function on islands' … The volume ends with fascinating case studies (e.g., the cucumber tree of Socotra), and summarizes traits hypothesized as island syndromes … This should give biologists excellent grounds to dig deeper into the fascinating biology of island plants …' Robert D. Holt, The Quarterly Review of Biology