Native plant species richness on Eastern Polynesia’s remote atolls

Native plant species richness on remote atolls in Eastern Polynesia is primarily influenced by atoll area and proximity to raised atolls or large volcanic islands, such as Makatea and Tahiti. These factors explain 47.1% and 36.9% of the variation in species richness, respectively, while isolation indices show no significant relationship. The study analyzed 49 remote atolls with complete botanical surveys, using Spearman’s rank correlation and linear regression to assess eight abiotic predictors, including area, elevation, shoreline length, and distances to potential refugia or stepping-stone islands. Findings suggest that larger atolls with closer proximity to raised landmasses support greater species diversity, indicating the role of these areas as dispersal hubs during sea-level changes.

Larrue, S., Butaud, J.-F., Dumas, P., & Ballet, S. (2015). Native plant species richness on Eastern Polynesia’s remote atolls. Progress in Physical Geography: Earth and Environment, 40(1), 112–134. https://doi.org/10.1177/0309133315615804