Biogeography of island flora in the Georgian Bay, Lake Huron, Ontario

TL;DRAbstract

In this dissertation I analyzed multiple, interrelated variables that affect spatial variation of plant species richness among freshwater islands, and incorporated forest dynamics as a temporal axis to judge the permanence of richness patterns. The study encompassed islands within Ontario's Massasauga Provincial Park in the Georgian Bay (Lake Huron), Canada. Specific objectives of this dissertation were (1) to test the applicability of species-area relationships and species-isolation relationships to insular plant assemblages, (2) to examine the influence of variables other than area and distance on species richness, and (3) to determine whether current patterns of species richness are in a stage of transition. Subsets of species richness (growth form, origin, dispersal mode, and island location) were analyzed to determine whether the results differed from the total data set. Thirty-five islands were sampled in The Massasauga Provincial Park archipelago. Sampled islands were located us

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