Interactions between plants and animals are diverse and intricate, and span
terrestrial, aquatic, and atmospheric environments (Herrera and Pellmyr 2002). The
biological complexity of continental forest communities makes it difficult to interpret
causal relationships between terrestrial plants and animals; yet, small island systems, with
lower species richness (MacArthur and Wilson 1967) provide the opportunity to study
plant-animal interactions within relatively simple ecosystems. Furthermore, invasions of
islands by top predators can have devastating direct effects on local flora and fauna
(Williamson 1981). Invading rats, in particular, are known to have large-scale impacts on
island ecosystems (Towns et al. 2006, Jones et al. 2008); therefore, small, rat-invaded
islands are rewarding field-laboratories for studies focused on the community ecology of
invaded systems.