Abstract
Biological dispersal – the movement of individuals and species – is an ecologically and evolutionarily important process shaping global biodiversity patterns. Species assemblages of oceanic islands are particularly contingent on overwater dispersal events. Biological dispersal ability is often highly predictable based on ecological and life history data, and dispersal directions and distances are potentially predictable based on a range of factors including oceanographic connectivity patterns, storm tracks, and bird migrations. Recent genetic studies provide striking examples of long-distance range-expansions and colonization events facilitated by transoceanic dispersal.