■ Abstract Growth of the Japanese arc system, which has mainly taken place along the continental margin of Asia since the Permian, is the result of subduction of the ancient Pacific ocean floor. Backarc basin formation in the Tertiary shaped the presentday arc configuration. The neotectonic regime, which is characterized by strong eastwest compression, has been triggered by the eastward motion ...

S U M M A R Y Continuum models are used to investigate the large-scale deformation associated with the subduction of aseismic ridges. Formulated in the horizontal plane using thin viscous sheet theory, these models measure the horizontal transmission of stress through the arc lithosphere accompanying ridge subduction. Modelling was used to compare the Tonga arc and Louisville ridge collision wi...

1. We analysed the relationships between species richness, island area, and habitat diversity for birds, bats, butter ̄ies, and reptiles and amphibians on 19 islands in the Lesser Antilles. Habitat diversity was quanti®ed by Simpson's index based on the total areas of ®ve vegetation types on each island. Island area varied over two orders of magnitude (13±1510 km) and habitat diversity varied be...