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Why do plants reach isolated islands more easily than nonflying land animals?

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Diagram showing energy flow in a food chain from a tree to a caterpillar, then to a bird, and finally to microbes, with red arrows illustrating energy transfer and heat loss at each stage. — community ecology Energy transfer and heat loss along a food chain.

In the context of community ecology, plants reach isolated islands more easily than nonflying land animals primarily because they rely on passive, vectorial dispersal mechanisms that are highly effective at crossing geographic barriers like oceans.1

Plants have evolved diverse morphological adaptations to exploit wind and water as transport agents. For example, many seeds are buoyant due to corky or air-filled structures, allowing them to travel long distances via ocean currents. Others are equipped with wings, plumes, or hairs that enable them to be carried by wind currents. These adaptations allow plant diaspores to traverse vast distances that would be impassable for most nonflying animals.231

Conversely, nonflying land animals lack these specialized passive dispersal mechanisms and are often physically restricted by large bodies of water. While some animals may reach islands via "rafting" on floating debris, this is a far less frequent and more hazardous method of colonization compared to the widespread, high-volume dispersal of seeds and spores.14