Island Biodiversity in the Anthropocene

Abstract

Biodiversity on marine islands is characterized by unique biogeographic, phylogenetic and functional characteristics. Islands hold a disproportionate amount of the world's biodiversity, and they have also experienced a disproportionate loss of it. Following human contact, island biodiversity has sustained negative human impacts increasing in rate and magnitude as islands transitioned from primary through secondary to tertiary economies. On islands, habitat transformation and invasive non-native species have historically been the major threats to biodiversity, and although these threats will continue in new forms, new impacts such as human-induced climate change and sea-level rise are emerging. Island biodiversity is changing with some species going extinct, others changing in abundance, non-native species becoming a part of many ecosystems, and humans shaping many ecological processes. Islands thus are microcosms for the emerging biodiversity and socioecological landscapes of the Anthropocene. Islands will require new strategies for the protection and restoration of their biodiversity, including maintaining biological and cultural heritage through regenerative practices, mainstreaming biodiversity in cultural and production landscapes, and engaging with the reality of novel ecosystems.