2014/08/01 by Gunnar Keppel, Clare Morrison, Jean‐Yves Meyer +2
Environmental Science · Social Sciences · #Animal Ecology and Behavior Studies #Environmental and Cultural Studies in Latin America and Beyond #Pacific and Southeast Asian Studies
paper · doi:10.1071/pc140136
openalex publication_date 2014/08/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/30
Islands in the tropical Pacific have a rich and unique biota produced by island biogeographic processes and modified by recent anthropogenic influences. This biota has been shaped by four overlapping phases: natural colonization and dynamics (phase 1), impacts of indigenous (phase 2) and non-indigenous (phase 3) settlers, and increasing environmental awareness (phase 4). Island ecosystems are resilient to natural disturbance regimes but highly vulnerable to invasive species and other human-related influences, due to comparatively low alpha diversity, isolated evolution and the absence of certain functional groups. Habitat loss, overexploitation, invasive alien species and pollution continue to threaten terrestrial biodiversity, compounded by limited environmental awareness, minimal conservation funding, project mismanagement, limited local capacity and inadequate and/or unsuitable conservation policies. To achieve effective conservation of terrestrial biodiversity in the region, biophysical threats need to be mitigated with improved scientific, institutional and management capacity.