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| | | Island Ecosystems |
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| | Types of island ecosystems | | |  An island is a body of land, smaller than a continent, completely surrounded by water. Plants and animals of island ecosystems have many distinctive features, often related to the type of island: - old continental islands e.g. New Caledonia and New Zealand, originally part of a continent
- oceanic islands, generally volcanic and short lived e.g. Hawai'i
- coral atolls (see photo of Palmyra Atoll)
- small, numerous islands e.g. red mangrove islets in the tropics, sand islets of the Caribbean and Indian Ocean, and
- barrier islands parallel and close to the mainland coast.
| | Photo title: Palmyra Atoll, Pacific Ocean | | Photo credit: Kim Cobb, Scripps Institution of Oceanography | | | | Island biogeography | | |  Island ecosystems have been studied because they are simpler than ocean ecosystems. Even clusters of islands are simpler to study. Islands provide natural “experiments” for research because of their number, variation in shape, size, degree of isolation and ecology. Oceanic islands near continents may have continental plants and animals. More isolated islands may have endemic species. One of the key relationships in island biogeography is the area-biodiversity curve. Generally the larger the island, the more diverse the plants and animals. To put it another way, environmental diversity is correlated with island area. | | Photo title: Bahia Azul, Panama, a great chaenopsid collecting site | | Photo credit: P A Hastings, Scripps Institution of Oceanography | | |  More recent interest in island biogeography has had an impact on conservation biology. Many features of island ecosystems are relevant to ecosystem conservation elsewhere, on land as well as in the oceans. Island ecosystems have helped our understanding of:- fragmentation (leading to insularization)
- creation of biotic communities, and
- species extinction.
| | Photo title: Acanthemblemaria mangognatha, a new tube blenny endemic to Islas Revillagigedos, Mexico | | Photo credit: D R Robertson | | | | |
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| NEWSLETTER DECEMBER 2005
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| Dear UN Atlas member,
As we approach the close of this year, the recent World Fisheries Day celebrations serve as an important reminder that we must focus on changing the way the world manages global fisheries to ensure sustainable stocks and healthy oceans ecosystems. Just last month the United Nations General Assembly called on countries that have not yet done so to become a party to the Law of the Sea regarding jurisdiction over national and international waters, as well as the seabed, and to maintain sustainable fisheries.
Nearly one year ago a massive tsunami wreaked devastation to countries in the Indian Ocean region. Ongoing recovery and rebuilding efforts have contributed to try and turn this tragedy into an opportunity - a chance to build safer homes and boats, create better jobs, foster stronger communities and promote the need for effective emergency planning.
This month's newsletter brings updated information on the continued tsunami reconstruction actions, as well as news on Small Island Developing States, on NGO efforts to work towards international regulation of ocean noise, and the importance of mangroves to coastal ecosystems. Finally, we have four new topics on Large Marine Ecosystems in the UN Atlas.
If this newsletter may interest someone you know, please forward it. Contribute to and participate in the growing Atlas community by becoming an active Member of the UN Atlas today.
Thank you,
The UN Atlas of the Oceans Editors
Visit the UN Atlas of the Oceans Web site
Comments? Please write to UN-Atlas-Oceans-Project@fao.org | |
Read more at http://www.oceansatlas.o ... 2005.html.
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