Like indicator species, islands are indicator ecosystems of biodiversity decline and habitat degradation. Isolated, limited in area, and with high endemicity, islands have suffered high rates of species loss. But islands are also beacons of conservation success—in part for the same reasons that make them vulnerable. Isolation and restricted scale potentially make removal of invasive species feasible, and aid the prevention of reinvasions and anchor translocated populations. Species Conservation: Lessons from Islands seeks to encompass a spectrum of conservation relevant frameworks, disciplines and tools, including small and declining population paradigms, invasion biology, conservation genetics, social science, reintroduction biology and project management.
This book departs from the common summary of species focussed woes and hopes, and provides a useful framework for conservation managers. Three chapters are devoted to the social aspects of conservation management, drawing on the rich experiences of the authors. In two chapters Simon Black considers the leadership, organization and management of a recovery team, providing a useful summary of a decision-making framework that should encourage readers to delve further into the extensive literature on structured decision making. Paul Butler and colleagues consider the critical aspect of engaging local communities, which, although here focused on island communities, is a fundamental component of any restoration programme. The sections on the theory of behavioural change will be of interest to anyone working with diverse stakeholder groups.
Other chapters cover more familiar ground but provide insightful reviews of the threats and drivers of species’ declines on islands. Two chapters lead by Jim Groombridge look at models of evolution on island systems and how the special features of islands make them speciation engines, and also how this isolation creates closed populations of limited size, vulnerable to stochastic effects. The case is made for long-term genetic monitoring of island population recovery, and a final nod is given to the increasing importance of genomic information. Chapters lead by Alan Tye and John Parkes dovetail nicely, albeit not presented consecutively, by looking at the impacts of invasive species and their eradication. The ability to remove selected invasive species from islands is a game changer, resulting in large islands either on a natural recovery trajectory or a target for species reintroductions. Other contributions flesh out the process and requirements for the management and monitoring of island system recovery.
This volume provides insights into the winning strategies that have resulted in successful island restoration. In many ways islands are tractable test beds for conservation efforts that could also be applied in mainland systems increasingly managed as semi-natural fragments in a sea of human dominated activity. The book meets its brief as outlined by the title: islands are the focus, but the lessons can be widely applied.
