Atlas of the islands reveals endangered habitats - Spiegel Online

Göttingen – The most comprehensive database about the climate and geography of the islands have applied scientists at the University of Göttingen and other institutions. Sea islands made up only about five percent of the land of the earth, but are home to a disproportionately large number of animal and plant species, the research team reports in the journal “Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.”

“More than 500 million people worldwide live on islands. Nevertheless, a comprehensive description of environmental conditions on islands lacking so far,” says study leader Holger Kreft of the University of Göttingen.

researchers have included data on nearly 18,000 marine islands with an area of ??at least one square kilometer. They wore this important climate data and geographic information such as the area and the distance to the nearest mainland together. If you like it very secluded, which must in the South Pacific to Tahiti or to other islands of French Polynesia: where the next land is nearly 6,000 kilometers according to the study

. Most in the tropics

“Our data provide a whole new look at the thousands of islands on our planet,” Kreft said. So subject 65 percent of all the islands in the tropical latitudes. Compared to the mainland to islands there but mostly cool and humid climate, the study found. “We have also found that there are surprisingly many islands with temperate rainforest climate, one of the rarest ecosystems on Earth.”

Many islands are particularly threatened by climate change and entrained animal and plant species, the researchers warn. Thus, about two-fifths of the endangered species are native to islands. Large islands in the Caribbean and Southeast Asia or the Mediterranean proved to be particularly rich in species. “How many islands are there in total in the world, nobody knows,” Kreft said. “If you count small rocks, it can be millions.”

The new findings could in the further research of biodiversity on islands play an important role, hopes Kreft. “Islands are microcosms in which we can examine and better understand the evolution of biological diversity and ecological processes,” he says. “For the first time we now have a standardized global data set that can serve as the basis for the global exploration of islands and their communities.”

div

track of the news

Help Get hold of free news services:

everything from the category Science

Twitter | RSS

everything from the category Nature

RSS

everything on climate change

RSS