The challenge of islands

Author:

Kay, E. Alison

Title:

The challenge of islands

Periodical:

Restoring America's wildlife, 1937-1987; the first 50 years of the Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration (Pittman-Robertson) Act

Year:

1987

Pages:

p.243-253

Subject:

Ecosystem management Introduced species Invasive species Endangered species Island ecology

Summary:

The biological communities of oceanic islands evolved in isolation from those of the continents and from one another. No two island assemblages of plant and animal life are alike, but all of them share one great problem in common: they have been invaded and often overrun by animals, plants and people from somewhere else. The forces of change thus set in motion on islands centuries ago have led in over time to many actual and threatened extinctions. Biologists are faced with the special challenges of learning a great deal about island ecologies with limited funds in a short period of time, and of applying the lessons fast enough to help. Restoring wildlife in an island environment poses many questions: Can both native species and the generally more adaptable imports coexist? If so, where and how? What human activities may need to be curtailed to ensure the survival of native communities? Which strategies of wildlife management will work on a particular island; which strategies won't? The Pittman-Robertson program began its work in an era of traditional attitudes and limited knowledge. It was responsible for certain imports of game species from around the world into United States island territories, where some found their own niches while others failed. Managed game on some islands still includes free-running "wild" cattle, pigs, sheep and goats which have been hunted at least since the early 1800's. Pittman-Robertson funds also have been used effectively to learn about and to help native non-game species, including some which are endangered. What started out as a fairly straightforward effort to improve hunting opportunities has evolved with time into a far more intricate and difficult problem: the survival of species.

Collection:

Monographs