People and Island Ecosystem

• Islands


  Places to live
• Original Micronesian, Melanesian and Polynesian people


  • Depended on the sea for food
  • Brought new plants like taro, breadfruit and coconuts
  • Brought animals like poultry, pigs, dogs for domestic purposes
• Mining operations


  Many South Pacific countries have had mining operations, e.g. Papua New Guinea has been mined for gold, copper and oil
• Guano mining


  Many Pacific islands were mined for guano from the early 1800s onwards
• Effects of small-scale guano mining


  • Vegetation removed
  • New species introduced
  • Many existing plant and animal island species became extinct
• Ways islands have been used as staging posts


  • As coaling stations for refuelling ships
  • As cable stations for worldwide communications
  • As airfields for trans-Pacific flights
  • As sites for navigational beacons, weather stations, satellite tracking
• Islands as tourist attractions

  Many Pacific islands have become tourist resorts over the last 30 years
• Tourism creates similar problems to the original settlements, but tourists want to see the islands in their natural state
• For tourism to continue, it is important to conserve the island ecosystems rather than further degrade them
• Effects of introduced animals on island fauna

  • Compete with original fauna
  • Sea birds nesting on the ground are particularly under threat
  • Flightless rails have become extinct on many islands
• Freshwater lens


  Freshwater is the most valuable resource on islands, but its overuse may lead to saltwater intrusion and decline in water quality
• Effects on adjacent marine ecosystems

  • Overfishing due to modern fishing techniques and introduced substances can prove poisonous
  • Engineering works may cause changes to offshore water circulation
• The carrying capacity of coral islands is a problem that has attracted the attention of many international organisations
• Overpopulation is already a problem for many islands that humans inhabit
• On isolated Pacific islands, the first contact with Europeans often led to a dramatic decline in the population, largely due to disease
• In more recent times, the population has been increasing, e.g. in the Marshall Islands
• The Marshall Islands are currently sinking and have radioactive activity in the soil, forcing the islanders to seek refuge in neighbouring countries
• For many islands, climate change is the main reason for migration