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  • In defence of the entity of Macaronesia as a biogeographical region
    Publication . Fernández‐Palacios, José María; Otto, Rüdiger; Capelo, Jorge; Caujapé‐Castells, Juli; De Nascimento, Lea; Duarte, Maria Cristina; Elias, Rui B.; García‐Verdugo, Carlos; Menezes de Sequeira, Miguel; Médail, Frédéric; Naranjo‐Cigala, Agustín; Patiño, Jairo; Price, Jonathan; Romeiras, Maria M.; Sánchez‐Pinto, Lázaro; Whittaker, Robert
    Since its coinage ca. 1850 AD by Philip Barker Webb, the biogeographical region of Macaronesia, consisting of the North Atlantic volcanic archipelagos of the Azores, Madeira with the tiny Selvagens, the Canaries and Cabo Verde, and for some authors different continental coastal strips, has been under dispute. Herein, after a brief introduction on the terminology and purpose of regionalism, we recover the origins of the Macaronesia name, concept and geographical adscription, as well as its biogeographical implications and how different authors have positioned themselves, using distinct terrestrial or marine floristic and/or faunistic taxa distributions and relationships for accepting or rejecting the existence of this biogeographical region. Four main issues related to Macaronesia are thoroughly discussed: (i) its independence from the Mediterranean phytogeographical region; (ii) discrepancies according to different taxa analysed; (iii) its geographical limits and the role of the continental enclave(s), and, (iv) the validity of the phytogeographical region level. We conclude that Macaronesia has its own identity and a sound phytogeographical foundation, and that this is mainly based on three different floristic components that are shared by the Macaronesian core (Madeira and the Canaries) and the outermost archipelagos (Azores and Cabo Verde). These floristic components are: (i) the Palaeotropical-Tethyan Geoflora, formerly much more widely distributed in Europe and North Africa and currently restricted to the three northern archipelagos (the Azores, Madeira and the Canaries); (ii) the African Rand Flora, still extant in the coastal margins of Africa and Arabia, and present in the southern archipelagos (Madeira, the Canaries and Cabo Verde), and (iii) the Macaronesian neoendemic floristic component, represented in all the archipelagos, a result of allopatric diversification promoted by isolation of Mediterranean ancestors that manage to colonize Central Macaronesia and, from there, the outer archipelagos. Finally, a differentiating floristic component recently colonized the different archipelagos from the nearest continental coast, providing them with different biogeographic flavours.
  • Integrating plot-based methods for monitoring biodiversity in island habitats under the scope of BIODIVERSA+ project BioMonI: Tree monitoring in Terceira, Tenerife and Réunion Islands
    Publication . Borges, P.A.V.; Nunes Morgado, Leila; Gabriel, Rosalina; Pires Bento da Silva Elias, Rui Miguel; Gauche, Miharisoa; Ah-Peng, Claudine; Otto, Rüdiger; de Nascimento, Lea; Strasberg, Dominique; Guerrero-Ramírez. Nathaly; Kreft, Holger; Fernández-Palacios, José María; Soares, António
    ABSTRACT: Oceanic islands are globally recognised for their exceptional levels of biodiversity and endemism, often resulting from unique evolutionary processes in isolated environments. However, this biodiversity is also disproportionately threatened by anthropogenic pressures including habitat loss, invasive species and climate change. Targeted, long-term biodiversity monitoring is essential for detecting changes in these vulnerable ecosystems and providing information for conservation strategies. The EU BIODIVERSA + project BioMonI aims at building a global long-term monitoring network specifically tailored to the pressing needs of biodiversity conservation and monitoring on islands. In BioMonI, we use a novel approach that considers mapping previous and current monitoring schemes on islands, developing a harmonised monitoring scheme for island biodiversity and mobilising existing monitoring data. We are assembling data from BioMonI-Plot, a long-term vegetation plot network to understand biodiversity and ecosystem change. It will use baseline data from three focal archipelagos (Azores, Canary Islands and Mascarenes), but we aim to mobilise data from archipelagos worldwide. Plot-based data are a cornerstone of effective biodiversity monitoring on islands. These standardised data collections within permanent plots allow for consistent, replicable observations across temporal and spatial scales. Initiatives like the Global Island Monitoring Scheme (GIMS) highlight the value of permanent plots in capturing ecological gradients and anthropogenic disturbance patterns. Such data underpin the detection of subtle shifts in community composition, functional diversity and species distributions, which are critical for assessing the effectiveness of conservation actions and predicting future ecological scenarios. In summary, plot-based data are indispensable for targeted and effective biodiversity monitoring on islands. They provide the empirical backbone necessary to provide information for adaptive management strategies and contribute to global biodiversity targets.