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Geographical location of the Macaronesian archipelagos, with indication of the number of islands and their geological age (only islets >1 km² were included; see Table 1).
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Research in Macaronesia has led to substantial advances in ecology, evolution and conservation biology. We review the scientific developments achieved in this region, and outline promising research avenues enhancing conservation. Some of these discoveries indicate that the Macaronesian flora and fauna are composed of rather young lineages, not Tert...
Citations
... The Madeira laurel pigeon is a close relative of the Bolle's pigeon and is largely confined to Madeira's relict forests or laurisilva on the island of Madeira; it was formerly found on the nearby island of Porto Santo (Cartwright, 2019;Florencio et al., 2021). ...
Population dynamics of island endemic birds play a pivotal role in ecological studies and conservation endeavours. This study examines fluctuations in the population of the Madeira laurel pigeon, Columba trocaz, an endemic species to Madeira Island in the North Atlantic. This species experienced a stark population decline during the 1980s, primarily attributed to instances of poisoning and sport hunting. There has been a more recent recovery in numbers of the Madeira laurel pigeon, but it has also been classified as a pest due to its depredations in local agriculture. However, robust conservation measures have prevented its descent into endangerment. Our research is a comprehensive long-term monitoring study of the trends in pigeon relative densities within its native habitat, the indigenous laurisilva. Despite the challenges posed by shifting land use patterns and the occurrence of both natural and anthropogenic fires, the Madeira laurel pigeon has maintained a stable population. In this study, we aimed to achieve two primary objectives. Firstly, we conducted a comparative analysis of bird relative densities across multiple years, enabling a comprehensive assessment of avian population dynamics. Secondly, we compare the population changes in four distinct regions of laurel forest, each representing a semi-isolated group of major basins. We compared relative densities between 2006-2014 and 2015-2020 while utilizing linear regression to predict missing transect data, revealing dynamic patterns and significant correlations in bird populations within laurel forest regions. Our results show that there is fluctuation in the density of the pigeon across the areas that can be attributed to movement of the pigeons amongst areas depending on fruiting patterns and food availability with an overall increase in relative densities in recent years of the study period, which suggests a stable population. Although the population is fairly stable there are still challenges for conservation management, new-age challenges that confront conservation efforts such as anthropogenic and natural fires. Our study serves as a critical exploration of Madeira laurel pigeon relative densities, providing valuable insights to inform conservationists about the status and emerging challenges. These insights underscore the necessity for continuous monitoring of the pigeon population in the laurel for safeguarding the endemic species.
... The Iberian Peninsula provided refugia for species throughout the glacial periods and remains one of the most important repositories of biodiversity in Europe, both at interand intraspecific level 16,17 . In addition, the geographic isolation of the archipelagos of Azores, Madeira, and Selvagens, which together with the Canary and Cabo Verde archipelagos form the biogeographical unit of Macaronesia, has led to the divergence and speciation of many lineages that resulted in many endemisms 18 biodiversity.europa.eu/countries/portugal). The ENCNB 2030 recognises the importance of a systematic inventory and characterisation of biodiversity at all levels-ecosystems, species and genetic diversity-to properly anchor conservation strategies and genomics offers unprecedented power to understand biodiversity at the inter-and intraspecific levels 11,12 . ...
... The natural richness of the Iberian Peninsula is particularly evident in its archipelagos -Azores, Madeira, Canary Islands, and Selvagens Islands-located in the eastern North Atlantic. These islands, which are part of the Macaronesian region within the European Union, are known for hosting a significant number of endemic species (Florencio et al., 2021). Approximately 30% of the land area is designated as Special Protection Areas for Birds (SPABs) and/or Community Interest Sites (CISs) (Sundseth et al., 2010). ...
... As a result, island ecosystems are home to a wide diversity of unique species and habitats. Some islands have been designated as global biodiversity hotspots, with the Macaronesian archipelagos of Azores, Madeira, Canaries and Cabo Verde in the Atlantic Ocean constituting one such region ( Fig. 1a; Myers et al., 2000;Cartwright, 2019;Florencio et al., 2021). ...
... Additionally, D est measures genetic differentiation among populations corrected for sampling bias using allele-diversity (Jost, 2008), which is thought to be more appropriate for microsatellite data sets (Bird et al., 2011). F ST values were estimated in GENALEX 6.5 (Peakall and Smouse, 2012) while D est was calculated in the "DEMEtics" package for R (Gerlach et al., 2010). Statistical significance and 95 % confidence intervals were tested by 10,000 bootstrap repetitions. ...
... The Canary Islands, along with four other Atlantic archipelagos of volcanic origin, the Azores, Madeira, the Salvages and Cape Verde, belong to the biogeographical region known as Macaronesia. The region as a whole, and the Canary Islands in particular, are characterized by high rates of endemism in many taxonomic groups, especially vascular plants, land snails and arthropods [1]. Of about 7300 native species of terrestrial arthropods recorded in the Canary Islands, 44% are endemics (see Supplementary Material in [1]. ...
... The region as a whole, and the Canary Islands in particular, are characterized by high rates of endemism in many taxonomic groups, especially vascular plants, land snails and arthropods [1]. Of about 7300 native species of terrestrial arthropods recorded in the Canary Islands, 44% are endemics (see Supplementary Material in [1]. A substantial part of them belong to the insect order Coleoptera (beetles). ...
This paper provides new data on the ladybird beetles (Coccinellidae) from two islands in the Canary archipelago: Tenerife, the largest island, and La Gomera, the second smallest. As they clearly differ in size but are similar in location and geological age, they are a suitable model for testing the species–area relationship. Our study shows that, in line with this main assumption of the theory of island biogeography, clearly more species occur on a large island (Tenerife) than on a small one (La Gomera). The field surveys documented the occurrence of 35 ladybird species on Tenerife (including 5 not previously reported from this island) and of 20 species on La Gomera (2 species new to the island). Coelopterus sp. collected on Tenerife (a single female that could not be identified to species) is the first record of this genus for the whole Canary Islands. Taking our data and previously published records into account, 47 species of Coccinellidae are known to occur on Tenerife and 26 species on La Gomera. Tenerife has by far the richest ladybird fauna of all the Canary Islands (the next in line, Gran Canaria, has 41 recorded species), but it also has the highest number of non-native ladybird species. All of the ten non-native species recorded in the Canary Islands are found on Tenerife, and for most of them, Tenerife was the island of their first appearance in the archipelago. This island, much more distant from the mainland than the other relatively large islands (Fuerteventura, Lanzarote), appears to be the main recipient of ladybirds immigrating to the Canary Islands. Tenerife can play this role probably because of its great habitat diversity and altitude variation, as well as intensive tourism and trade-related transport.
... Marine environments off Macaronesian Islands are understudied and several researchers claim that more efforts should be made toward gathering basic information on species distribution and ecology (Florencio et al. 2021). In the Canary Islands, the presence of zoantharians was mentioned for the first time several decades ago (Hartog and Holthuis 1984), mainly in small and sporadic colonies on the intertidal rocky bench and shallow submerged platforms. ...
... Nevertheless, the study also provided an overview of the diets of several common marine species in the Canary Islands, some of which have global distributions and others are restricted to the Macaronesia region. It is the first study to use DNA-metabarcoding techniques to examine the diets of a wide range of marine species in the Macaronesia, addressing significant knowledge gaps in this region (Florencio et al. 2021). Previous knowledge about the diets of most studied species was primarily based on occasional field observations or visual inspection of digestive tract contents (Hartog and Holthuis 1984;Navarro et al. 2013). ...
Population outbreaks of zoantharians in shallow water reefs have been observed globally, including intertidal and subtidal sites in the Canary Islands. This study investigated how zoantharians might be integrating into the local trophic network. For that purpose, we assessed the feeding patterns of common species in zoantharian-dominated habitats, focusing on finding consumers of Zoanthus pulchellus and Palythoa caribaeorum. Through DNA-barcoding and metabarcoding, the gut contents of 11 predatory species were analysed, aiming to characterize their diets and explore local species feeding on zoantharians. Analyses of diet revealed a diverse range of food items and trophic positions of some of the most common and frequent marine species in the archipelago. Furthermore, based on previous observations on the different impacts of Z. pulchellus and P. caribaeorum on shallow benthic ecosystems of the Canary Islands, a preliminary approach to identify their potential influence on feeding patterns of associated species was made. Even though DNA-metabarcoding did not detect zoantharians in the gut contents of any studied species, Sanger sequencing with zoantharian-specific primers indicated their consumption by subject species may be limited to only the crab Platypodiella picta. In addition, by focusing on some of the most common species, this study enhances our understanding of the local trophic network and provides an insight into trophic dynamics in zoantharian-dominated habitats.
... The Azores are an oceanic archipelago located close to the mid-Atlantic ridge in the North Atlantic Ocean, composed of volcanic islands of recent origin. It is one of the most remote archipelagos in the world, being separated by 1376 km from the closest shore in the Iberian Peninsula (Florencio et al. 2021). Its islands are located along a NW -SE axis, with the oldest island, Santa Maria, being located in the southeast, whereas the youngest, Pico, is located in the central region of the Azores (Fig. 1). ...
Beta diversity patterns are essential for understanding how biological communities are structured. Geographical and environmental factors, as well as species dispersal ability, are important drivers of beta diversity, but their relative importance may vary across spatial scales. In this study, we evaluate whether beta diversity changes across geographical scales and analyse how different drivers affect turnover patterns of native seed plants in an oceanic archipelago, the Azores (Portugal). Using a 500 × 500 m resolution grid, we selected cells that are covered by one of the following habitats: native forest, naturalized vegetation and seminatural pastures. We calculated species turnover at three spatial scales: 1) between islands, 2) between cells within each island, and finally 3) between cells of each of the habitats of interest in each island. We then calculated the contribution of dispersal syndromes (endozoochory, epizoochory, hydrochory and anemochory) to turnover at each of the scales. Lastly, we assessed the relationship between geographical and climatic distances and habitat type with turnover. Turnover was higher at the smallest spatial scale, particularly in seminatural pastures, and decreased with increasing spatial scales, a pattern potentially associated with the historical fragmentation and current patchy distribution of native forest and seminatural habitats in the Azores. Dispersal syndromes and habitat type had a negligible effect on turnover at all scales. Geographical distance had a positive effect on turnover at all scales, increasing its importance with scale. The relationship between turnover and climatic distance was only significant at the intermediate and small scales in specific islands and habitats. Therefore, scale plays an important role at determining the effect of the drivers of turnover, in particular geographical and climatic distance. These results highlight the need to carefully select the scale of analysis when studying turnover patterns, as well as identifying the potential drivers associated with each spatial scale.
... The Canary Islands stand out for their number of endemic species despite their small area. The number of endemic species is high in many taxonomic groups, particularly from the terrestrial realm, such as vascular plants (5 7 3), arthropods (3202), or vertebrates (24) which represent 42.1 %, 44 %, and 24.7 % of endemicity in each of these groups (Florencio et al., 2021). ...
... Oceanic islands represent great natural systems for experimental trials due to their reduced area and biodiversity (Florencio et al., 2021). Despite its paramount importance for conservation on a global scale (Fernández-Palacios et al., 2021), insular freshwater ecosystems are exposed to a wide range of anthropogenic threats, many of which (e.g., non-indigenous species) with likely more drastic consequences than in their mainland counterparts (Fernández- (Freitas & Canning-Clode, 2008;Geist et al., 2022;Lopez et al., 2021;Órfão et al., in press). ...
The globally threatened European eel (Anguilla anguilla) is the only freshwater fish native to Macaronesia. Despite being a keystone species to freshwater habitats, little is known about its population, environmental associations and conservation requirements in oceanic islands.
The density and geographical-related factors influencing the distribution of A. anguilla in the subtropical Archipelago of Madeira (Portugal) were examined. Data on the species occurrence was initially collected using an online survey addressed to citizens. Eels were then sampled through electrofishing in 31 sampling sites along 11 streams on Madeira Island, and eel-habitat associations were investigated using LMMs and GLMMs. One stream was also sampled in Porto Santo Island.
The presence of A. anguilla was confirmed in the two islands of the archipelago with streams (Madeira and Porto Santo). Eels are distributed throughout Madeira Island, being more abundant – particularly small size individual– at lower altitudes (mostly below 150 m). The number of weirs was an important predictor of eel density, suggesting that these flood-control structures limit their upstream migration.
This study represents a pioneer sampling effort of the European eel in Madeira and results provide much-needed baseline information on the species distribution and related environmental factors in oceanic islands. While most eel research has historically focused on mainland habitats where dams pose a significant threat to eel habitats, our study underscores the critical importance of addressing smaller, often overlooked barriers that may also cause habitat fragmentation.
The European eel is a panmictic species, thus, the conservation of the Macaronesian subpopulations can have substantial benefits for its global recovery. A comprehensive investigation of the impact of man-made obstacles on eel habitat is still needed. Similarly, other common threats such as interactions with non-indigenous species and infection by Anguillicola crassus should be a research priority in future studies.
... What is indicated as '2 -Quaternary volcanics (recent/subrecent)' are in fact historical (postsettlement) eruptions, in '3 -Quaternary volcanics (Holocene)' the mapped areas include late Pleistocene and Holocene lavas, while in '4 -Pliocene/Pleistocene volcanics' the indication of the occurrence of Pliocene volcanics is incorrect. Pliocene rocks are not present in any of the subaerially exposed edifices of São Miguel, Terceira or Faial, as indicated in their geological setting and in at least three references cited in P&B (Florencio et al., 2021;Góis-Marques et al., 2019b;Sibrant et al., 2015). This might be due to confusion with early ages attributed to the Nordeste Volcano (sensu Moore, 1991). ...
