» Articles » PMID: 36325105

Safeguarding Imperiled Biodiversity and Evolutionary Processes in the Wallacea Center of Endemism

Abstract

Wallacea-the meeting point between the Asian and Australian fauna-is one of the world's largest centers of endemism. Twenty-three million years of complex geological history have given rise to a living laboratory for the study of evolution and biodiversity, highly vulnerable to anthropogenic pressures. In the present article, we review the historic and contemporary processes shaping Wallacea's biodiversity and explore ways to conserve its unique ecosystems. Although remoteness has spared many Wallacean islands from the severe overexploitation that characterizes many tropical regions, industrial-scale expansion of agriculture, mining, aquaculture and fisheries is damaging terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems, denuding endemics from communities, and threatening a long-term legacy of impoverished human populations. An impending biodiversity catastrophe demands collaborative actions to improve community-based management, minimize environmental impacts, monitor threatened species, and reduce wildlife trade. Securing a positive future for Wallacea's imperiled ecosystems requires a fundamental shift away from managing marine and terrestrial realms independently.

Citing Articles

Combining environmental DNA and visual surveys can inform conservation planning for coral reefs.

Muenzel D, Bani A, De Brauwer M, Stewart E, Djakiman C, Halwi Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2024; 121(17):e2307214121.

PMID: 38621123 PMC: 11047114. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2307214121.

References
1.
DiBattista J, Reimer J, Stat M, Masucci G, Biondi P, De Brauwer M . Environmental DNA can act as a biodiversity barometer of anthropogenic pressures in coastal ecosystems. Sci Rep. 2020; 10(1):8365. PMC: 7239923. DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-64858-9. View

2.
Thorhaug A, Belaire C, Verduin J, Schwarz A, Kiswara W, Prathep A . Longevity and sustainability of tropical and subtropical restored seagrass beds among Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian Oceans. Mar Pollut Bull. 2020; 160:111544. DOI: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2020.111544. View

3.
Breed M, Harrison P, Blyth C, Byrne M, Gaget V, Gellie N . The potential of genomics for restoring ecosystems and biodiversity. Nat Rev Genet. 2019; 20(10):615-628. DOI: 10.1038/s41576-019-0152-0. View

4.
Richards D, Friess D . Rates and drivers of mangrove deforestation in Southeast Asia, 2000-2012. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2015; 113(2):344-9. PMC: 4720307. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1510272113. View

5.
Staver A, Archibald S, Levin S . The global extent and determinants of savanna and forest as alternative biome states. Science. 2011; 334(6053):230-2. DOI: 10.1126/science.1210465. View