Mascarene Islands

Introduction

The Mascarene Islands of Réunion, Mauritius, and Rodrigues are situated in a line along a submerged ridge, the Mascarene Plateau, located 640 to 800 km east of Madagascar in the western Indian Ocean. These islands are unique in their isolation and posses many endemic species.

The majority of the fauna and flora found in the Mascarenes is of Madagascan and East African origin. This would seem intuitively obvious in spite of the fact that the dominant winds and currents are easterly. Of the 95 plant genera where affinities are clear, 89 % of them are likely to be of Madagascan or African origin and 11 % are presumably from the east. The palms, which form such a diverse assemblage in Madagascar, appear to be exclusively of African origin.

Conservation

When these islands were first visited in the 16^th century, passing ships hunted the native fauna, causing the extinction of the ground dwelling dodo and the related Rodrigues solitaire. The ships also introduced European species such as rabbits and goats. Later, people permanently settled these islands. The combination of hunting, species introductions, deforestation and farming has dramatically changed the habitats of these islands and caused the extinction of species on these islands. Many of the surviving endemic Mascarene species are seriously threatened with extinction. Serious conservation efforts have been made by the Mauritius gouvernement and several organisations on the island.

Related issues

The Dodo

The Mascarene plateau

Species dispersal

Phelsuma species

P. borbonica agalegae

P. borbonica borbonica

P. borbonica mater

P. cepediana

P. edwardnewtoni

P. gigas

P. guentheri

P. guimbeaui

P. rosagularis

P. inexpectata

P. ornata