Tropical Islands as Paleoecological Laboratories: Gauging the Consequences of Human Arrival

摘要: Inter-island paleoecological comparisons have provided useful information concerning the role of humans vs. background-level disturbance in tropical ecosystems. Major ecological changes occurred since human arrival Madagascar, West Indies, Hawaiian Islands, and elsewhere. Prehuman vegetation disturbances also been documented for many islands. Instructive inter-island similarities differences detected chronology, distribution, extent activities, changes, biotic extinctions. The earliest stratigraphic proxy evidence initial impacts (including increased charcoal particle influx to sediments, first appearance exotic pollen, increase ruderal paleolimnological cultural eutrophication lake waters) generally confirm but sometimes predate conventional archaeological activity. Carefully chosen sites permitting close integration palynological, paleontological, data from a variety island settings with differing geographic historical contingencies can enable investigators more fully evaluate importance range variables determining overall character dynamics