Borges, P.A.V., Cardoso, P., Kreft, H., Whittaker, R.J., Fattorini, S., Emerson, B.C., Gil, A., Gillespie, R.G., Matthews, T.J., Santos, A.M.C., Steinbauer, M.J., Thébaud, C., Ah-Peng, C., Amorim, I.R., Aranda, S.C., Arroz, A.M., Azevedo, J.M., Boieiro, M., Borda-De-Água, L., Carvalho, J.C., Elias, R.B., Fernández-Palacios, J.M., Florencio, M., González-Mancebo, J.M., Heaney, L.R., Hortal, J., Kueffer, C., Lequette, B., Martín-Esquivel, J.L., López, H., Lamelas-López, L., Marcelino, J., Nunes, R., Oromí, P., Patiño, J., Pérez, A.J., Rego, C., Ribeiro, S.P., Rigal, F., Rodrigues, P., Rominger, A.J., Santos-Reis, M., Schaefer, H., Sérgio, C., Serrano, A.R.M., Sim-Sim, M., Stephenson, P.J., Soares, A.O., Strasberg, D., Vanderporten, A., Vieira, V. & Gabriel, R. (2018) A Global Island Monitoring Scheme (GIMS) for the long-term coordinated survey and monitoring of forest biota across islands.
Biodiversity and Conservation, Accepted, . DOI: (IF2016 2,265; Q1 Biodiversity Conservation)Islands harbour evolutionary and ecologically unique biota, which are currently disproportionately threatened by a multitude of anthropogenic factors, including habitat loss, invasive species and climate change. Native forests on oceanic islands are important refugia for endemic species, many of which are rare and highly threatened. Long-term monitoring schemes for those biota and ecosystems are urgently needed: (i) to provide quantitative baselines for detecting changes within island ecosystems, (ii) to evaluate the effectiveness of conservation and management actions, and (iii) to identify general ecological patterns and processes using multiple island systems as repeated ‘natural experiments’. In this contribution, we call for a Global Island Monitoring Scheme (GIMS) for monitoring the remaining native island forests, using bryophytes, vascular plants, selected groups of arthropods and vertebrates as model taxa. As a basis for the GIMS, we also present new, optimized monitoring protocols for bryophytes and arthropods that were developed based on former standardized inventory protocols. Effective inventorying and monitoring of native island forests will require: (i) permanent plots covering diverse ecological gradients (e.g. elevation, age of terrain, anthropogenic disturbance); (ii) a multiple-taxa approach that is based on standardized and replicable protocols; (iii) a common set of indicator taxa and community properties that are indicative of native island forests’ welfare, building on, and harmonized with existing sampling and monitoring efforts; (iv) capacity building and training of local researchers, collaboration and continuous dialogue with local stakeholders; and (v) long-term commitment by funding agencies to maintain a global network of native island forest monitoring plots.
Alain Vanderpoorten Island Biodiversity, Biogeography & Conservation - IBBC
Ana M. C. Santos Island Biodiversity, Biogeography & Conservation - IBBC
Ana Margarida Moura de Oliveira Arroz Island Environmental Risks & Society - IERS
António Onofre Costa Miranda Soares Island Biodiversity, Biogeography & Conservation - IBBC
Artur Gil Island Biodiversity, Biogeography & Conservation - IBBC
Artur Gil Island Environmental Risks & Society - IERS
Artur Raposo Moniz Serrano Conservation Ecology - CE
Carla José Azevedo Rego Island Biodiversity, Biogeography & Conservation - IBBC
Carla José Azevedo Rego Conservation Ecology - CE
Cecília Loff Pereira Sérgio da Costa Gomes Natural History & Systematics - NHS
François Rigal Island Biodiversity, Biogeography & Conservation - IBBC
Isabel R. Amorim Island Biodiversity, Biogeography & Conservation - IBBC
Jairo Patiño Island Biodiversity, Biogeography & Conservation - IBBC
Joaquín Hortal Environmental Stress & Functional Ecology - ESFE
José Alberto Pinheiro Marcelino Island Biodiversity, Biogeography & Conservation - IBBC
José Carlos Carvalho Island Biodiversity, Biogeography & Conservation - IBBC
José Manuel Viegas de Oliveira Neto Azevedo Island Biodiversity, Biogeography & Conservation - IBBC
Lucas Lamelas López Island Biodiversity, Biogeography & Conservation - IBBC
Mário Rui Canelas Boieiro Island Biodiversity, Biogeography & Conservation - IBBC
Mário Rui Canelas Boieiro Conservation Ecology - CE
Margarida Santos-Reis Conservation Ecology - CE
Margarita Patricia Florencio Diaz Island Biodiversity, Biogeography & Conservation - IBBC
Maria Manuela Pinheiro Sim-Sim Natural History & Systematics - NHS
Paulo A. V. Borges Island Biodiversity, Biogeography & Conservation - IBBC
Pedro Cardoso Island Biodiversity, Biogeography & Conservation - IBBC
Pedro Miguel Reis Rodrigues Island Biodiversity, Biogeography & Conservation - IBBC
Rosalina Maria de Almeida Gabriel Island Biodiversity, Biogeography & Conservation - IBBC
Rui Miguel Ricardo Nunes Island Biodiversity, Biogeography & Conservation - IBBC
Sérvio P. Ribeiro Island Biodiversity, Biogeography & Conservation - IBBC
Simone Fattorini Island Biodiversity, Biogeography & Conservation - IBBC
Thomas Matthews Island Biodiversity, Biogeography & Conservation - IBBC
Virgílio Vieira Island Biodiversity, Biogeography & Conservation - IBBC