nature of the final demise of the endemic may be
unrelated to the driver(s) of the initial range col-
lapse. Typically, there have been at least two major
waves of extinctions, one associated with the abo-
riginal or prehistoric human colonizations, and the
second following contact with modern European
societies.
Whereas, on the continents, the increasing insular-
ization of habitats is a prime cause for concern, the
problem for oceanic island biotas today is the increas-
ing breakdown of the insularization of theirs.
The prime agents of destruction are introduced
exotic species (especially mammalian browsers and
predators), habitat loss, predation by humans, and
the spread of disease. The forces involved are now
well established, and many of the biological manage-
ment options are firmly founded in experience, but
attaining the twin goals of sustainable development
and management for conservation requires attention
to fields largely outside the scope of the present
volume, concerning the politics, economics, sociology,
and culture of islands and island states: continental
solutions may be poorly transferable to islands.
What is an island, anyhow?THE NATURAL LABORATORY PARADIGM 9