Macaronesia
Macaronesia (
They are grouped politically into four groups- the Azores and Madeira archipelagos are part of Portugal, the Canary Islands are part of Spain, and the Cape Verde islands comprise their own sovereign nation.[3][4][5] Politically, the islands belonging to Portugal and Spain are part of the European Union. Geologically, most of Macaronesia is part of the African tectonic plate. The Azores are located in the triple junction between the Eurasian, North American and African plates.[Note 1][6][7]
In one biogeographical system, the Cape Verde archipelago is in the Afrotropical realm while the other three archipelagos are in the Palearctic realm. According to the European Environment Agency, the three European archipelagos constitute a unique bioregion, known as the Macaronesian Biogeographic Region.[8] The World Geographical Scheme for Recording Plant Distributions places the whole of Macaronesia in its botanical continent of Africa.[9]
In 2022, Macaronesia had an estimated combined population of 3,222,054 people; 2,172,944 (67%) in the Canary Islands, 561,901 (17%) in Cape Verde, 250,769 (8%) in Madeira and 236,440 (7%) in the Azores.[10][11][12]
Etymology
The name Macaronesia is derived from the Greek words meaning 'islands of the fortunate' (μακάρων νήσοι, makárōn nēsoi). The name was first used by ancient Greek geographers to refer to any islands west of the Strait of Gibraltar. Macaronesia is occasionally misspelled Macronesia in false analogy with Micronesia, an unrelated group of archipelagos in the Pacific Ocean whose English name is also derived from Greek.
Archipelagos
Macaronesia consists of four main archipelagos. From north to south, these are:[9]
- the Azores, an Autonomous Region of Portugal
- Madeira, including the Savage Islands, an Autonomous Region of Portugal
- the Canary Islands, an Autonomous Community of Spain
- Cape Verde, an independent West African country
Geography and geology
The islands of Macaronesia are
.In some locations, there are variations in climate due to the
The Macaronesian islands have a
These forests resemble the ancient forests that covered the
Conservation issues
Much of the original native vegetation has been displaced because of human activity, including felling forests for timber and firewood, clearing vegetation for grazing and agriculture, and introducing foreign plants and animals into the islands. The laurisilva
Introduced predators – in particular domestic and feral cats – currently pose one of the most serious threats to the endemic fauna. Even though cats prey mostly on other foreign-introduced mammals, such as rodents and rabbits, the abundance of such prey sustains such a large feline population that it has initiated a so-called hyperpredation process, which further increases that population's negative impact on the number of endemic reptiles and birds.[clarification needed][14]
Since 2001, the European Union's conservation efforts, mandated by its Natura 2000 regulations, have resulted in the protection of large stretches of land and sea in the Azores, Madeira, and the Canary Islands, totalling 5,000 km2 (1,900 sq mi).[15]
See also
- Fortunate Isles
- Geology of the Azores
- Geology of the Canary Islands
- Geology of Cape Verde
- Geology of Madeira
- Laurel forest
- List of islands in the Atlantic Ocean
- Regions of Europe
- West Africa
Notes
- ^ The islands of Flores and Corvo are in the North American plate, the island of Santa Maria is in the African plate, the rest of the islands are in the diffuse boundary between the Eurasian and the African plates.
References
- ^ "Where Is Macaronesia?". WorldAtlas. 25 May 2018. Retrieved 2019-07-08.
- ^ S2CID 226588940.
- ^ "Countries .::. UCLA Africa Studies Center". www.international.ucla.edu. Retrieved 18 June 2019.
- ^ "Canary Islands – Spain". greenwichmeantime.com. Retrieved 18 June 2019.
- ^ "Makavol 2010 Teneguia Workshop" (PDF). Avcan.org. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-04-25. Retrieved 2013-09-02.
- ISBN 978-3-642-16190-2. Archived from the original(PDF) on 14 January 2024. Retrieved 14 January 2024.
- doi:10.1016/j.tecto.2014.06.024. Archived from the original(PDF) on 14 January 2024. Retrieved 14 January 2024.
- ^ "The Macaronesian Region". ec.europa.eu. Retrieved 2019-07-08.
- ^ a b Brummitt, R.K. (2001). World Geographical Scheme for Recording Plant Distributions: Edition 2 (PDF). International Working Group on Taxonomic Databases For Plant Sciences (TDWG). p. 37. Archived from the original on 2016-01-25. Retrieved 2016-04-06.
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) - ^ "Población por comunidades y ciudades autónomas y sexo". Retrieved 15 November 2022.
- ^ "Population, total - Cabo Verde". World Bank. Retrieved 17 November 2022.
- ^ "Resident population (No.) by Place of residence, Sex and Age group; Decennial - Statistics Portugal, Population and housing census - 2021". INE. Retrieved 17 November 2022.
- ^ "MACARONESIAN CLIMATE ATLAS" (PDF). Aemet.es. Retrieved 28 February 2021.
- ^ Jorge (28 March 2013). "Stray pets: Cat diet in Macaronesia (Atlantic Ocean)". Retrieved 18 June 2019.
- ^ "The Macaronesian Region". European Commission. Retrieved 17 May 2017.
External links
- Media related to Macaronesia at Wikimedia Commons
- European Union: Report on biodiversity in Macaronesia
- Review on cats' diet on Macaronesian islands