Biodiversity Marine
MARiNe BIOdiveRsity BioNews 2019 - Content 2 3 4 5 6 ... Unexpected high number of endemics for the windward Dutch Caribbean Islands This article was published in BioNews 21 In light of the mounting impact of humans on discover just how rich the biodiversity of the Dutch Netherlands (Bos et al., 2018). The authors re- our planet, there is an urgent need to assess the Caribbean is. Each island has its own unique natu- viewed all literature available, including the 1997 Table 1: Breakdown of the 223 endemic species and subspecies status of all current living species so as to ensure ral history, its own special ecosystems and habi- biological inventories of Saba, St. Eustatius and according to larger taxonomic groupings (Bos et al., 2018) their long-term survival through adequate tats teeming with rare and exotic life. The remark- St. Maarten (Rojer, 1997abc) and the 2015 Beetles (Coleoptera) 33 conservation measures. Endemic species - de- able variety of terrestrial and marine habitats, Naturalis marine and terrestrial expedition to Gastropods 28 fined as “native and restricted to a certain place” including coral reefs, seagrass beds, mangroves, St. Eustatius which uncovered at least 80 new spe- (Merriam-Webster, 2018) - have an especially saliñas, rainforests, cactus and woodlands means cies for the island (Hoeksema & Schrieken, 2015). Spiders, scorpions and pseudoscorpions (Arachnida) 23 important ecological value due to their limited that the diversity of species is extraordinary. Birds 23 geographical range. Their increased vulnerabil- Recent biodiversity expeditions to the windward The checklist of endemic species put together by Grasshoppers, locusts and crickets (Orthoptera) 22 ity to natural and anthropogenic threats such as islands of the Dutch Caribbean (Saba, St.
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