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.[11][12][13]
The nameMacaronesia was originally used byAncient Greekgeographers to refer to any islands west of theStrait of Gibraltar. It is derived from theGreek words meaning 'islands of the fortunate' (μακάρων νῆσοι,makárōn nēsoi). The term fell out of use until it was revived in 1917 with its current meaning.[14]
The name is occasionally misspelled "Macronesia"[citation needed] in false analogy withMicronesia, an unrelated group of archipelagos in the Pacific Ocean whose name is also derived from Greek.
In some locations, there are variations in climate due to therain shadow effect. Thelaurisilva forests of Macaronesia are a type of mountaincloud forest withrelict plant species of avegetation type that originally covered much of theMediterranean Basin, when the climate of that region was more humid. These plant species, many of which areendemic, have evolved to adapt to the islands' variable climatic conditions.
The Macaronesian islands have abiogeography that is unique in the world. They are home to several distinct plant and animal communities. Notably, thejumping spider genusMacaroeris is named after Macaronesia. Because none of the Macaronesian islands were ever part of any continent, all of the native plants and animals reached the islands via long-distance dispersal.Laurel-leaved forests, calledlaurisilva, once covered most of the Azores, Madeira, and parts of the Canaries at an altitude of between 400 and 1,200 metres (1,300 and 3,900 ft), the eastern Canaries and Cape Verde being too dry.
These forests resemble the ancient forests that covered theMediterranean Basin and northwestern Africa before the cooling and drying of theice ages. Trees of the generaApollonias,Clethra,Dracaena,Ocotea,Persea, andPicconia, which are found in the Macaronesian laurel forests, are also known, from fossil evidence, to have flourished around the Mediterranean before the ice ages.
Remaining patches of Macaronesia's threatened primevallaurisilva forest, except in Cape Verde, were protected byEU law in 2001.
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 laurisilvahabitat has been reduced to small disconnected pockets. As a result, many of the endemicbiota of the islands are now seriouslyendangered or extinct.
Introduced predators – in particulardomestic cats, many inferal populations – currently pose one of the most serious threats to the endemic fauna. Even though cats prey mostly on other foreign-introduced mammals, such asrodents and rabbits, the abundance of such prey sustains such a large feline population that it has initiated a so-calledhyperpredation process, which further increases that population's negative impact on the number of endemic reptiles and birds.[16][unreliable source]
Since 2001, the European Union's conservation efforts, mandated by itsNatura 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).[17]
^The islands ofFlores andCorvo are in the North American plate, the island ofSanta Maria is in the African plate, the rest of the islands are in the diffuse boundary between the Eurasian and the African plates.
^Nunes, João Carlos (2014). "The Azores Archipelago: Islands of Geodiversity". In Erfurt-Cooper, Patricia (ed.).Volcanic Tourist Destinations(PDF). Springer. p. 57.ISBN978-3-642-16190-2. Archived fromthe original on 14 January 2024. Retrieved14 January 2024.
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