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DDI_119.fm Page 7 Thursday, December 27, 2001 10:00 AM

Mammals from Mediterranean islands 7

Table 3 Mammal extinction (top) and introduction (bottom) due to anthropogenic actions in the last two
centuries on the western Mediterranean islands. The extinction ratio (13 species in 10 islands = 1.33) is
equivalent to the introduction (nine species in seven islands = 1.29). Sicily, the largest and nearest to mainland,
is the most active island (seven extinctions, four introductions) in this process of recent faunal turnover

Species Island Time

Extinction
Arvicola terrestris Sicily 1950?
Ursus arctos Corsica Around 1700
Lepus corsicanus Elba 1920–50
Lepus capensis Minorca, Ibiza Last 100 years
Lutra lutra Sicily 1950?
Martes foina Ibiza Last 100 years
Martes martes Montecristo, Giglio, Pianosa 1920–50
Canis lupus Sicily 1920–30
Sus scrofa Sicily 1860–80
Cervus elaphus Sicily, Corsica, Marettimo Favignana Last 150 years
Dama dama Sicily, Sardegna, Ibiza Last 200 years
Caproleus caproleus Sicily Around 1800
Vulpes vulpes Lampedusa Around 1800 (introduction)
Introduction
Lepus europaeus Elba, Sicily (tentative) Around 1960
Hystrix cristata Elba Around 1980
Sciurus vulgaris Ste Marguerite Not known
Sus scrofa Elba, Sicily, Marettimo 1960–70
Cervus elaphus Corsica Around 1980
Cervus nippon Porquerolles Not known
Dama dama Elba, Sicily 1960–70
Ovis orientalis Marettimo, Capraia, Elba 1960–80
Myocastor coypus Sicily Around 1980

analyses failed to find any significant relationship show a comparatively high genetic diversity within
between species richness and distance from the island populations compared to mainland ones
mainland. The continental nature and the presence (Frankham, 1997; Cheylan et al., 1998). How-
of some large and distant islands (e.g. Corsica, ever, we caution against making a generalization
Sardinia, Crete and Cyprus) may explain this. as no genetic information on other mammal
Three of the most successful invaders are Rattus species is available.
rattus, Mus musculus and Oryctolagus cuniculus,
and all are closely associated with humans. In
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
this respect, humans can be viewed as direct or
indirect ‘mammal carriers’, sometimes also pre- This study is supported by the Institut Français
paring the arena for transported mammals (i.e. by de la Biodiversité. We thank two referees for
modifying the environment by fire, deforestation, their helpful comments.
cultivation and hunting of native species). Never-
theless, imported species may have to be highly
adaptive in order to survival in the often harsh REFERENCES
ecosystems of small islands (Cheylan, 1988).
Agnesi, V., Macaluso, T. & Masini, F. (1997)
There are presently insufficient data to test
L’ambiente e il clima della Sicilia nell’ultimo
the role of genetics. However, it is noticeable milione di anni. Prima Sicilia alle Origini della
that two species found on the smallest islands Società Siciliana (ed. by S. Tusa), Ediprint, Palermo,
(R. rattus and M. musculus) are those which Italy, pp. 31–54.
© 2002 Blackwell Science Ltd, Diversity and Distributions, 8, 1–9