World in Pieces Summary and Analysis

Quammen brings the main theme of his book back around in this chapter, reminding his reader that these questions formed to study the biology of islands now apply to mainlands as well, where ecosystems are being divided into virtual islands by human activity, and looks for some real-world examples of how the lessons of island biogeography are being applied.

Quammen returns to the efforts of Carl Jones to save the Mauritius kestrel. The Mauritius kestrel population started declining rapidly in the 1950s and 60s, and by the 1970s it was estimated by one scientist that only four individuals were still living. The cause was habitat loss and possibly predators that ate kestrel eggs as well as pesticide poisoning. A group called the International Council for Bird Preservation stepped in to study the kestrel and counted eight individuals...