RT info:eu-repo/semantics/article T1 A reconstruction of Palaeo-Macaronesia, with particular reference to the long-term biogeography of the Atlantic island laurel forests A1 Fernández-Palacios, José María A1 Nascimento Reyes, Lea de A1 Otto, Rüdiger A1 Delgado, Juan Domingo A1 Garc´ía-del-Rey, Eduardo A1 Arévalo, José Ramón A1 Whittaker, Robert J. K1 Canarian volcanic province K1 Geological history K1 Historical biogeography K1 Island biogeography K1 Island ontogeny K1 Laurisilva K1 Macaronesia K1 Oceanic islands K1 Palaeoendemic K1 Tethyan biogeography AB Macaronesia is a biogeographical region comprising five Atlantic Oceanicarchipelagos: the Azores, Madeira, Selvagen (Savage Islands), Canaries and CapeVerde. It has strong affinities with the Atlantic coast of the Iberian Peninsula andthe north-western fringes of Africa. This paper re-evaluates the biogeographicalhistory and relationships of Macaronesia in the light of geological evidence, whichsuggests that large and high islands may have been continuously available in theregion for very much longer than is indicated by the maximum surface area of theoldest current island (27 Ma) – possibly for as long as 60 million years. We reviewthis literature, attempting a sequential reconstruction of Palaeo-Macaronesiafrom 60 Ma to the present. We consider the implications of these geologicaldynamics for our understanding of the history of colonization of the presentislands of Macaronesia. We also evaluate the role of these archipelagos as steppingstones and as both repositories of palaeo-endemic forms and crucibles of neoendemicradiations of plant and animal groups. Our principal focus is on thelaurel forest communities, long considered impoverished relicts of the PalaeotropicalTethyan flora. This account is therefore contextualized by reference to thelong-term climatic and biogeographical history of Southern Europe and NorthAfrica and by consideration of the implications of changes in land–sea configuration,climate and ocean circulation for Macaronesian biogeography. We go onto provide a synthesis of the more recent history of Macaronesian forests, whichhas involved a process of impoverishment of the native elements of the biota thathas accelerated since human conquest of the islands. We comment briefly onthese processes and on the contemporary status and varied conservationopportunities and threats facing these forests across the Macaronesian biogeographicalregion. YR 2011 FD 2011 LK http://riull.ull.es/xmlui/handle/915/16995 UL http://riull.ull.es/xmlui/handle/915/16995 LA en DS Repositorio institucional de la Universidad de La Laguna RD 29-mar-2024