The islands of Macaronesia are volcanic in origin, and are thought to be the product of several geologic hotspots. The climate of the Macaronesian islands ranges from maritime temperate, Mediterranean and subtropical in the Azores and Madeira, Mediterranean and subtropical in some Canary islands to arid in certain geologically older islands of the Canaries, some islands of the Madeira Archipelago and Cape Verde, and even tropical in the younger islands of both southern archipelagos. In some cases there are variations due to the rain shadow effect. The laurisilva forests of Macaronesia are a type of mountain cloud forest with relict species of a vegetation type which originally covered much of the Mediterranean Basin when the climate of that region was more humid. The species have evolved to adapt to the islands’ conditions and many are endemic. The islands have a unique biogeography, and are home to several distinct plant and animal communities. The jumping spider genus Macaroeris is named after Macaronesia. None of the Macaronesian islands were part of a continent, so the native plants and animals reached the islands via long-distance dispersal. Laurel-leaved forests, called laurisilva, once covered most of the Azores, Madeira, and parts of the Canaries between 400 and 1200 m altitude. These forests resemble the ancient forests that covered the Mediterranean basin and northwestern Africa before the cooling and drying of the ice ages. Trees of the genera Apollonias, Clethra, Dracaena, Ocotea, Persea, and Picconia, which are found in the Macaronesian laurel forests, are also known from fossil evidence to have lived around the Mediterranean before the ice ages.
Conservation issues
Felling of the forests for timber and firewood, clearing vegetation for grazing and agriculture, and the introduction of foreign plants and animals by humans have displaced much of the original native vegetation. The laurisilva habitat has been reduced to small disconnected pockets. As a result, many of the endemic biota of the islands are now seriously endangered or extinct. Alien predators - in particular domestic and feral cats - are currently one of the most serious threats to the endemic fauna. Despite the fact that cats prey mostly on introduced mammals, such as rodents and rabbits, this feeding sustains a bigger feline population, and has a further impact on the endemic reptiles and birds. In the European part of Macaronesia, conservation efforts include large areas protected by the Natura 2000 regulations of the European Union, since 2001. All in all, 5000 km² of land and sea are protected area in these three archipelagos.
