Scale of human impact laid bare in new island study

When humans arrive on an island they have an immediate and dramatic impact on the ecosystem, according to a new international study which included scientists from The Australian National University (ANU). The study looked at 27 remote islands across the globe and found they had something in common. "When humans arrive on these islands the ecosystem immediately starts to change. But even more importantly, it keeps changing - it's still changing now in most cases," ANU co-author Dr Simon Connor said. "The change is also permanent. There's no going back because our impact as humans is so profound. This is worrying because the islands have really special biodiversity, including species that aren't found anywhere else in the world." According to the study's authors, this is the first time this human impact has been documented globally.
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