Mascarene Islands

The Mascarene Islands are composed of three main islands: Réunion, Mauritius, and Rodrigues, and some islets.

Mascarene forests 2008

This ecoregion covers the three main islands, Réunion, Mauritius, and Rodrigues, and a number of smaller islets of the Mascarene Islands.

Mascarene forests 2008

The habitats and species endemic to the Mascarene Islands are all under some level of threat.

Mascarene forests 2008

On all of the Mascarene Islands, there has been a vast loss of the original forest habitat.

Mascarene forests 2008

In March 2005, the Mascarene Islands experienced record rainfall as the ITCZ oscillated much further south for days, causing widespread flooding and accumulation of water with increased mosquito breeding and sanitation problems.

Western Indian Ocean Islands and the atmosphere 2007

And the Mascarene Islands have known their own generous share of pigeons and pigeonlike birds, among which the dodo is only the most famous.

The Song of The Dodo David Quammen 2004

Another group lived on the Mascarene Islands of the Indian Ocean, the cluster of forested volcanic nubs that includes Mauritius, Rodrigues, and Réunion.

The Song of The Dodo David Quammen 2004

While the islands of Polynesia and Melanesia were harboring rich Neolithic cultures, while places as remote as New Zealand and Hawaii and Easter Island were being colonized by adventurous men and women in canoes, the Mascarene Islands like the Galápagos remained uninhabited.

The Song of The Dodo David Quammen 2004

The Mascarene Islands have lost at least fourteen bird species within the past three centuries—as many as the combined losses throughout the Asian, African, and North American mainlands in the same span of time.

The Song of The Dodo David Quammen 2004

The Mascarene Islands, including Réunion and Rodrigues as well as Mauritius, together lost thirteen besides the dodo.

The Song of The Dodo David Quammen 2004