Chapter 9 : Islands on Dry Land (Angel Jorge)

In Chapter 9 of Elizabeth Kolbert's The Sixth Extinction,  Kolbert introduces us to Reserve 1202 in Brazil. Reserve 1202 consists of 25 acres of untouched rainforest, and all around it, there is scrub.
Kolbert goes to Reserve 1202 with Mario Cohn-Haft, an ornithologist. There are many other similar reserves in the area, all controlled by the BDFFP. Kolbert explains that one of the major challenges facing scientists who study global warming is to define what does and doesn’t constitute undeveloped land. Furthermore, scientists have to face the possibility that developed land can still harbor considerable biodiversity. Islands tend to have relatively few species when compared with the mainland."Over time, islands experience a phenomenon called“relaxation a gradual reduction in biodiversity. This is due to the fact that, with a limited number of species and a small amount of space, temporary setbacks to diversity are more likely to be devastating," (Page 189). So on a large continent, the destruction of a few bird eggs would have almost no impact on the species’ success in the long run; on a small island, however, the destruction of these eggs could spell the end of the species. In this passage, Kolbert explains why there is a direct relationship between land area and biodiversity. The smaller the land area, the greater the likelihood that an accident could prove catastrophic for an entire species. 'Kolbert introduces a couple of caveats to her observations so far. These caveats are important, as the science of biodiversity has yet to explain the observed conditions of the changing rainforests. The fact that Kolbert admits it when scientific research hasn’t explained something satisfactorily adds weight to her conviction that, despite the lingering questions, the bulk of the evidence suggests that deforestation will reduce biodiversity,' (bookrags.com). Kolbert explains to us how the disappearance of army ants from the rainforest also symbolizes the slow disappearance of biodiversity from the planet. This relates to the APES Theme that suggests that the Earth itself is one interconnected system because just based on one observation of one species, Kolbert made a prediction that was relative to the whole world.