Archipelago Islands: A Cluster of Biodiverse Wonders

When most of us think of an island, we think of a lush biodiverse paradise, but what about an entire cluster of these islands offering near-endless adventure and natural life to explore? 

Archipelago islands are simply a tight cluster, group, or chain of islands that can be found in various locations around the world.

What are Archipelago Islands?

Archipelago islands, as mentioned above, are a group, chain, or cluster of islands that can be found either in the ocean or in lakes and rivers.

There is no set number of islands needed to constitute an Archipelago; however, these island clusters are usually grouped according to geographical relevance to each other, cultural similarities, and ecological overlaps.

Archipelagos can be only a few islands or up to a group of hundreds.

Archipelago islands are geographically grouped into four types:

• Oceanic islands
• Continental fragments
• Continental archipelagos
• Artificial archipelagos

Some Archipelago clusters that hold strong cultural heritage include the Polynesian Archipelago (which includes Hawaii, Samoa, and Tahiti) and The Japanese Archipelago.

The Formation of Archipelago Islands

Although islands are formed in various ways, it is through three main processes that Archipelago islands are formed.

Volcanic Eruptions

Most Archipelagos islands are formed through underwater volcanic eruptions and are the result of oceanic hotspots. Hotspots are soft areas in the earth’s mantle where magma is released. These types of Archipelago are known as island arcs. When the earth’s crust shifts due to tectonic movement, the upper layer shifts, but the hotspots remain in place.

Over time, islands are formed from the hotspot and are then moved with the crust, thus allowing for a new island to form over the same hotspot.

The Hawaiian island chain was formed in this way as the Pacific Plate moves northwest. As the hotspot is still active and the plate continues to move, these islands continue to form.

Rising Sea Levels

Many islands have only been around since the last ice age. As the earth began to heat, glaciers began to retreat, which resulted in a rise in sea levels. Rising sea levels flooded low-lying valleys, which resulted in the formation of an Archipelago.

Similarly, melting ice caps on mountains rush water downhill, where it is trapped in valleys, often forming freshwater lakes with Archipelago islands from previous mountain tops. As global warming is still in progress, whether it be natural or influenced by human behavior, ocean levels continue to rise, and therefore, new islands continue to slowly be formed.

Post-Glacial Rebound

Also formed to do rising temperatures and melting glaciers, post-glacial rebound islands are similar to those mentioned above; however, these islands were not previously mountain or hilltops.

Glaciers are immensely heavy and, over time, compress the surface of the earth.

When these glaciers begin to subside, the earth begins to slowly “spring back”, which forms new islands continuously pushing through the surface of the water.

The Finnish archipelago is one such example, where thousands of islands have been formed, and continue to form, from post-glacial rebound.

Biodiversity Of Archipelago Islands

Because of the unique characteristics of an island, they create a particularly interesting playground of biodiversity.

As islands are generally remote and archipelagos only share the ecosystem with their sibling islands, animal and plant life on these islands are often unique and can be found nowhere else on Earth.

Furthermore, due to nutrient-rich volcanic soil and the lack of civilization, these areas tend to hold a large diversity of life that has had a chance to thrive, unlike other areas on Earth.

That said, not all archipelagos are diversity rich. Those found in colder climates, such as the Arctic Archipelago, are still home to a unique life, but it is far more scarce.

One popular Archipelago known for its diversity is the Spanish Archipelago, which is home to the Canary Islands, and was made famous by its contribution to the evolution theory formed by Charles Darwin.

Another biodiverse archipelago is the Malay archipelago which is home to Taman Negara – one of the oldest forests in the world, Borneo (famous for its orangutan population), and the wide range of coral life spread around the Indonesian islands.

Threats To Archipelago Islands and Their Diversity

Archipelago islands and the life they support are under threat from both human-induced and natural occurrences. Some of which include:

• Increase in tourism: Popular holiday Archipelago islands such as Hawaii and the Maldives see a large increase in human population, many of which pay no attention to the intricacies of the island’s ecology. This brings with it pollution, both physical and sound
• Overfishing: Due to a lack of education and abuse of local fishing laws, fish populations around archipelagos are drastically decreasing. This disrupts the natural ecology of the surrounding reefs, often to a fatal degree
• Urbanization: Island archipelagos that have become popular living destinations have seen a huge rise in urbanization. When cities are formed and expanded, large areas of natural forests and wildlife are removed or displaced, sometimes resulting in the extinction of a species
• Invasive species: Species introduced due to human activity, whether it be accidental or intentional, can harm the natural balance of an island. Often, new species have no natural predators and end up killing off native life and dominating an ecosystem
• Climate change: Although some archipelagos are formed by rising sea levels, other Archipelago islands are at threat from the same occurrence. Low-lying islands, like many of those found in the Maldives, are slowly being drowned due to rising water levels
• Natural disasters: As many Archipelago islands are formed by volcanic activity, they are prone to natural disasters such as volcanic eruptions, tsunamis, and hurricanes

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