Abstract
The remote Indian Ocean island of Rodrigues is primarily of volcanic origin, dating back at least 2.5 (probably 10) million years, with significant deposits of much more recent wind-deposited calcarenite. A distinctive karst has developed in this material, including a stream cave over a kilometer in length, over 30 other surveyed caves, and a range of karstic surface features. The caves have provided excellent repositories for the remains of many endemic vertebrates prior to their extinction, which can in most cases be clearly attributed to human intervention. The same intervention seriously degraded the area ecologically. A restoration, study, tourism and management program in a privately-funded reserve on the karst is now bringing multiple benefits to the island.
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Acknowledgements
Assistance with the preparation of this text from Julian Hume, Lorna Steel, Aurele André and Owen Griffiths is gratefully acknowledged.
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Middleton, G.J., Burney, D.A. (2013). Rodrigues – An Indian Ocean Island Calcarenite: Its History, Study and Management. In: Lace, M., Mylroie, J. (eds) Coastal Karst Landforms. Coastal Research Library, vol 5. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-5016-6_12
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