Editing Maluku Islands (section)

===Ecology===
[[File:Malay Archipelago King and Twelve-wired Birds of Paradise.jpg|thumb|From ''[[The Malay Archipelago]]'' by [[Alfred Wallace]] (1869): illustration of [[king bird-of-paradise|king]] and [[Twelve-wired bird-of-paradise|twelve-wired]] birds-of-paradise by [[John Gerrard Keulemans]].]]

[[Biogeography|Biogeographically]], all of the islands apart from the Aru group lie in [[Wallacea]], the region between the [[Sunda Shelf]] (part of the Asia block), and the [[Arafura Sea|Arafura Shelf]] (part of the Australian block). More specifically, they lie between [[Max Carl Wilhelm Weber|Weber's Line]] and [[Lydekker's Line]] and thus have a fauna that is rather more Australasian than Asian. Malukan biodiversity and its distribution are affected by various tectonic activities; most of the islands are geologically young, being from 1 million to 15 million years old, and have never been attached to the larger landmasses. The Maluku islands differ from other areas in Indonesia; they contain some of the country's smallest islands, coral island reefs scattered through some of the deepest seas in the world, and no large islands such as [[Java]] or [[Sumatra]]. Flora and fauna immigration between islands is thus restricted, leading to a high rate of endemic biota evolving.<ref name="Monk 1996, page 9"/>

The ecology of the Maluku Islands has fascinated naturalists for centuries; [[Alfred Wallace]]'s book, ''[[The Malay Archipelago]]'', was the first significant study of the area's natural history and remains an important resource for studying Indonesian biodiversity. Maluku is the subject of two major historical works of natural history by [[Georg Eberhard Rumphius]]: the ''Herbarium Amboinense'' and the ''Amboinsche Rariteitkamer''.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Monk |first1=K. A. |last2=Fretes |first2=Y. |last3=Reksodiharjo-Lilley |first3=G. |title=The Ecology of Nusa Tenggara and Maluku |publisher=Periplus Editions Ltd. |year=1996 |page=4 |location=Hong Kong |isbn=962-593-076-0}}</ref>

Rainforest covered most of northern and central Maluku, which, on the smaller islands has been replaced by plantations, including the region's endemic [[cloves]] and [[nutmeg]]. The [[Tanimbar Islands]] and other southeastern islands are arid and sparsely vegetated, much like nearby [[Timor]].<ref name=LP818-819/> In 1997 the [[Manusela National Park]], and in 2004, the [[Aketajawe-Lolobata National Park]], were established, for the protection of endangered species.{{citation needed|date=April 2017}}

Nocturnal [[marsupials]], such as [[cuscus]] and [[bandicoots]], make up the majority of the mammal species and introduced mammals include [[Malayan civet]]s and feral pigs.<ref name=LP818-819/> Bird species include approximately 100 endemics with the greatest variety on the large islands of Halmahera and Seram. North Maluku has two species of endemic birds of paradise.<ref name=LP818-819/> Uniquely among the Maluku Islands, the [[Aru Islands Regency|Aru Islands]] have a purely Papuan fauna including kangaroos, cassowaries, and birds of paradise.<ref name=LP818-819/>

While many ecological problems affect both small islands and large landmasses, small islands suffer their particular problems. Development pressures on small islands are increasing, although their effects are not always anticipated. Although Indonesia is richly endowed with natural resources, the resources of the small islands of Maluku are limited and specialised; furthermore, human resources, in particular, are limited.<ref name="Monk, 1996 1">{{cite book |last1=Monk |first1=K. A. |last2=Fretes |first2=Y. |last3=Reksodiharjo-Lilley |first3=G. |title=The Ecology of Nusa Tenggara and Maluku |publisher=Periplus Editions Ltd. |year=1996 |page=1 |location=Hong Kong |isbn=962-593-076-0}}</ref>

General observations<ref>Beller, W., P. d'Ayala, and P. Hein. 1990. ''Sustainable development and environmental management of small islands''. Paris and New Jersey: United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organisation and Parthenon Publishing Group Inc. (cited in Monk)</ref><ref>Hess, A. (1990). "Overview: sustainable development and environmental management of small islands". In ''Sustainable development and environmental management of small islands''. eds W. Beller, P. d'Ayala, and P. Hein, Paris and New Jersey: United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organisation and Parthenon Publishing Group Inc. (cited in Monk)</ref> about small islands that can be applied to the Maluku Islands include:<ref name="Monk, 1996 1"/>

*A higher proportion of the landmass will be affected by [[List of volcanoes in Indonesia|volcanic activity]], earthquakes, landslips, and cyclone damage;
*Climates are more likely to be [[maritime climate|maritime]] influenced;
*[[drainage basin|Catchment area]]s are smaller and the degree of [[erosion]] higher;
*A higher proportion of the landmass is made up of coastal areas;
*A higher degree of environmental specialisation, including a higher proportion of [[Endemism|endemic]] species in an overall [[depauperate]] community;
*Societies may retain a strong sense of culture having developed in relative isolation;
*Small island populations are more likely to be affected by economic migration.