Cubagua’s Pearl-Oyster Beds: The First Depletion of a Natural Resource Caused by Europeans in the American Continent

Abstract

There is an increasing interest in approaching conservation biology from a historical perspective. Calls for understanding the relationship between both disciplines have been made (C. Meine 1999). This interest has centered on the ecological role played by humans when occupying new areas (P. Coates 1998; I. Simmons 1993). Numerous studies have suggested that mass species extinction is one of the most important environmental impacts by humans when expanding their range. This is caused by either exploitation (the “overkill” model, P. Martin 1973, 1990) and/or habitat modification (J. McCann 1999a,b). These mass species extinctions occurring during recent human history have been called neoextinctions (also Holocene, historical, contemporary, or present-day extinctions) (J. Carlton 1993). These phenomena have been documented for many taxa in many parts of the world (C. Humphries and C. Fisher 1994)