Islands hold a special place in Australia’s conservation landscape. We do not tend to think of Australia as a meta‐archipelago; however, Australia holds stewardship over more islands than the Caribbean Archipelago and New Zealand combined. Islands play an important role in Australia’s conservation landscape not only for their own unique ecosystems but also as safe havens for translocated species that are threatened with extinction in their mainland habitats. Australian Island Arks: Conservation, Management and Opportunities introduces readers to the myriad of issues facing conservation on islands and provides insights and practical solutions for improving the efficacy of island‐based conservation.

Moro, Ball and Bryant present a succinct publication of shared experience from a range of practitioners working on islands. They take the reader on a journey from the Tropics to the sub‐Antarctic, and use case studies to illustrate the diversity of management strategies tailored to islands across Australia. The case studies in the book are wide‐ranging, well‐selected and add authenticity and clarity to key topics. Following an incisive introductory chapter highlighting the value of islands in protecting Australia’s biodiversity assets, the book works through an inventory of Australia’s islands and their global importance. Through a series of expert chapters, the book then covers: approaches to working on islands alongside tourism, extractive industries and communities, then discusses eradications and translocations, the value of Indigenous Protected Areas in island conservation, climate change and the policy gaps that currently curb the proper management of islands.

Island conservation is an active space and rapidly expanding worldwide. New solutions are constantly being developed to address novel problems on islands, and Australian Island Arks is a pragmatic narrative addressing the current and emergent topics in modern island management. Over the last decade, island conservation has begun to spread its wings, and practitioners now tackle eradication and reintroduction projects on large, inhabited islands (Chapters 6 and 7). Working on these islands requires a new, interdisciplinary skillset that combines socio‐political, economic and cultural awareness with conservation expertise. The second half of Australian Island Arks delves into these concepts and provides examples of Australian‐developed programmes that have already yielded success.

From my point‐of‐view, Australian Island Arks: Conservation, Management and Opportunities also highlights the untapped relationship between Earth Optimism and Australia’s island conservation efforts. This book is filled with success stories, lessons learned and objectives reached. If there is one chapter missing, it would address how we best put these tangible success stories of eradications and endangered‐species recoveries into the national consciousness and identity—perhaps learning from across the ditch in New Zealand (Chapter 14)? Western Australia, for example, has the potential to be an international beacon of island conservation—from the achievements of the largest ever cat eradication (now completed) on Dirk Hartog Island, and numerous multi‐species pest eradications, as well as an array of translocation success stories from the Montebello Islands to Faure Island to Escape Island. These achievements of conservation efforts exist alongside extractive industries on Barrow Island and tourism on Rottnest Island and should not be underplayed. Unlike the eradication success stories of New Zealand, some of Western Australia’s most significant success stories were conducted on islands with native species that in one way or another closely resembled the targeted pest species (e.g. small mammals on Barrow Island or granivorous birds on Montebello Islands), requiring the development of quite specialised eradication techniques. Yet unlike New Zealand, the island conservation successes of Western Australia do not—in the present at least—form an integral part of the West Australian identity. On a national front, Macquarie Island and now Lord Howe Island are again leading the world in eradication project ambitions (Chapters 7 and 10).

Ecologists have long recognised the importance of a holistic ecosystems‐based approach to conservation projects, the ideas in this book extend that holistic approach to consider other voices in the community and the policy framework that projects operate within. Islands are microcosms of conservation issues faced globally and the lessons learned in this book make it a useful export from island practitioners to the rest of the conservation community. Australian Island Arks does not take a cursory glance at its subjects, nor does it go into unnecessary depth—it treads a neat middle path and gives the reader a deep understanding of the fundamentals of each topic using worked case studies guided by the voices of experts in each field. It also supports a refreshingly pragmatic approach to conservation, one that will be ever more applicable to island conservation on larger, inhabited islands as well as in mainland ecosystems. For any ecologist starting work in island ecosystems (particularly ECRs and postgraduates), this book will be a perfect starting point for getting up‐to‐date information and insights into the wide range of topics you may address during your research. For politicians and policy‐makers, the book is a clear and easily digestible overview of modern island conservation, and the current gaps in conservation policy identified in the book make Australian Island Arks required reading.

岛屿在澳大利亚的保护景观中占有特殊的位置。我们不倾向于将澳大利亚视为元弓形群岛。但是，澳大利亚在比加勒比群岛和新西兰加在一起更多的岛屿上拥有管理权。岛屿不仅在其自身独特的生态系统中，而且在其大陆栖息地面临灭绝威胁的易位物种的避风港中，在澳大利亚的保护景观中发挥着重要作用。《澳大利亚岛Arks：保护，管理和机会》向读者介绍了岛屿保护所面临的众多问题，并提供了见解和切实可行的解决方案，以提高基于岛屿的保护的有效性。

莫洛（Moro），鲍尔（Ball）和科比（Bryant）简洁地发表了在岛屿上工作的许多从业者的共享经验。他们带领读者从热带地区到南极洲旅行，并使用案例研究来说明针对澳大利亚各个岛屿量身定制的管理策略的多样性。本书中的案例研究内容广泛，经过精心选择，并为关键主题增加了真实性和清晰度。紧接着一个引人注目的介绍性章节强调了岛屿在保护澳大利亚生物多样性资产方面的价值，然后通过对澳大利亚岛屿及其全球重要性的概述来开展工作。该书通过一系列专家章节涵盖：与旅游业，采掘业和社区一起在岛屿上开展工作的方法，然后讨论了消灭和迁移，

岛屿保护是一个活跃的空间，正在全球范围内迅速发展。为了解决岛屿上的新问题，不断开发新的解决方案，而澳大利亚岛屿Arks是一种务实的叙述，旨在解决现代岛屿管理中的当前和新兴主题。在过去的十年中，岛屿保护已经开始扩展，从业人员现在着手解决在有人居住的大岛屿上的根除和重新引进项目（第6章和第7章）。在这些岛屿上开展工作需要新的跨学科技能，将社会政治，经济和文化意识与保护专业知识相结合。澳大利亚岛屿Arks的后半部分深入研究了这些概念，并提供了澳大利亚开发的计划的实例，这些计划已经取得了成功。

从我的角度来看，澳大利亚岛屿Arks：保护，管理和机会还强调了“地球乐观主义”与澳大利亚的岛屿保护工作之间尚未开发的关系。这本书充满了成功的故事，经验教训和达成的目标。如果缺少一章，它将解决我们如何最好地将这些根除和濒危物种恢复的切实成功故事带入国家意识和认同感-也许是从新西兰的整个沟渠中学习（第14章）？以西澳大利亚州为例，它有可能成为国际上保护岛屿的灯塔-从Dirk Hartog岛有史以来最大规模的根除猫（现已完成）的成就，众多的多物种有害生物根除以及一系列的从Montebello群岛到Faure岛再到Escape岛的易位成功故事。保护工作的这些成就与巴罗岛的采掘业和罗特尼斯岛的旅游业并存，因此不应低估。与新西兰的根除成功故事不同，西澳大利亚州一些最重要的成功故事是在岛屿上进行的，这些岛屿上的本地物种在某种程度上与目标害虫物种非常相似（例如，巴罗岛上的小型哺乳动物或蒙特贝罗群岛上的肉食性鸟类） ，需要开发相当专业的根除技术。然而，与新西兰不同的是，西澳大利亚州在岛屿保护方面取得的成功（至少在目前）并不构成西澳大利亚州身份的组成部分。在国家方面，麦格理岛和现在的豪勋爵岛再次在根除项目的野心方面处于世界领先地位（第7章和第10章）。西澳大利亚州一些最重要的成功案例是在岛屿上进行的，这些岛屿的本地生物在某种程度上与目标害虫非常相似（例如，巴罗岛上的小型哺乳动物或蒙特贝罗群岛上的肉食性鸟类），这需要开发专门的根除技术。然而，与新西兰不同的是，西澳大利亚州在岛屿保护方面取得的成功（至少在目前）并不构成西澳大利亚州身份的组成部分。在国家方面，麦格理岛和现在的豪勋爵岛再次在根除项目的野心方面处于世界领先地位（第7章和第10章）。西澳大利亚州一些最重要的成功案例是在岛屿上进行的，这些岛屿的本地生物在某种程度上与目标害虫非常相似（例如，巴罗岛上的小型哺乳动物或蒙特贝罗群岛上的肉食性鸟类），这需要开发专门的根除技术。然而，与新西兰不同的是，西澳大利亚州在岛屿保护方面取得的成功（至少在目前）并不构成西澳大利亚州身份的组成部分。在国家方面，麦格理岛和现在的豪勋爵岛再次在根除项目的野心方面处于世界领先地位（第7章和第10章）。巴罗岛上的小型哺乳动物或蒙特贝罗群岛上的肉食性鸟类），需要开发非常专业的消灭技术。然而，与新西兰不同的是，西澳大利亚州在岛屿保护方面取得的成功（至少在目前）并不构成西澳大利亚州身份的组成部分。在国家方面，麦格理岛和现在的豪勋爵岛再次在根除项目的野心方面处于世界领先地位（第7章和第10章）。巴罗岛上的小型哺乳动物或蒙特贝罗群岛上的肉食鸟类），这需要开发非常专业的消灭技术。然而，与新西兰不同的是，西澳大利亚州在岛屿保护方面取得的成功（至少在目前）并不构成西澳大利亚州身份的组成部分。在国家方面，麦格理岛和现在的豪勋爵岛在根除项目的野心方面再次遥遥领先（第7章和第10章）。

长期以来，生态学家已经认识到采用基于生态系统的整体方法进行保护项目的重要性，本书的思想将这种整体方法扩展为考虑社区中的其他声音以及项目在其中运行的政策框架。岛屿是全球面临的保护问题的缩影，本书汲取的经验教训使岛屿成为从岛屿从业者向保护社区其他成员的有益出口。澳大利亚岛树皮不会粗略地浏览其主题，也不会深入到不必要的深度，它走了一条整洁的中间路线，并通过在各个领域专家的指导下进行的案例研究，使读者对每个主题的基础有了深刻的理解。它还支持一种全新的务实的保护方法，这种方法将越来越适用于在较大的有人居住的岛屿以及大陆生态系统中的岛屿保护。对于任何开始在岛屿生态系统中工作的生态学家（尤其是ECR和研究生）而言，这本书都是获取最新信息和洞察力的完美起点，您可以在研究过程中解决各种主题。对于政客和政策制定者来说，这本书是对现代岛屿保护的清晰易懂的概述，澳大利亚岛的树皮需要阅读。