--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Islands are where species go to die." description: "\"Islands are where species go to die.\" — David Quammen" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f90/david-quammen-9256_dies_islands-are-where-species-go-to-die-2001_2001087.jpg" --- # Islands are where species go to die. ![“Islands are where species go to die.” quote by David Quammen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f90/david-quammen-9256_dies_islands-are-where-species-go-to-die-2001_2001087.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f90/david-quammen-9256_dies_islands-are-where-species-go-to-die-2001_2001087.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f90/david-quammen-9256_dies_islands-are-where-species-go-to-die-2001_2001087.jpg) > “Islands are where species go to die.” [David Quammen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-quammen/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Islands become death traps for species because isolation limits genetic diversity and adaptation. **In simple terms:** Islands cause species extinction due to isolation. Key Takeaway Protect isolated ecosystems. Themes extinction isolation conservation Mood concerned urgent Type environmental educational When to use this quote - wildlife preservation - environmental policy - education programs Key Concepts ecology evolution biodiversity Questions to Reflect On - How can we mitigate island species loss? - What role do humans play in island extinctions? A Different Perspective Human activity can exacerbate isolation effects. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Dies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dies/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Islands](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/islands/) [Islands Species](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/islands-species-3521552/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Species](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/species/) [Species Die](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/species-die-559138/) ## Related quotes > [Humans make the mistake of believing that it is their right to survive. Species die out on this planet all the time without anyone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sting/humans-make-the-mistake-of-believing-that-it-is-their-right-to/) [Sting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sting/) > [As some species die out, forms better adapted to utilize the obstacles against which they struggled in vain come into being.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dewey/as-some-species-die-out-forms-better-adapted-to-utilize-the-obstacles/) [John Dewey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dewey/) > [When faced with a radical crisis, when the old way of being in the world, of interacting with each other and with the realm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/when-faced-with-a-radical-crisis-when-the-old-way-of-being-in-the/) [Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/) > [The idea of leaving any species to die in its own filth when you have the ability to help them, just because you wanna…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-beltran/the-idea-of-leaving-any-species-to-die-in-its-own-filth-when-you-have/) [Robert Beltran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-beltran/) > [An now the silences come in a single lifetime, in a single year... when species die, leaving a silent space in the world song…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-de-lint/an-now-the-silences-come-in-a-single-lifetime-in-a-single-year-when/) [Charles de Lint](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-de-lint/) > [Islands are havens and breeding grounds for the unique and anomalous. They are natural laboratories of extravagant evolutionary experimentation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-quammen/islands-are-havens-and-breeding-grounds-for-the-unique-and-anomalous/) [David Quammen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-quammen/) > [Viruses have to live somewhere. They can only replicate in living creatures. So, when the Ebola virus disappears between outbreaks, it has to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-quammen/viruses-have-to-live-somewhere-they-can-only-replicate-in-living/) [David Quammen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-quammen/) > [Humans are a great survivor species but our survival will be pretty grim if all of the plants and animals we depend on die…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annalee-newitz/humans-are-a-great-survivor-species-but-our-survival-will-be-pretty/) [Annalee Newitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annalee-newitz/) > [The commitment must be much deeper - to let no species knowingly die; to take all reasonable action to protect every species and race…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-o-wilson/the-commitment-must-be-much-deeper-to-let-no-species-knowingly-die-to/) [E. O. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-o-wilson/) > [A realistic expectation also demands our acceptance that one's allotted time on earth must be limited to an allowance consistent with the continuity of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherwin-b-nuland/a-realistic-expectation-also-demands-our-acceptance-that-one-s/) [Sherwin B. Nuland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherwin-b-nuland/) > [Each individual is a species unto him/herself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudolf-steiner/each-individual-is-a-species-unto-him-herself/) [Rudolf Steiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudolf-steiner/) > [If you’re going to die on screen, you’ve got to be strong and in good health.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greta-garbo/if-you-re-going-to-die-on-screen-you-ve-got-to-be-strong-and-in-good/) [Greta Garbo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greta-garbo/) > [This mind is a prison. It cannot find any freedom anywhere. It must die before freedom comes to you. But we have taken the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/this-mind-is-a-prison-it-cannot-find-any-freedom-anywhere-it-must-die/) [Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/) > [I don't want to just die a normal death, I wanna be killed twice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eminem/i-don-t-want-to-just-die-a-normal-death-i-wanna-be-killed-twice/) [Eminem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eminem/) > [ I'll smoke, I'll cough, I'll get the tumors, I'll die, deal? Thank you America. \[salutes\] ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-hicks/i-ll-smoke-i-ll-cough-i-ll-get-the-tumors-i-ll-die-deal-thank-you/) [Bill Hicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-hicks/) ## More by David Quammen > [I wrote four novels, but then I realized that the world didn't need me to be a novelist, but the world could use me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-quammen/i-wrote-four-novels-but-then-i-realized-that-the-world-didn-t-need-me/) [David Quammen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-quammen/) > [I am very, very old-fashioned and clumsy. I use those long reporter notebooks. This is what a troglodyte I am. The night before I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-quammen/i-am-very-very-old-fashioned-and-clumsy-i-use-those-long-reporter/) [David Quammen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-quammen/) > [Most Americans know nothing about the African forest, and it seems to them a very scary, spooky dangerous place. I've spent a lot of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-quammen/most-americans-know-nothing-about-the-african-forest-and-it-seems-to/) [David Quammen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-quammen/) > [“Horses aren’t native to Australia. They are exotic, first brought there by European settlers barely more than two centuries ago. Hendra is probably an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-quammen/horses-aren-t-native-to-australia-they-are-exotic-first-brought-there/) [David Quammen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-quammen/) > [Viruses have to live somewhere. They can only replicate in living creatures. So, when the Ebola virus disappears between outbreaks, it has to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-quammen/viruses-have-to-live-somewhere-they-can-only-replicate-in-living/) [David Quammen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-quammen/) > [“People and gorillas, horses and duikers and pigs, monkeys and chimps and bats and viruses: We’re all in this together.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-quammen/people-and-gorillas-horses-and-duikers-and-pigs-monkeys-and-chimps/) [David Quammen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-quammen/) > [Islands are havens and breeding grounds for the unique and anomalous. They are natural laboratories of extravagant evolutionary experimentation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-quammen/islands-are-havens-and-breeding-grounds-for-the-unique-and-anomalous/) [David Quammen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-quammen/) > [“Each outbreak, by this view, represents a local event primarily explicable by a larger cause—the arrival of the wave. The main proponent of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-quammen/each-outbreak-by-this-view-represents-a-local-event-primarily/) [David Quammen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-quammen/) > [“The Towner paper contained a very interesting statement, as an aside, concerning the five ebolaviruses: “Viruses of each species have genomes that are at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-quammen/the-towner-paper-contained-a-very-interesting-statement-as-an-aside/) [David Quammen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-quammen/) > [I used to read only fiction. Now I don't read much, only occasionally, such as a Cormac McCarthy or a Jim Harrison novel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-quammen/i-used-to-read-only-fiction-now-i-don-t-read-much-only-occasionally/) [David Quammen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-quammen/) > [The swallow that hibernates underwater is a creature called yearning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-quammen/the-swallow-that-hibernates-underwater-is-a-creature-called-yearning/) [David Quammen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-quammen/) > [“It comes and it goes. But epidemiologists have recognized that, with measles virus, as with other pathogens, there’s a critical minimum size of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-quammen/it-comes-and-it-goes-but-epidemiologists-have-recognized-that-with/) [David Quammen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-quammen/) > [Whether you like the label 'Anthropocene' or not, whether you find the prospect of what it signifies inevitable or appalling (or both), the time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-quammen/whether-you-like-the-label-anthropocene-or-not-whether-you-find-the/) [David Quammen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-quammen/) > [Ebola isn't a respiratory virus. It doesn't spread through the airborne route. So it's not likely to spread like wildfire around the world and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-quammen/ebola-isn-t-a-respiratory-virus-it-doesn-t-spread-through-the/) [David Quammen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-quammen/) > [I'm a white, middle-class male who had a happy childhood in Ohio. The world does not need me to be a novelist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-quammen/i-m-a-white-middle-class-male-who-had-a-happy-childhood-in-ohio-the/) [David Quammen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-quammen/) [Explore all 73 David Quammen quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-quammen/) ## More Dies quotes > [Most of us are convinced that we are our egos, which is who we think we are. The ego is part of our incarnation.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ram-dass/most-of-us-are-convinced-that-we-are-our-egos-which-is-who-we-think/) [Ram Dass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ram-dass/) > [ I'll smoke, I'll cough, I'll get the tumors, I'll die, deal? Thank you America. \[salutes\] ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-hicks/i-ll-smoke-i-ll-cough-i-ll-get-the-tumors-i-ll-die-deal-thank-you/) [Bill Hicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-hicks/) > [Don't even think for a moment that you are not going to die.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dzongsar-jamyang-khyentse-rinpoche/don-t-even-think-for-a-moment-that-you-are-not-going-to-die/) [Dzongsar Jamyang Khyentse Rinpoche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dzongsar-jamyang-khyentse-rinpoche/) > [Set NOT your hearts on the flowers of this world. They shall fade and die. Prize the Rose of Sharon and the Lily of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/set-not-your-hearts-on-the-flowers-of-this-world-they-shall-fade-and/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Violence is not necessary to destroy a civilization. Each civilization dies from indifference toward the unique values which created it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolas-gomez-davila/violence-is-not-necessary-to-destroy-a-civilization-each-civilization/) [Nicolas Gomez Davila](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolas-gomez-davila/) > [I wonder: when a Jehovah's Witness dies and goes to Heaven, does God hide behind the door and pretend He's not home?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-celio/i-wonder-when-a-jehovah-s-witness-dies-and-goes-to-heaven-does-god/) [Brian Celio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-celio/) > [Certainly, it is. Love is love, and loss is loss. We all love, and we all die, and everyone suffers the pain of grieving.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynsay-sands/certainly-it-is-love-is-love-and-loss-is-loss-we-all-love-and-we-all/) [Lynsay Sands](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynsay-sands/) > [“When he stops giving you butterflies, Love dies.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-blanchard/when-he-stops-giving-you-butterflies-love-dies/) [Michelle Blanchard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-blanchard/) > [That old man dies prematurely whose memory records no benefits conferred. They only have lived long who have lived virtuously.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-brinsley-sheridan/that-old-man-dies-prematurely-whose-memory-records-no-benefits/) [Richard Brinsley Sheridan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-brinsley-sheridan/) > [I don't want to just die a normal death, I wanna be killed twice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eminem/i-don-t-want-to-just-die-a-normal-death-i-wanna-be-killed-twice/) [Eminem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eminem/) > [My father thrives on fear. You know that prayer If I should die before I wake? I had sheets that said that!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-titus/my-father-thrives-on-fear-you-know-that-prayer-if-i-should-die-before/) [Christopher Titus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-titus/) > [For the glory born of Goodness Never dies, And its flag is not half-masted In the skies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bret-harte/for-the-glory-born-of-goodness-never-dies-and-its-flag-is-not-half/) [Bret Harte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bret-harte/) > [This mind is a prison. It cannot find any freedom anywhere. It must die before freedom comes to you. But we have taken the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/this-mind-is-a-prison-it-cannot-find-any-freedom-anywhere-it-must-die/) [Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/) > [An artist's creative energy is ephemeral as a flower. It blooms and soon dies. No artist is great forever. Personally, I think I reached…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-ki-duk/an-artist-s-creative-energy-is-ephemeral-as-a-flower-it-blooms-and/) [Kim Ki-duk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-ki-duk/) > [If you’re going to die on screen, you’ve got to be strong and in good health.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greta-garbo/if-you-re-going-to-die-on-screen-you-ve-got-to-be-strong-and-in-good/) [Greta Garbo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greta-garbo/) [Browse all 7,484 Dies quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dies/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Islands are where species go to die.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "David Quammen" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-quammen/islands-are-where-species-go-to-die/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Dies" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-quammen/islands-are-where-species-go-to-die/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f90/david-quammen-9256_dies_islands-are-where-species-go-to-die-2001_2001087.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f90/david-quammen-9256_dies_islands-are-where-species-go-to-die-2001_2001087.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f90/david-quammen-9256_dies_islands-are-where-species-go-to-die-2001_2001087.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Islands are where species go to die.” — David Quammen", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "David Quammen", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-quammen/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Islands are where species go to...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-quammen/islands-are-where-species-go-to-die/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-quammen/islands-are-where-species-go-to-die/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```