Detection of natural and anthropic features on small islands

Mapping the distribution of seabed habitats and estimating the spatial distribution of features and biocenosis over land and the seafloor is particularly important for the analysis of human impacts. The present paper uses an innovative image analysis method that integrates different data sources from airborne remote sensing and in situ measurements for different features, allowing the detection of ecological ‘tipping points’ both in emerged and submerged coastal environments. Results show that it is possible to differentiate between the respective roles of first, the internal variability of the natural morphological system and second, of external forcing factors. The final evidence, however, identifies a clear signature of external forcing, but whether of anthropogenic or natural origin, is unclear. The spatial pattern of the response to anthropogenic forcing may be indistinguishable from patterns of natural variability. It is argued that this novel approach to defining tipping points following anthropogenic impacts could be most valuable in the management of natural resources and the economic development of coastal areas worldwide.