Island tameness

The term is partly synonymous with ecological naïveté, which also has a wider meaning referring to the loss of defensive behaviors and adaptations needed to deal with these "new" predators.

It has also made many island species, such as the extinct dodo or the short-tailed albatross, vulnerable to human hunting.

In many instances the native species are unable to learn to avoid new predators, or change their behavior to minimize their risk.

When combined with other threats, such as habitat loss, this has led to the extinction of many species (such as the Laysan rail and Lyall's wren) and continues to threaten others, such as the Key deer.

A comparable phenomenon may be present in plant species that colonize faraway islands devoid of their natural predators on the mainland, losing anti-browsing measures (like spines and toxins).