Charles Darwin's ecological experiment on Ascension isle

In effect, what Darwin, Hooker and the Royal Navy achieved was the world's first experiment in "terra-forming". They created a self-sustaining and self-reproducing ecosystem in order to make Ascension Island more habitable. And it actually worked!
Ascension Island's secret is safe for years to come, it seems.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-11137903