I think you might be surprised what efforts people will try to make when their favorite island is at stake.
But how long will it last? Maybe people will put in extra effort for a while, but barring a simultaneous influx of new players, I can't see it lasting. It's a lot of effort to keep up a high level of activity, more and more so as there are fewer and fewer characters to interact with. Eventually people will relax and go back to what's normal for them and we'll be right back where we started.
