Enderbury Island
Republic of Kiribati | |
Phoenix Islands Protected Area | |
Demographics | |
---|---|
Population | 0 |
Enderbury Island, also known as Ederbury Island or Guano Island, is a small, uninhabited
Kiribati declared the Phoenix Islands Protected Area in 2006, with the park being expanded in 2008. The 164,200-square-mile (425,300-square-kilometer) marine reserve contains eight coral atolls including Kanton.[1][2]
Flora and fauna
Enderbury's flora and fauna
The island is flat and bare, with elevations between 15 and 22 feet. Vegetation consists of low shrubs, including herbs, bunchgrass, sida and morning-glory vines, together with a few clumps of trees, including coconut palms and kou trees.[3] Unlike other atolls, Enderbury has only a small lagoon; most of the island is land. Bird life is abundant, as is the rat population, according to E.H. Bryan[4] Feral cats used to exist, but recently died out. Enderbury has been identified as the most important green sea turtle nesting area in the Phoenix Islands group.
An expedition to eradicate the Polynesian rat population was conducted in 2011.[5]
Enderbury's reefs
The 2000 surveys (Obura, et al.) identified that sites on the reef averaged 20–25% Live Coral Cover. The dominance of encrusting/submassive corals at the windward site and the few large coral colonies and many small ones were seen, indicating frequent breakage preventing growth to large size, with continual breakage of branching and plating forms.[6] Damage to branching and plating forms was as the result of wave energy on the southern, eastern and northern reefs of the islands, which create coral rubble at the base of the reef.[6] The most abundant coral species at Enderbury were: Pavona maldivensis, Leptastrea purpurea, Goniastrea stelligera, Favites pentagona, Pocillopora verrucosa, Porites lutea, Pavona minuta, Pavona clavus and Pavona varians.[6]
History
Enderbury Island was discovered in 1823 by Capt. James J. Coffin from the British whaleship Transit and named after
Very little else occurred at Enderbury until March 1937, when the British Government claimed the
Four colonists from the
Today, Enderbury is home to many species of seabirds which roost there and is under the
See also
- List of Guano Island claims
- List of islands
- Desert island
References
- ^ Brian Clark Howard (16 June 2014). "Pacific Nation Bans Fishing in One of World's Largest Marine Parks". National Geographic News. Archived from the original on June 19, 2014. Retrieved 15 May 2015.
- ^ "Phoenix Islands Protected Area". Government of Kiribati. Retrieved 25 January 2015.
- ^ a b c Resture, Jane. "Enderbury Island, Phoenix Group". Jane Resture. Retrieved 25 January 2015.
- ^ Resture, Jane. "Enderbury Island, Phoenix Group (photos of the island taken in 1938)". Jane Resture. Retrieved 25 January 2015.
- ^ Jamieson, Regen (18 April 2014). "Removing Rats and Rabbits: An Interview with Ray Pierce". New England Aquarium - Phoenix Islands Blog. Retrieved 25 January 2015.
- ^ doi:10.5479/si.00775630.589.1.)
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: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link - ISBN 0520025571.
- ^ "History of the Phoenix Islands". Government of Kiribati. Retrieved 25 January 2015.
Sources
- Bryan, Edwin H.: American Polynesia : coral islands of the Central Pacific; Honolulu, Hawaii 1941
- Skaggs, Jimmy M.: The great guano rush : entrepreneurs and American overseas expansion; New York, NY : St. Martin's Pr., 1994 ISBN 0-312-10316-6