Revillagigedo Islands
Native name: Islas Revillagigedo | |
---|---|
Geography | |
Location | Pacific Ocean |
Coordinates | 18°50′N 112°50′W / 18.833°N 112.833°W |
Total islands | 4 |
Area | 157.81 km2 (60.93 sq mi) |
Highest elevation | 1,130 m (3710 ft) |
Highest point | Cerro Evermann |
State | Colima |
Demographics | |
Population | 54 |
Additional information | |
Time zone |
|
Latin America and the Caribbean | |
Official name | Reserva de la Biosfera Archipiélago de Revillagigedo |
Designated | 2 February 2004 |
Reference no. | 1357[1] |
The Revillagigedo Islands (
In July 2016, the Revillagigedo Archipelago was inscribed as a
Geography
The total area is 157.81 km2 (60.93 mi2), spread over an east-to-west extent of about 420 km (261 mi). A naval station in the south of Socorro Island has a population of 45 (staff). On Clarión is a small naval garrison with nine men. The islands are otherwise uninhabited. The islands are named after Don Juan Vicente de Güemes, 2nd Count of Revillagigedo, the 53rd viceroy of New Spain.[7]
Island (alternate name) | Length by width (km) |
Area (km2) | Highest peak (m) | |
Inner islands ( UTC-7, Mountain Time Zone )
| ||||
San Benedicto | 4.315 by 2.490 | 5.94 | Bárcena (310) | |
Socorro (San Tomás) | 16.813 by 15.629 | 132.06 | Mount (Cerro) Evermann (1130) | |
Roca Partida | 0.246 by 0.073 | 0.014 | (34) | |
Outer island ( UTC-8, Pacific Time Zone )
| ||||
Clarión (Santa Rosa) | 8.544 by 3.686 | 19.80 | Monte Gallegos (335) | |
Revillagigedo Islands | 420 by 115 | 157.81 | Mount (Cerro) Evermann (1130) |
The three eastern islands are called the inner islands. They fall in the
History
Sixteenth to nineteenth century
No evidence of human habitation on any of the islands exists before their discovery by Spanish explorers. Hernando de Grijalva and his crew discovered an uninhabited island on 19 December 1533, and named it Santo Tomás (Socorro Island) and on 28 December they discovered Isla de los Inocentes (San Benedicto) which owed its name to having been found on the day of the Holy Innocents.[8][9]
In November 1542, Ruy López de Villalobos, while exploring new routes across the Pacific, rediscovered Inocentes and Santo Tomás and charted the latter as Anublada ("Cloudy"). Villalobos was the first to report sighting of Roca Partida Island giving it its present-day name. In 1608, Martín Yánez de Armida, in charge of another expedition, visited Anublada and changed its name to Socorro. In 1779 José Camacho was the first to report sighting of the island remaining, that he charted as Santa Rosa ("Saint Rose"). Santa Rosa was later renamed Clarion after the vessel commanded by Henry Gyzelaar at that time.
The Revillagigedo Islands have been visited by a number of other explorers:
Twentieth century
At the beginning of the twentieth century, Dr.
The seas surrounding the larger islands are popular with
They are occasionally visited by amateur radio operators, who usually use the ITU prefix XF4. Because of their distance from the mainland, for award credit they are considered to be an "entity" separate from Mexico. Expeditions from organizations engaged in biological conservation of the islands visit the islands for fieldwork on a regular basis. No tourism facilities exist; the islands have no reliable sources of fresh water of their own.[13]
Twenty-first century
On 24 November 2017, President of Mexico Enrique Peña Nieto created North America's largest marine protected area around the Revillagigedo Islands. This protected area covers 150,000 square kilometres (57,000 sq mi) around the islands, and bans fishing, mining, and tourism development in the protected area and on the islands.[5]
Ecology
The Revillagigedo Islands are home to many
According to the
Apart from the native birds,
Socorro has numerous endemic plant taxa, whereas Clarión has only a few. The San Benedicto ecosystem was nearly wiped out in the devastating eruption of Bárcena volcano on August 1, 1952. The ecosystem there has since recovered, but the event is known to have caused the extinction of the San Benedicto rock wren.[13] Most if not all native plants found on San Benedicto today are shared with Clarión, but not with the closer Socorro to the south, due to the prevailing winds and ocean currents. The native flora of Clarión is about equally shared with both other large islands.[18]
As opposed to the interchange between the islands, the animals and plants that colonized them initially are apparently all from mainland populations generally to the northeastward of the Revillagigedos. Plants are most often derived from Baja California founder populations, whereas the endemic nonavian reptiles seem to be rather derived directly from mainland populations of the Sonora-Sinaloa area. The ancestors of the islands' terrestrial birds probably came from the general area of southern North and northern Central America. As illustrated by the fact that no endemic landbird taxon occurs on more than one island and the cases of the Socorro and Clarión wrens as well as the Socorro dove and Clarión mourning dove, each bird population seems to have arisen independently.[13] The archipelago has been recognised as an Important Bird Area (IBA) by BirdLife International for its breeding seabirds and endemic landbirds.[19]
Ilex socorroensis, Aristolochia socorroensis, Bidens socorrensis, Coreocarpus insularis, Eremosis littoralis, Erigeron socorrensis, Perityle socorrosensis, Zapoteca formosa subsp. socorrensis, Lepechinia hastata subsp. socorrensis, Salvia pseudomisella, Triumfetta socorrensis, Botrychium socorrense, Acianthera unguicallosa, Castilleja bryantii var. socorrensis Peperomia socorronis, Muhlenbergia solisii, Paspalum longum, Guettarda insularis, Meliosma nesites, Cestrum pacificum, Physalis mimulus, Citharexylum danirae, and Verbena sphaerocarpa are endemic to Socorro. Portulaca masonii is endemic to Clarion. Aristolochia islandica and Erigeron crenatus are endemic to San Benedicto. Plants endemic to two or more islands include Cryptantha foliosa, Bulbostylis nesiotica, Cyperus duripes, Croton masonii, Teucrium townsendii, Oenothera resicum, Aristida tenuifolia, Aristida vaginata, Spermacoce nesiotica, and Nicotiana stocktonii.[20]
Threats and conservation
As late as 1956, it was said that:
"The future of the avifauna of the islands appears to be secure at present. There are no human inhabitants, and no mammals of any kind except the moderate and apparently stable population of sheep on Socorro."[13]
But the unique ecology of the islands has since then come under threat from introduced species. The sheep were introduced to Socorro in 1869. Cats became established after 1953, probably in the early 1970s.[13][21] Pigs were introduced to Clarión in 1979, and rabbits became feral at some earlier date.[22]
Several endemic species of Socorro are now threatened with extinction. The
A number of conservation initiatives are dedicated to halting the destruction of the native ecosystems of the islands. Dr. Harmunt Walter of the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and Dr. Luis F. Baptista of the California Academy of Sciences have coordinated breeding and reintroduction efforts for the Socorro dove since 1988, through the Island Endemics Institute. The Comité Científico para la Conservación y Restauración del Archipiélago Revillagigedo ("Scientific Committee for the Conservation and Restoration of the Revillagigedo Islands") was founded in 1996, and is a committee representing several organizations, including the Island Conservation & Ecology Group, Island Endemics Institute, the University of Missouri–St. Louis (UMSL), the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) and others. It is chaired by Dr. Walter and Dr. Luis Medrano of UNAM is its secretary. The committee has been advocating removal of the exotic species from the islands, especially the estimated 2000 sheep on Socorro, to allow the islands' ecology to recover, and adoption of a management plan to promote the recovery of the islands' native species, including reintroduction of the Socorro dove.
Brattstrom and Howell who gave the optimistic outlook in 1956 went on to caution:
"it may be hoped that the Mexican government will guard against the introduction of mammals such as rabbits, cats, goats and others that have invariably brought disaster to the flora and fauna of insular regions."[13]
Marine protected area
On 25 November 2017, President of Mexico Enrique Peña Nieto acted to protect the biodiversity of the region by creating North America's largest marine protected area around the islands, and prohibiting mining, fishing, and tourism development on or near the islands.[5] In total, marine protected areas cover 4.6% of Mexico's exclusive economic zone for fishing.[24] Marine protected areas have been shown to positively contribute to ocean diversity, improve nearby fishing locations, and combat climate change.[24] A study published five years after the establishment of the marine protected area found that fishing activity within the protected zone had decreased by an average of 82% per vessel. The study also found that industrial fishing catches in Mexico's exclusive economic zone had not decreased.[24]
References
- ^ "Reserva de la Biosfera Archipiélago de Revillagigedo". Ramsar Sites Information Service. Retrieved 25 April 2018.
- ^ "Programa de Conservación y Manejo Reserva de la Biosfera Archipielago de Revillagigedo" (PDF). Comisión Nacional de Áreas Naturales Protegidas. Retrieved October 31, 2021.
- ^ "ACUERDO por el que se da a conocer el resumen del Programa de Manejo del Área Natural Protegida con la categoría de Parque Nacional Revillagigedo". Diario Oficial de la Federación. Retrieved October 31, 2021.
- ^ "Archipiélago de Revillagigedo". UNESCO World Heritage Centre. United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. Retrieved 19 July 2016.
- ^ a b c Busby, Mattha (25 November 2017). "Mexico creates vast new ocean reserve to protect 'Galapagos of North America'". The Guardian. Retrieved 26 November 2017.
- ^ "Exploring Mexico's Revillagigedo Islands - Dive Training Magazine".
- ^ "Complejo insular de Revillagigedo, estratégico desde La Colonia" [Revillagigedo Island Complex: Strategic since colonial times]. gob.mx (in Spanish). Secretaría de Medio Ambiente y Recursos Naturales. 2017-12-07. Retrieved 2023-06-26.
- ^ Brand, Donald D. (1967). Friis, Herman R. (ed.). The Pacific Basin. A History of its Geographical Exploration. New York: American Geographical Society. p. 370.
- ^ American Geographical Society of New York (1967), Special publication, issue 38, p. 370, American Geographical Society, ISSN 0065-843X
- ^ Geological Survey (U.S.) U.S. Geological Survey professional paper, issue 492–493, p. 281, ISSN 1044-9620
- ^ Mike Parr. "ABC Report" (PDF). Socorro Island:Fire and Brimstone in the Mexican Pacific. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 July 2011. Retrieved 20 March 2011.
- ISBN 978-0-19-935462-7.
- ^ JSTOR 1364977.
- ^ "Unknown territories: Exploring the Revillagigedo Islands".
- ^ "Islas Revillagigedo dry forests". Terrestrial Ecoregions. World Wildlife Fund.
- ^ Including one waterbird, the local yellow-crowned night heron subspecies.
- ^ Urban J., Jaramillo A.L., Aguayo A., Baker S.C., 2000, Migratory destinations of humpback whales wintering in the Mexican Pacific, Journal of Cetacean Research and Management 2(2), pp.101–110, Retrieved on January 29, 2017
- ^ California/Mexico Island Conservation Database (2007): Plant accounts Archived 2007-12-08 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2007-NOV-24.
- ^ "Islas Revillagigedo". BirdLife Data Zone. BirdLife International. 2021. Retrieved 24 January 2021.
- ^ Checklist of Mexican Pacific Islands endemics. Plants of the World online checklist builder. Accessed 7 April 2024.
- ^ BirdLife International (2007): Socorro Dove – BirdLife Species Factsheet. Retrieved 2007-NOV-24.
- ^ International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (2007): 2007 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN, Gland.
- ISBN 3-540-35234-1
- ^ PMID 37256961.
External links
- World Wildlife Fund, ed. (2001). "Islas Revillagigedo dry forests". WildWorld Ecoregion Profile. National Geographic Society. Archived from the original on 2010-03-08.
- "Islas Revillagigedo dry forests". Terrestrial Ecoregions. World Wildlife Fund.
- Contemporary report of José Camacho's sighting of Roca Partida and Clarion