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Eastern Indo-Pacific
The Eastern Indo-Pacific is a biogeographic region of the Earth's seas, comprising the tropical waters around island groups in the central Pacific Ocean. It includes most of Polynesia, except for New Zealand and the Kermadec Islands. It also includes the Marshall Islands and Kiribati from Micronesia. It adjoins the Central Indo-Pacific realm to the west, which encompasses Melanesia and the other island groups of Micronesia. The Eastern Indo-Pacific is a marine realm, one of the great biogeographic divisions of the world's ocean basins. Subdivisions The Eastern Indo-Pacific marine realm is divided into six marine provinces. Three provinces are further divided into marine ecoregions.Spalding, Mark D., Helen E. Fox, Gerald R. Allen, Nick Davidson ''et al.'' (2007). "Marine Ecoregions of the World: A Bioregionalization of Coastal and Shelf Areas". ''Bioscience'' Vol. 57 No. 7, July/August 2007, pp. 573–58/ref> * Hawaii province ** Hawaiian Islands, Hawaii * Marshall, Gilbert, an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Coral Scene On Palolo Deep Apia Samoa
Corals are marine invertebrates within the class Anthozoa of the phylum Cnidaria. They typically form compact colonies of many identical individual polyps. Coral species include the important reef builders that inhabit tropical oceans and secrete calcium carbonate to form a hard skeleton. A coral "group" is a colony of very many genetically identical polyps. Each polyp is a sac-like animal typically only a few millimeters in diameter and a few centimeters in height. A set of tentacles surround a central mouth opening. Each polyp excretes an exoskeleton near the base. Over many generations, the colony thus creates a skeleton characteristic of the species which can measure up to several meters in size. Individual colonies grow by asexual reproduction of polyps. Corals also breed sexually by spawning: polyps of the same species release gametes simultaneously overnight, often around a full moon. Fertilized eggs form planulae, a mobile early form of the coral polyp which, when matu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Phoenix Islands
The Phoenix Islands, or Rawaki, are a group of eight atolls and two submerged coral reefs that lie east of the Gilbert Islands and west of the Line Islands in the central Pacific Ocean, north of Samoa. They are part of the Kiribati, Republic of Kiribati. Their combined land area is . The only island of any commercial importance is Canton Island (also called Abariringa). The other islands are Enderbury, Rawaki (formerly Phoenix), Manra (formerly Sydney), Birnie, McKean, Nikumaroro (formerly Gardner), and Orona (formerly Hull). The Phoenix Islands Protected Area, established in 2008, is one of the world's largest protected areas, and is home to about 120 species of coral and more than 500 species of fish. All of the Phoenix Islands are uninhabited, except for a few families who live on Kanton Island. At various times in history, the Phoenix Islands have been considered to be part of the Gilberts Island group (which itself was sometimes known as the ''Kingsmill'' island group). ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eastern Indo-Pacific
The Eastern Indo-Pacific is a biogeographic region of the Earth's seas, comprising the tropical waters around island groups in the central Pacific Ocean. It includes most of Polynesia, except for New Zealand and the Kermadec Islands. It also includes the Marshall Islands and Kiribati from Micronesia. It adjoins the Central Indo-Pacific realm to the west, which encompasses Melanesia and the other island groups of Micronesia. The Eastern Indo-Pacific is a marine realm, one of the great biogeographic divisions of the world's ocean basins. Subdivisions The Eastern Indo-Pacific marine realm is divided into six marine provinces. Three provinces are further divided into marine ecoregions.Spalding, Mark D., Helen E. Fox, Gerald R. Allen, Nick Davidson ''et al.'' (2007). "Marine Ecoregions of the World: A Bioregionalization of Coastal and Shelf Areas". ''Bioscience'' Vol. 57 No. 7, July/August 2007, pp. 573–58/ref> * Hawaii province ** Hawaiian Islands, Hawaii * Marshall, Gilbert, an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Easter Island
Easter Island ( rap, Rapa Nui; es, Isla de Pascua) is an island and special territory of Chile in the southeastern Pacific Ocean, at the southeasternmost point of the Polynesian Triangle in Oceania. The island is most famous for its nearly 1,000 extant monumental statues, called ''moai'', which were created by the early Rapa Nui people. In 1995, UNESCO named Easter Island a World Heritage Site, with much of the island protected within Rapa Nui National Park. Experts disagree on when the island's Polynesian inhabitants first reached the island. While many in the research community cited evidence that they arrived around the year 800, there is compelling evidence presented in a 2007 study that places their arrival closer to 1200. The inhabitants created a thriving and industrious culture, as evidenced by the island's numerous enormous stone ''moai'' and other artifacts. However, land clearing for cultivation and the introduction of the Polynesian rat led to gradual deforest ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Marquesas
The Marquesas Islands (; french: Îles Marquises or ' or '; Marquesan: ' ( North Marquesan) and ' ( South Marquesan), both meaning "the land of men") are a group of volcanic islands in French Polynesia, an overseas collectivity of France in the southern Pacific Ocean. Their highest point is the peak of Mount Oave (french: Mont Oave, links=no) on Ua Pou island, at 1,230 m (4,035 ft) above sea level. Archaeological research suggests the islands were colonized in the 10th century AD by voyagers from West Polynesia. Over the centuries that followed, the islands have maintained a "remarkably uniform culture, biology and language". The Marquesas were named after the 16th century Spanish Viceroy of Peru, the Marquis of Cañete ( es, Marqués de Cañete, italic=unset) by navigator , who visited them in 1595. The Marquesas Islands constitute one of the five administrative divisions (') of French Polynesia. The capital of the Marquesas Islands' administrative subdivision i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Society Islands
The Society Islands (french: Îles de la Société, officially ''Archipel de la Société;'' ty, Tōtaiete mā) are an archipelago located in the South Pacific Ocean. Politically, they are part of French Polynesia, an overseas country of the French Republic. Geographically, they form part of Polynesia. The archipelago is believed to have been named by Captain James Cook during his first voyage in 1769, supposedly in honour of the Royal Society, the sponsor of the first British scientific survey of the islands; however, Cook wrote in his journal that he called the islands ''Society'' "as they lay contiguous to one another." History Dating colonization The first Polynesians are understood to have arrived on these islands around 1000AD. Oral history origin The islanders explain their origins in term of a orally transmitted story. The feathered god Ta'aroa lay in his shell. He called out but no-one answered, so he went back into his shell, where he stayed for aeons. When he ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Austral Islands
The Austral Islands (french: Îles Australes, officially ''Archipel des Australes;'' ty, Tuha'a Pae) are the southernmost group of islands in French Polynesia, an overseas country of the French Republic in the South Pacific. Geographically, they consist of two separate archipelagos, namely in the northwest the Tupua'i islands (french: Îles Tubuaï) consisting of the Îles Maria, Rimatara, Rūrutu, Tupua'i Island proper and Ra'ivāvae, and in the southeast the Bass Islands (french: Îles basses) composed of the main island of Rapa Iti and the small Marotiri (also known as Bass Rocks or Îlots de Bass). Inhabitants of the islands are known for their pandanus fiber weaving skills. The islands of Maria and Marotiri are not suitable for sustained habitation. Several of the islands have uninhabited islets or rocks off their coastlines. Austral Islands' population is 6,965 on almost . The capital of the Austral Islands administrative subdivision is Tupua'i. History Whaling ves ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Southern Cook Islands
The Cook Islands can be divided into two groups: the Southern Cook Islands and the Northern Cook Islands. The country is located in Oceania, in the South Pacific Ocean, about one-half of the way from Hawaii to New Zealand. From March to December, the Cook Islands are in the path of tropical cyclones, the most notable of which were the cyclones Martin and Percy. Two terrestrial ecoregions lie within the islands' territory: the Central Polynesian tropical moist forests and the Cook Islands tropical moist forests. Islands and reefs Southern Cook Islands *Aitutaki *Atiu *Mangaia * Manuae *Mauke *Mitiaro *Palmerston Island *Rarotonga (capital) *Takutea Northern Cook Islands *Manihiki *Nassau *Penrhyn atoll *Pukapuka *Rakahanga *Suwarrow Table Note: The table is ordered from north to south. Population figures from the 2016 census. Statistics ; Area: :* Total: :* Land: 236 km2 :* Water: 0 km2 ; Area - comparative: : 1.3 times the size of Washington, DC ; Coastli ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tuamotus
The Tuamotu Archipelago or the Tuamotu Islands (french: Îles Tuamotu, officially ) are a French Polynesian chain of just under 80 islands and atolls in the southern Pacific Ocean. They constitute the largest chain of atolls in the world, extending (from northwest to southeast) over an area roughly the size of Western Europe. Their combined land area is . This archipelago's major islands are Anaa, Fakarava, Hao and Makemo. The Tuamotus have approximately 16,000 inhabitants. The islands were initially settled by Polynesians, and modern Tuamotuans have inherited from them a shared Polynesian culture, culture and the Tuamotuan language. The Tuamotus are a overseas collectivity, French overseas collectivity. History The early history of the Tuamotu islands is generally unknown. Archaeological findings suggest that the western Tuamotus were settled from the Society Islands as early as 900 CE or as late as 1200 CE. DNA evidence suggests that they were settled about 1110 CE. On the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Samoan Islands
The Samoan Islands ( sm, Motu o Sāmoa) are an archipelago covering in the central South Pacific, forming part of Polynesia and of the wider region of Oceania. Administratively, the archipelago comprises all of the Independent State of Samoa and most of American Samoa (apart from Swains Island, which is geographically part of the Tokelau Islands). The land masses of the two Samoan jurisdictions are separated by of ocean at their closest points. The population of the Samoan Islands is approximately 250,000. The inhabitants have in common the Samoan language, a culture known as '' fa'a Samoa,'' and an indigenous form of governance called '' fa'amatai''. Samoans are one of the largest Polynesian populations in the world, and most are of exclusively Samoan ancestry. The oldest known evidence of human activity in the Samoan Islands dates to around 1050 BCE. It comes from a Lapita site at Mulifanua wharf on Upolu island. In 1768, the eastern islands were visited by the French ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Northern Cook Islands
The Northern Cook Islands is one of the two chains of atolls which make up the Cook Islands. Lying in a horizontal band between 9° and 13°30' south of the Equator, the chain consists of the atolls of Manihiki, Nassau, Penrhyn, Pukapuka, Rakahanga and Suwarrow, along with the submerged Tema Reef. Geography The chain forms a roughly inverted triangular shape, stretching from Penrhyn in the northeast to Pukapuka in the northwest and to Suwarrow in the south. The Northern Cook Islands are separated from the Southern Cook Islands by a wide stretch of the Pacific Ocean, with the nearest part of the Southern chain being Palmerston Island, due south of Suwarrow. With an area of just 21 sq. km. and a population of 1,041 (according to the 2016 census), the islands only account for some 6% of the Cooks' population and 9% of the land area. Almost all of this population is on the three islands of Pukapuka, Manihiki, and Penrhyn. The two chains are also geographically different: although ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
