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Nikumaroro Pandanus AKK
Nikumaroro, previously known as Kemins Island or Gardner Island, is a part of the Phoenix Islands, Kiribati, in the western Pacific Ocean. It is a remote, elongated, triangular coral atoll with profuse vegetation and a large central marine lagoon. Nikumaroro is about long by wide. The rim has two narrow entrances, both of which are blocked by a wide reef, which is dry at low tide. The ocean beyond the reef is very deep, and the only anchorage is at the island's west end, across the reef from the ruins of a mid-20th-century British colonial village, but this is safe only with the southeast trade winds. Landing has always been difficult and is most often done south of the anchorage. Although occupied at various times during the past, the island is uninhabited today. Kiribati declared the Phoenix Islands Protected Area in 2006, with the park being expanded in 2008. The 425,300-km2 (164,200-mi2) marine reserve contains eight coral atolls including Nikumaroro. Nikumaroro has been t ... [...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] |
Bird
Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweight skeleton. Birds live worldwide and range in size from the bee hummingbird to the ostrich. There are about ten thousand living species, more than half of which are passerine, or "perching" birds. Birds have whose development varies according to species; the only known groups without wings are the extinct moa and elephant birds. Wings, which are modified forelimbs, gave birds the ability to fly, although further evolution has led to the loss of flight in some birds, including ratites, penguins, and diverse endemic island species. The digestive and respiratory systems of birds are also uniquely adapted for flight. Some bird species of aquatic environments, particularly seabirds and some waterbirds, have further evolved for swimming. B ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pocillopora Verrucosa
''Pocillopora verrucosa'', commonly known as cauliflower coral, rasp coral, or knob-horned coral, is a species of stony coral in the family Pocilloporidae. It is native to tropical and subtropical parts of the Indian and Pacific Oceans. Description ''Pocillopora verrucosa'' is a colonial coral and grows into hemispherical clumps up to in diameter. The branches are thick and usually have clubbed tips. The surface is covered with large verrucae (wart-like growths) up to high and the corallites (the stony cups from which the polyps emerge) are in diameter. The colour of this coral varies and it may be yellowish-green, pink, brown or bluish-brown. It differs from ''Pocillopora damicornis'' in having broader, somewhat flattened, club-tipped branches and by the fact that its verrucae are more evenly sized and spaced. Distribution and habitat ''Pocillopora verrucosa'' is native to the tropical and subtropical parts of the Indian and Pacific Oceans. Its wide range extends from East ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Leptastrea
''Leptastrea'' is a genus of massive reef building stony corals known primarily from the Indo-Pacific. Although previously assigned to Faviidae, Budd et al. (2012) assigned it to Scleractinia ''incertae sedis'' based on phylogenetic results demonstrating the polyphyly of Faviidae.Budd, Ann F.; Fukami, Hironobu; Smith, Nathan D.; Knowlton, Nancy (2012). "Taxonomic classification of the reef coral family Mussidae (Cnidaria: Anthozoa: Scleractinia)". Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. 166 (3): 465–529. doi:10.1111/j.1096-3642.2012.00855.x. Species The World Register of Marine Species lists the following species: *''Leptastrea aequalis'' Veron, 2000 *''Leptastrea bewickensis'' Veron, Pichon, and Best, 1977Fenner, Douglas (2005). ''Corals of Hawai'i : field guide to the hard, black, and soft corals of Hawai'i and the northwest Hawaiian Islands, including Midway.'' Honolulu, Hawai'i: Mutual Pub. . *''Leptastrea bottae'' (Milne Edwards and Haime, 1849) *''Leptastrea inaequalis ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Favites Pentagona
''Favites pentagona'' is a species of stony coral in the family Merulinidae, sometimes known as larger star coral. It is native to the Indo-Pacific region and its range extends from the Red Sea through the Indian Ocean to the Western Pacific Ocean. This is a common species throughout its wide range and the International Union for Conservation of Nature has rated its conservation status as being of "least concern". Description Colonies of ''Favites pentagona'' are encrusting or massive, sometimes with lobes forming irregular columns. The colony may spread to about a metre (yard) across. The corallites are less than in diameter. The corallite walls are sharply-angled and thin, and several polyps may share a common wall. The palliform lobes are clearly visible on the oral disc and there are a small number of septa. This coral is often vividly coloured, with contrasting (often green) oral discs and brown, red or purple coenosarc, the living tissue that covers the skeleton between th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Montipora
''Montipora'' is a genus of Scleractinian corals in the phylum Cnidaria. Members of the genus ''Montipora'' may exhibit many different growth morphologies. With eighty five known species, ''Montipora'' is the second most species rich coral genus after ''Acropora''. Description Growth morphologies for the genus ''Montipora'' include submassive, laminar, foliaceous, encrusting, and branching. It is not uncommon for a single ''Montipora'' colony to display more than one growth morphology. Healthy ''Montipora'' corals can be a variety of colors, including orange, brown, pink, green, blue, purple, yellow, grey, or tan. Although they are typically uniform in color, some species, such as ''Montipora spumosa'' or ''Montipora verrucosa'', may display a mottled appearance. ''Montipora'' corals have the smallest corallites of any coral family. Columellae are not present. Coenosteum and corallite walls are porous, which can result in elaborate structures. The coenosteum of each ''Monti ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Acropora Cytherea
''Acropora cytherea'' is a stony coral which forms horizontal table like structures. It occurs in the Indo-Pacific Ocean in areas with little wave action, favouring back reef environments from depth. Description ''Acropora cytherea'' is a colonial species of coral that grows in large horizontal plates. These are formed of many tiny branchlets growing vertically or at an angle and others growing horizontally to extend the colony. They may branch and link together and near the centre the plates may become a solid mass of joined branchlets. The surface of the coral is covered by a thin layer of living tissue. This has a rough surface and contains ''zooxanthella'', symbiotic, unicellular, photosynthetic algae. These give the coral its cream or pale brown colour (occasionally pale blue). The calcium carbonate skeleton is secreted by many small polyps which are joined together through an interconnecting network of channels inside the skeleton. At night, and sometimes during the day, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Acroporidae
Acroporidae is a family of small polyped stony corals in the phylum Cnidaria. The name is derived from the Greek ''"akron"'' meaning "summit" and refers to the presence of a corallite at the tip of each branch of coral. They are commonly known as staghorn corals and are grown in aquaria by reef hobbyists. Description Staghorn corals are the dominant group of reef builders. They come in many shapes and sizes and can be highly variable in colour and form, even within the same species. Most are either a branching variant or a wall/ table top variant shaped and some are encrusting. Encrusting means they grow over rock structure. the Their colours vary between browns, whites, pinks, blues, yellows, greens and purple, depending not only on species but also on the growing conditions. Identification is difficult and requires close examination of the corallites and a biochemical and genetic analysis. There is a corallite at the tip of each branch and, with the exception of ''Astreopora ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Porites
''Porites'' is a genus of stony coral; they are small polyp stony (SPS) corals. They are characterised by a finger-like morphology. Members of this genus have widely spaced calices, a well-developed wall reticulum and are bilaterally symmetrical. ''Porites'', particularly '' Porites lutea'', often form microatolls. Corals of the genus ''Porites'' also often serve as hosts for Christmas tree worms (''Spirobranchus giganteus''). Aquarium trade Specimens of ''Porites'' are sometimes available for purchase in the aquarium trade. Due to the strict water quality, lighting and dietary requirements, keeping ''Porites'' in captivity is very difficult. Paleoclimatology Porites corals have been shown to be accurate and precise recorders of past marine surface conditions. Measurements of the oxygen isotopic composition of the aragonitic skeleton of coral specimens indicate the sea-surface temperature conditions and the oxygen isotopic composition of the seawater at the time of growth. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Red-tailed Tropicbird
The red-tailed tropicbird (''Phaethon rubricauda'') is a seabird native to tropical parts of the Indian and Pacific Oceans. One of three closely related species of tropicbird (Phaethontidae), it was described by Pieter Boddaert in 1783. Superficially resembling a tern in appearance, it has almost all-white plumage with a black mask and a red bill. The sexes have similar plumage. As referenced in the common name, adults have red that are about twice their body length. Four subspecies are recognised, but there is evidence of clinal variation in body size—with smaller birds in the north and larger in the south—and hence no grounds for subspecies. The red-tailed tropicbird eats fish—mainly flying fish and squid—after catching them by plunge-diving into the ocean. Nesting takes place in loose colonies on oceanic islands; the nest itself is a scrape found on a cliff face, in a crevice, or on a sandy beach. A single egg is laid, then is incubated by both sexes for about six ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Important Bird Area
An Important Bird and Biodiversity Area (IBA) is an area identified using an internationally agreed set of criteria as being globally important for the conservation of bird populations. IBA was developed and sites are identified by BirdLife International. There are over 13,000 IBAs worldwide. These sites are small enough to be entirely conserved and differ in their character, habitat or ornithological importance from the surrounding habitat. In the United States the Program is administered by the National Audubon Society. Often IBAs form part of a country's existing protected area network, and so are protected under national legislation. Legal recognition and protection of IBAs that are not within existing protected areas varies within different countries. Some countries have a National IBA Conservation Strategy, whereas in others protection is completely lacking. History In 1985, following a specific request from the European Economic Community, Birdlife International ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bottlenose Dolphin
Bottlenose dolphins are aquatic mammals in the genus ''Tursiops.'' They are common, cosmopolitan members of the family Delphinidae, the family of oceanic dolphins. Molecular studies show the genus definitively contains two species: the common bottlenose dolphin (''Tursiops truncatus'') and the Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphin (''Tursiops aduncus''). Others, like the Burrunan dolphin (''Tursiops (aduncus) australis''), may be alternately considered their own species or be subspecies of ''T. aduncus''. Bottlenose dolphins inhabit warm and temperate seas worldwide, being found everywhere except for the Arctic and Antarctic Circle regions. Their name derives from the Latin ''tursio'' (dolphin) and ''truncatus'' for their characteristic truncated teeth. Numerous investigations of bottlenose dolphin intelligence have been conducted, examining mimicry, use of artificial language, object categorization, and self-recognition. They can use tools (sponging; using marine sponges to forage ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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