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Rarotonga, Cook Islands
Rarotonga is the largest and most populous of the Cook Islands. The island is volcanic, with an area of , and is home to almost 75% of the country's population, with 13,007 of a total population of 17,434. The Cook Islands' Parliament buildings and Rarotonga International Airport, international airport are on Rarotonga. Rarotonga is a very popular tourist destination with many resorts, hotels and motels. The chief town, Avarua, on the north coast, is the capital of the Cook Islands. Captain John Dibbs, master of the colonial brig ''Endeavour'', is credited as the European discoverer on 25 July 1823, while transporting the missionary Reverend John Williams (missionary), John Williams. Geography Rarotonga is a kidney-shaped volcanic island, in circumference, and wide on its longest (east-west) axis. The island is the summit of an extinct Pliocene or Pleistocene volcano, which rises 5000 meters from the seafloor. The island was formed between 2.3 to 1.6 million years ago, with ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Te Manga
Te Manga, on Rarotonga, is the highest point of the Cook Islands, a self-governing parliamentary democracy in free association with New Zealand, with an elevation of 652 meters (2,139 ft) above sea level. See also * Geography of the Cook Islands External links *Te Manga, Rarotonga Tramping New Zealand. Rarotonga Te Manga Te Manga, on Rarotonga, is the highest point of the Cook Islands, a self-governing parliamentary democracy in free association with New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It co ... Mountains of Oceania {{CookIslands-geo-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Avatiu Stream
The Avatiu Stream is the largest watercourse on Rarotonga. It rises in the central mountains beneath Te Rua Manga and flows north to the sea at Avatiu Avatiu is a settlement on Rarotonga in the Cook Islands. It is located on the north coast to the west of the capital Avarua and is the location of Rarotonga's main port. Notable buildings include a Mormon church and family history centre, and a b .... The stream flows at a constant grade of 4.5% and has a length of . In 2018 a heavy downpour caused the stream to overflow its banks and flood businesses in Avatiu. In July 2020 the stream dried up due to low rainfall. References Rivers of the Cook Islands Rarotonga {{CookIslands-river-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
BirdLife International
BirdLife International is a global partnership of non-governmental organizations that strives to conserve birds and their habitats. BirdLife International's priorities include preventing extinction of bird species, identifying and safeguarding important sites for birds, maintaining and restoring key bird habitats, and empowering conservationists worldwide. It has a membership of more than 2.5 million people across 116 country partner organizations, including the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, the Wild Bird Society of Japan, the National Audubon Society and American Bird Conservancy. BirdLife International has identified 13,000 Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas and is the official International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List authority for birds. As of 2015, BirdLife International has established that 1,375 bird species (13% of the total) are threatened with extinction ( critically endangered, endangered or vulnerable). BirdLife International p ... [...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] |
Rarotonga Starling
The Rarotonga starling (''Aplonis cinerascens'') is a species of starling in the family Sturnidae. It is endemic to the Cook Islands. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist montane forests. It is threatened by habitat loss Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss and habitat reduction) is the process by which a natural habitat becomes incapable of supporting its native species. The organisms that previously inhabited the site are displaced or dead, thereby .... References External linksBirdLife Species Factsheet Rarotonga starling [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rarotonga Fruit Dove
The lilac-crowned fruit dove (''Ptilinopus rarotongensis'') is a species of bird in the family Columbidae. It is endemic to the Cook Islands. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests. It is threatened by habitat loss. Subspecies * ''P. r. rarotongensis'' Hartlaub & Finsch, 1871 – Rarotonga * ''P. r. goodwini'' Holyoak, 1974 – Atiu Atiu, also known as Enuamanu (meaning ''land of the birds''), is an island of the Cook Islands archipelago, lying in the central-southern Pacific Ocean. Part of the Nga-pu-Toru, it is northeast of Rarotonga. The island's population has dropped b ... References lilac-crowned fruit dove Birds of the Cook Islands lilac-crowned fruit dove Taxonomy articles created by Polbot {{CookIslands-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Threatened Species
Threatened species are any species (including animals, plants and fungi) which are vulnerable to endangerment in the near future. Species that are threatened are sometimes characterised by the population dynamics measure of ''critical depensation'', a mathematical measure of biomass related to population growth rate. This quantitative metric is one method of evaluating the degree of endangerment. IUCN definition The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is the foremost authority on threatened species, and treats threatened species not as a single category, but as a group of three categories, depending on the degree to which they are threatened: *Vulnerable species *Endangered species * Critically endangered species Less-than-threatened categories are near threatened, least concern, and the no longer assigned category of conservation dependent. Species which have not been evaluated (NE), or do not have sufficient data ( data deficient) also are not considered ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rarotonga Monarch
The Rarotonga monarch (''Pomarea dimidiata''), also known as the Rarotonga flycatcher or ''kakerori'', is a species of bird in the monarch flycatcher family Monarchidae. It is endemic to the Cook Islands. Taxonomy and systematics The Rarotonga monarch was originally described in the genus ''Monarcha''. Alternate names include Cook Island flycatcher, Cook Islands monarch, and Rarotonga monarch-flycatcher. Description The Rarotonga monarch is a most unusual bird in a number of ways, including being the only bird known to undergo sequential changes in plumage as it grows. The initial plumage of orange to orange-grey changes to pure grey when maturity is reached after four years. Behaviour and ecology Owing to its tropical oceanic island location, the Rarotonga monarch is exceptionally long-lived for a bird with a mass of only , having an adult survival of between 85 and 89 percent, a life expectancy of seven to nine years, and a maximum lifespan of around 24 years. These figures ar ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vulnerable Species
A vulnerable species is a species which has been Conservation status, categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as being threatened species, threatened with extinction unless the circumstances that are threatened species, threatening its survival and reproduction improve. Vulnerability is mainly caused by habitat loss or destruction of the species' home. Vulnerable habitat or species are monitored and can become increasingly threatened. Some species listed as "vulnerable" may be common in captivity (animal), captivity, an example being the military macaw. There are currently 5196 animals and 6789 plants classified as Vulnerable, compared with 1998 levels of 2815 and 3222, respectively. Practices such as cryoconservation of animal genetic resources have been enforced in efforts to conserve vulnerable breeds of livestock specifically. Criteria The International Union for Conservation of Nature uses several criteria to enter species in this category. A tax ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
List Of Birds Of The Cook Islands
This is a list of the bird species recorded in the Cook Islands. The avifauna of the Cook Islands include a total of 88 species, of which 7 are endemic and 3 have been introduced by humans. This list's taxonomic treatment (designation and sequence of orders, families and species) and nomenclature (common and scientific names) follow the conventions of ''The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World'', 2022 edition. The family accounts at the beginning of each heading reflect this taxonomy, as do the species counts found in each family account. Introduced and accidental species are included in the total counts for the Cook Islands. The following tags have been used to highlight several categories. Not all species fall into one of these categories. Those that do not are commonly occurring native species. *(A) Accidental - a species that rarely or accidentally occurs in the Cook Islands *(E) Endemic - a species endemic to the Cook Islands *(Ex) Extinct - a species extinct to the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Muri Lagoon
The Muri Lagoon is a lagoon in the district of Ngatangiia on the eastern coast of Rarotonga in the Cook Islands. The lagoon is a significant tourist attraction and the largest tourism revenue earner in the Cook Islands, accounting for 25% of tourism bed usage on Rarotonga. In 2015 the Cook Islands government declared the environmental condition of the lagoon a national disaster. Geography The lagoon is approximately wide has a maximum depth of . It is bounded on the north by Ngatangiia harbour, and the south by the ''motu'' of Taakoka. It contains three small islets or ''motu''. From north to south, the islets are: #Motutapu, #Oneroa, #Koromiri, The islet of Taakoka () forms the southern boundary of lagoon. The Avana and Turangi streams both flow into the lagoon. Water circulation is driven by waves breaking across the reef, with outflow through the Ngatangiia Harbour. Pollution The lagoon is heavily polluted, with nitrogen from agricultural runoff and leaking septic tanks l ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lagoon
A lagoon is a shallow body of water separated from a larger body of water by a narrow landform, such as reefs, barrier islands, barrier peninsulas, or isthmuses. Lagoons are commonly divided into ''coastal lagoons'' (or ''barrier lagoons'') and ''atoll lagoons''. They have also been identified as occurring on mixed-sand and gravel coastlines. There is an overlap between bodies of water classified as coastal lagoons and bodies of water classified as estuaries. Lagoons are common coastal features around many parts of the world. Definition and terminology Lagoons are shallow, often elongated bodies of water separated from a larger body of water by a shallow or exposed shoal, coral reef, or similar feature. Some authorities include fresh water bodies in the definition of "lagoon", while others explicitly restrict "lagoon" to bodies of water with some degree of salinity. The distinction between "lagoon" and "estuary" also varies between authorities. Richard A. Davis Jr. restrict ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
