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Wildlife Of Bermuda
The flora and fauna of Bermuda form part of a unique ecosystem due to Bermuda's isolation from the mainland of North America. The wide range of endemic species and the islands form a distinct ecoregion, the Bermuda subtropical conifer forests. Setting Located 900 km off the American East Coast, Bermuda is a crescent-shaped chain of 184 islands and islets that were once the rim of a volcano. The islands are slightly hilly rather than having steep cliffs, with the highest point being 79m. The coast has many bays and inlets, with sandy beaches especially on the south coasts. Bermuda has a semi-tropical climate, warmed by the Gulf Stream current. Bermuda is very densely populated. Twenty of the islands are inhabited. Wildlife that could fly to the island or were carried there by winds and currents formed the species. There are no native mammals other than bats, and only two reptiles, but large numbers of birds, plants, and insects. Once on the island, organisms had to adap ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Habitat Destruction
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 reducing biodiversity and species abundance. Habitat destruction is the leading cause of biodiversity loss. Fragmentation and loss of habitat have become one of the most important topics of research in ecology as they are major threats to the survival of endangered species. Activities such as harvesting natural resources, industrial production and urbanization are human contributions to habitat destruction. Pressure from agriculture is the principal human cause. Some others include mining, logging, trawling, and urban sprawl. Habitat destruction is currently considered the primary cause of species extinction worldwide. Environmental factors can contribute to habitat destruction more indirectly. Geological processes, climate change, introdu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Roystonea
''Roystonea'' is a genus of eleven species of monoecious palms, native to the Caribbean Islands, and the adjacent coasts of the United States (Florida), Central America and northern South America. Commonly known as the royal palms, the genus was named after Roy Stone, a U.S. Army engineer. It contains some of the most recognizable and commonly cultivated palms in tropical and subtropical regions. Description ''Roystonea'' is a genus of large, unarmed, single-stemmed palms with pinnate leaves. The large stature and striking appearance of a ''Roystonea'' palm makes it a notable aspect of the landscape. The stems, which were compared to stone columns by Louis and Elizabeth Agassiz in 1868, are smooth and columnar, although the trunks of '' R. altissima'' and '' R. maisiana'' are more slender than those of typical royal palms. Stems often are swollen and bulging along portions of their length, which may reflect years where growing conditions were better or worse than aver ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chiococca Alba
''Chiococca alba'' is a species of flowering plant in the coffee family (Rubiaceae) native to Florida and the extreme southern tip of Texas in the United States, Bermuda, Mexico, Central America, the Caribbean, the Galápagos, and tropical South America. Common names include David's milkberry, West Indian milkberry, cahinca and West Indian snowberry. The specific epithet, ''alba'', means "white" in Latin and refers to the color of its fruits. Description West Indian milkberry is an evergreen woody vine or scrambling shrub that often grows on other vegetation and may reach a height of . The opposite, simple leaves are long and may be elliptic to ovate or broadly lanceolate in shape. Yellow, bell-shaped flowers up to in length appear throughout the year on racemes or panicles of six of to eight. The fruit is a white drupe in diameter that generally contains two dark brown seeds. Taxonomy ''Lonicera alba'' was described in 1753 by Carl Linnaeus. It was moved to ''Chiococca ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cassine Laneana
''Cassine laneana'', commonly known as the Bermuda olivewood, is a species of large tree in the staff vine family, Celastraceae, that is endemic to the islands of Bermuda. Although once found in the extensive subtropical coniferous forests that covered the islands, it is currently restricted to small protected areas, such as Spittal Pond. ''C. laneana'' can grow anywhere from tall, with leaves that are long and wide. The leaves are also a deep green colour when they are older and a bright green colour when they are younger. ''C. laneana'' flowers in late spring and early summer and produces a small ovate berry that is an olive colour and long. The Bermuda olivewood did not have very much use in Bermuda's history, although it played a huge part in it. It has huge boughs that are highly woody. The crown is naturally grown into a sphere shape. ''C. laneana'' is often used as an ornamental tree, lining the streets of Hamilton and providing shade in the Bermuda Botanical Garden ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Arecaceae
The Arecaceae is a family of perennial flowering plants in the monocot order Arecales. Their growth form can be climbers, shrubs, tree-like and stemless plants, all commonly known as palms. Those having a tree-like form are called palm trees. Currently, 181 genera with around 2,600 species are known, most of which are restricted to tropical and subtropical climates. Most palms are distinguished by their large, compound, evergreen leaves, known as fronds, arranged at the top of an unbranched stem. However, palms exhibit an enormous diversity in physical characteristics and inhabit nearly every type of habitat within their range, from rainforests to deserts. Palms are among the best known and most extensively cultivated plant families. They have been important to humans throughout much of history. Many common products and foods are derived from palms. In contemporary times, palms are also widely used in landscaping. In many historical cultures, because of their importance as ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sabal Bermudana
''Sabal bermudana'', commonly known as the Bermuda palmetto or bibby-tree, is one of 15 species of palm trees in the genus ''Sabal'' and is endemic to Bermuda although reportedly naturalized in the Leeward Islands. It was greatly affected by the introduction of non-native plants such as the Chinese fan palm, which created competition for space that it usually lost. Description ''Sabal bermudana'' grows up to in height, with the occasional old tree growing up to in height, with a trunk up to in diameter. It is a fan palm (Arecaceae tribe Corypheae), with the leaves with a bare petiole terminating in a rounded fan of numerous leaflets. Each leaf is long, with 45-60 leaflets up to long. The flowers are yellowish-white, across, produced in large panicles up to long, extending out beyond the leaves. The fruit is a deep brown to black drupe about long containing a single seed. It is extremely salt-tolerant and is often seen growing near the Atlantic Ocean coast in Bermuda, a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Scale Insect
Scale insects are small insects of the order Hemiptera, suborder Sternorrhyncha. Of dramatically variable appearance and extreme sexual dimorphism, they comprise the infraorder Coccomorpha which is considered a more convenient grouping than the superfamily Coccoidea due to taxonomic uncertainties. Adult females typically have soft bodies and no limbs, and are concealed underneath domed scales, extruding quantities of wax for protection. Some species are hermaphroditic, with a combined ovotestis instead of separate ovaries and testes. Males, in the species where they occur, have legs and sometimes wings, and resemble small flies. Scale insects are herbivores, piercing plant tissues with their mouthparts and remaining in one place, feeding on sap. The excess fluid they imbibe is secreted as honeydew on which sooty mold tends to grow. The insects often have a mutualistic relationship with ants, which feed on the honeydew and protect them from predators. There are about 8,000 descr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shipbuilding
Shipbuilding is the construction of ships and other floating vessels. It normally takes place in a specialized facility known as a shipyard. Shipbuilders, also called shipwrights, follow a specialized occupation that traces its roots to before recorded history. Shipbuilding and ship repairs, both commercial and military, are referred to as "naval engineering". The construction of boats is a similar activity called boat building. The dismantling of ships is called ship breaking. History Pre-history The earliest known depictions (including paintings and models) of shallow-water sailing boats is from the 6th to 5th millennium BC of the Ubaid period of Mesopotamia. They were made from bundled reeds coated in bitumen and had bipod masts. They sailed in shallow coastal waters of the Persian Gulf. 4th millennium BC Ancient Egypt Evidence from Ancient Egypt shows that the early Egyptians knew how to assemble planks of wood into a ship hull as early as 3100 BC. Egyptian potte ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mangrove Swamp
Mangrove forests, also called mangrove swamps, mangrove thickets or mangals, are productive wetlands that occur in coastal intertidal zones. Mangrove forests grow mainly at tropical and subtropical latitudes because mangroves cannot withstand freezing temperatures. There are about 80 different species of mangroves, all of which grow in areas with low-oxygen soil, where slow-moving waters allow fine sediments to accumulate.What is a mangrove forest? National Ocean Service, NOAA. Updated: 25 March 2021. Retrieved: 4 October 2021. Many mangrove forests can be recognised by their dense tangle of prop roots that make the trees appear to be standing on stilts above the water. This tangle of roots allows the trees to handle the daily rise and fall of tides, which means that most mangroves get flooded at least twice per day. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Juniperus Bermudiana
''Juniperus bermudiana'' is a species of juniper endemic to Bermuda. This species is most commonly known as Bermuda cedar, but is also referred to as Bermuda juniper ( Bermudians refer to it simply as ''cedar''). Historically, this tree formed woodland that covered much of Bermuda. Settlers cleared part of the forest and the tree was used for many purposes including building construction and was especially prized for shipbuilding. Scale insects introduced during the Second World War construction of United States airbases in Bermuda devastated the forests, killing over 99% of the species (an event known in Bermuda as 'the Blight' or 'the Cedar Blight'). Since then, the salt tolerant ''Casuarina equisetifolia'' has been planted as a replacement species, and a small number of Bermuda cedars have been found to be resistant to the scale insects. Populations of certain endemic birds which had co-evolved with the tree have plummeted as a result of its demise, while endemic cigalas (or c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vascular Plant
Vascular plants (), also called tracheophytes () or collectively Tracheophyta (), form a large group of land plants ( accepted known species) that have lignified tissues (the xylem) for conducting water and minerals throughout the plant. They also have a specialized non-lignified tissue (the phloem) to conduct products of photosynthesis. Vascular plants include the clubmosses, horsetails, ferns, gymnosperms (including conifers), and angiosperms (flowering plants). Scientific names for the group include Tracheophyta, Tracheobionta and Equisetopsida ''sensu lato''. Some early land plants (the rhyniophytes) had less developed vascular tissue; the term eutracheophyte has been used for all other vascular plants, including all living ones. Historically, vascular plants were known as "higher plants", as it was believed that they were further evolved than other plants due to being more complex organisms. However, this is an antiquated remnant of the obsolete scala naturae, and the term ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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