The Eastern Micronesia tropical moist forests is a

tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests (TSMF), also known as tropical moist forest, is a subtropical and tropical forest habitat type defined by the World Wide Fund for Nature. Description TSMF is generally found in large, discon ...

ecoregion An ecoregion (ecological region) or ecozone (ecological zone) is an ecologically and geographically defined area that is smaller than a bioregion, which in turn is smaller than a biogeographic realm. Ecoregions cover relatively large areas of ...

Micronesia Micronesia (, ) is a subregion of Oceania, consisting of about 2,000 small islands in the western Pacific Ocean. It has a close shared cultural history with three other island regions: the Philippines to the west, Polynesia to the east, and ...

. It includes the

Marshall Islands The Marshall Islands ( mh, Ṃajeḷ), officially the Republic of the Marshall Islands ( mh, Aolepān Aorōkin Ṃajeḷ),'' () is an independent island country and microstate near the Equator in the Pacific Ocean, slightly west of the Intern ...

Banaba BanabaThe correct spelling and etymology in Gilbertese should be ''Bwanaba'' but the Constitution of Kiribati writes Banaba. Because of the spelling in English or French, the name was very often written Paanapa or Paanopa, as it was in 1901 Ac ...

and the Gilbert Islands in

Kiribati Kiribati (), officially the Republic of Kiribati ( gil, ibaberikiKiribati),Kiribati
''The Wor ...

, Nauru, and

Wake Island Wake Island ( mh, Ānen Kio, translation=island of the kio flower; also known as Wake Atoll) is a coral atoll in the western Pacific Ocean in the northeastern area of the Micronesia subregion, east of Guam, west of Honolulu, southeast of T ...

, a possession of the United States.

Geography

The islands are mostly

atoll An atoll () is a ring-shaped island, including a coral rim that encircles a lagoon partially or completely. There may be coral islands or cays on the rim. Atolls are located in warm tropical or subtropical oceans and seas where corals can gr ...

s, low islands of coralline sand ringing a central lagoon, or raised platforms of coralline limestone. There are 30 atolls in the Marshall Islands, made up of more than 1000 islands. They form two parallel island chains that run southwest to northeast, extending 1,300 km from east to west and 1,150 km north to south. The western Ralik, or "sunset" chain extends from Eniwetok to Ebon, and the eastern Ratak or "sunrise" chain from Taongi and Rongelap to Mili. The Gilbert Islands lie southeast of the Marshall Islands, and include 16 atolls and coral islands. Nauru and

are low islands composed of uplifted coralline limestone lying west of the Gilbert Islands. Nauru is an independent country, and Banaba is part of Kiribati. Wake Island is an isolated atoll north of the Marshall Islands.

Climate

The climate of the islands is tropical, with little seasonal temperature variation. The central part of the ecoregion lies in the trade wind belt, and receives the highest rainfall, up to 3000 mm annually. The northern islands, including the northern Marshalls and Wake island, are drier, as are the southern Gilberts. May through November are generally the wettest months. The Marshalls experience

typhoon A typhoon is a mature tropical cyclone that develops between 180° and 100°E in the Northern Hemisphere. This region is referred to as the Northwestern Pacific Basin, and is the most active tropical cyclone basin on Earth, accounting for a ...

Flora

The predominant vegetation on wetter islands is tropical moist forest. Forests nearer the shore are of short to medium stature, with the trees '' Heliotropium foertherianum,

Guettarda speciosa ''Guettarda speciosa'', with common names sea randa, or zebra wood, is a species of shrub in the family Rubiaceae found in coastal habitats in tropical areas around the Pacific Ocean, including the coastline of central and northern Queensland an ...

Pisonia grandis ''Pisonia grandis'', the grand devil's-claws, is a species of flowering tree in the ''Bougainvillea'' family, Nyctaginaceae. Description The tree has broad, thin leaves, smooth bark and bears clusters of green sweet-smelling flowers that matu ...

Pandanus tectorius ''Pandanus tectorius'' is a species of ''Pandanus'' (screwpine) that is native to Malesia, Papuasia, eastern Australia, and the Pacific Islands. It grows in the coastal lowlands typically near the edge of the ocean. Common names in English incl ...

, Allophylus timorensis,

Cordia subcordata ''Cordia subcordata'' is a species of flowering tree in the borage family, Boraginaceae, that occurs in eastern Africa, South Asia, Southeast Asia, northern Australia and the Pacific Islands (including Hawaii). The plant is known by a variety o ...

, Hernandia nymphaeifolia'', and ''

Thespesia populnea ''Thespesia populnea'', commonly known as the portia tree (), Pacific rosewood, Indian tulip tree, or milo, among other names, is a species of flowering plant belonging to the mallow family, Malvaceae. It is a tree found commonly on coasts ar ...

''. In the island interiors, mature forests of ''

Ochrosia oppositifolia ''Ochrosia oppositifolia'' grows as a small to medium-sized tree up to tall, with a trunk diameter of up to . Its flowers feature a creamy to white corolla. Its habitat is coastal forest, bush or open areas to altitude, rarely inland. Local med ...

'' can grow in pure stands on the more humid islands. ''

'' also occurs in monospecific stands, and can grow up to 30 meters tall with trunks more than two meters in diameter. The mature ''Ochrosia'' and ''Pisonia'' forests form a dense canopy, and little grows in the shady understory. On drier islands and in areas exposed to salt spray, vegetation includes low grasses and beach creepers, coastal scrub, and low-canopied mixed forests. The flora is mostly of widespread coastal

Indo-Pacific The Indo-Pacific is a vast biogeographic region of Earth. In a narrow sense, sometimes known as the Indo-West Pacific or Indo-Pacific Asia, it comprises the tropical waters of the Indian Ocean, the western and central Pacific Ocean, and the ...

species, with relatively few endemic species.

Fauna

Native vertebrates are chiefly seabirds, which form large colonies on many islands. The

Insular flying fox The insular flying fox or Pacific flying fox (''Pteropus tonganus'') is a species of flying fox in the family Pteropodidae. It is geographically widespread, the most widespread flying fox in the Pacific: it is found in American Samoa, the Cook I ...

(''Pteropus tonganus'') and

Pacific sheath-tailed bat The Pacific sheath-tailed bat or Polynesian sheath-tailed bat (''Emballonura semicaudata'') is a species of sac-winged bat in the family Emballonuridae found in American Samoa, Fiji, Guam, Micronesia, Palau, Samoa (where it is called ''pe'a vai, ...

(''Emballonura semicaudata'') are the only native non-marine mammals. The

Nauru reed warbler The Nauru reed warbler ( na, itsirir) (''Acrocephalus rehsei'') is a passerine bird endemism, endemic to the island of Nauru in the Pacific Ocean. It is one of only two native breeding land-birds on Nauru and it is the only passerine found on th ...

(''Acrocephalus rehsei'') is endemic to Nauru.

Protected areas

8.2% of the ecoregion is in protected areas.

References

External links

*{{WWF ecoregion, name=Eastern Micronesia tropical moist forests, id=oc0104
Eastern Micronesia tropical moist forests (DOPA)

Eastern Micronesia tropical moist forests (Encyclopedia of Earth)
Ecoregions of Kiribati Biota of the Marshall Islands Environment of the Marshall Islands Geography of the Marshall Islands Environment of Nauru Geography of Nauru Ecoregions of the United States Oceanian ecoregions Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests