Rawaki is one of the

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 ...

in the

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

, also known by its previous name of Phoenix Island. It is a small, uninhabited

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 ...

, approximately in size and in area, with a shallow, brackish lagoon that is not connected to the open sea. It is located at . The island is designated as a wildlife sanctuary. Kiribati declared the

Phoenix Islands Protected Area The Phoenix Islands Protected Area (PIPA) is located in the Republic of Kiribati, an ocean nation in the central Pacific approximately midway between Australia and Hawaii. PIPA constitutes 11.34% of Kiribati's exclusive economic zone (EEZ), and ...

in 2006, with the park being expanded in 2008. The marine reserve contains eight coral atolls including Rawaki island.

Flora and fauna

Rawaki's flora and fauna

Rawaki has been described as being ham or pear shaped. Its highest elevation is approximately six meters. It is treeless, being covered mostly with herbs and grasses, and thus forms an excellent landing and nesting site for migratory seabirds and turtles. Unlike many other Pacific islands, no rats were noted on Rawaki during a 1924 scientific expedition. A colony of feral

rabbits Rabbits, also known as bunnies or bunny rabbits, are small mammals in the family Leporidae (which also contains the hares) of the order Lagomorpha (which also contains the pikas). ''Oryctolagus cuniculus'' includes the European rabbit specie ...

was introduced in the nineteenth century, but was eliminated in 2008. Rawaki has its own species of seabird tick, ''Ixodes amersoni''. It also boasts various species of flies, moths, leafhoppers, green bugs, and spiders. Sea birds consist of sooty, grey, and white terns; frigates, petrels and shearwaters; boobies, migratory plover and curlew. Rawaki has never been invaded by rats so the bird populations have survived.

Rawaki's reefs

The 2000 surveys (Obura, et al.) identified that sites on the reef averaged 60% Live Coral Cover with

coralline algae Coralline algae are red algae in the order Corallinales. They are characterized by a thallus that is hard because of calcareous deposits contained within the cell walls. The colors of these algae are most typically pink, or some other shade of re ...

as the next dominant cover category in shallow water. Unlike other islands in the Phoenix Group sites, branching corals were not dominant at Rawaki with highest cover contributed by encrusting/submassive colonies or coral plates. Massive corals were also significant in abundance, reflecting the origin of the coral bommies that form the main reef substrate of the sites. The most abundant coral species at Rawaki Island were: ''

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 colo ...

'', ''

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 ...

efflorescens'', ''

Cyphastrea ''Cyphastrea'' is a genus of massive reef building stony corals in the family Merulinidae Merulinidae is a family of reef-building stony corals. Characteristics All the genera in this family are colonial, reef-building corals. Skeletal struc ...

chalcidicum'', ''

Goniastrea stelligera ''Goniastrea stelligera'', commonly known as knob coral, is a species of stony coral in the family Merulinidae. It occurs in shallow water on the coast of East Africa and in the Indo-Pacific region. This is a common species of coral but it seems ...

'', '' Leptastrea purpurea'', ''

Montastraea ''Montastraea'' is a genus of colonial Scleractinia, stony coral found in the Caribbean seas. It is the only genus in the monotypic family Montastraeidae and contains a single species, ''Montastraea cavernosa'', known as great star coral. It form ...

annuligera'', ''

Pavona Pavona is a hamlet in Lazio, central Italy. It is a ''frazione'' of the ''comune'' (municipality) of Albano Laziale. However, its traditional territory is also included in those of Castel Gandolfo and Rome. Overview The Albano fraction include ...

varians'', ''

Pocillopora grandis ''Pocillopora grandis'', is a Colony (biology), colonial species of Scleractinia, stony coral in the family Pocilloporidae. It is known commonly as antler coral, and is found in the Indo-West Pacific to the Eastern Tropical Pacific. Distributio ...

'', '' Porites lutea''.

History

Unlike some other islands in the Phoenix group, Rawaki does not seem to have ever been inhabited by prehistoric Polynesians or other Pacific islanders. Rawaki was discovered on 23 February 1824 by Capt. John Palmer from the London whaling ship

Phoenix Phoenix most often refers to: * Phoenix (mythology), a legendary bird from ancient Greek folklore * Phoenix, Arizona, a city in the United States Phoenix may also refer to: Mythology Greek mythological figures * Phoenix (son of Amyntor), a ...

. It was claimed for the U.S. under the

Guano Islands Act The Guano Islands Act (, enacted August 18, 1856, codified at §§ 1411-1419) is a United States federal law passed by the U.S. Congress that enables citizens of the United States to take possession, in the name of the United States, of unclaim ...

on March 14, 1859, by C.A. Williams and Company, later the Phoenix Guano Company. The company mined guano on the island until the supply was exhausted in August 1871, when the islands were abandoned. This claim was later relinquished in the

Treaty of Tarawa On September 20, 1979, representatives of the newly independent Republic of Kiribati and of the United States met in Tarawa to sign a treaty of friendship between the two nations, known as the Treaty of Tarawa. More formally, the treaty is entit ...

. On June 29, 1889, a British protectorate was declared, and the island surveyed. On March 18, 1937, it was placed under the jurisdiction of the

Gilbert and Ellice Islands The Gilbert and Ellice Islands (GEIC as a colony) in the Pacific Ocean were part of the British Empire from 1892 to 1976. They were a protectorate from 1892 to 12 January 1916, and then a colony until 1 January 1976. The history of the colony w ...

. It later became part of

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

. In 2008, Rawaki was placed, together with the other

, within the

, one of the largest marine protected areas in the world.

References

External links

* {{coord, 3, 43, S, 170, 43, W, type:isle, display=title Phoenix Islands (Kiribati) Uninhabited islands of Kiribati History of Kiribati Pacific islands claimed under the Guano Islands Act Former populated places in Oceania Island restoration Atolls of Kiribati Former disputed islands