The São Tomé, Príncipe, and Annobón forests, also known as the São Tomé, Príncipe, and Annobón moist lowland forests, is a
tropical moist broadleaf forest 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 ...
that covers the islands of
São Tomé
São Tomé is the capital and largest city of the Central African island country of São Tomé and Príncipe. Its name is Portuguese for " Saint Thomas". Founded in the 15th century, it is one of Africa's oldest colonial cities.
History
Álvar ...
and
Príncipe
Príncipe is the smaller, northern major island of the country of São Tomé and Príncipe lying off the west coast of Africa in the Gulf of Guinea. It has an area of (including offshore islets) and a population of 7,324 at the 2012 Census; , which form the island nation of
São Tomé and Príncipe, as well as the island of
Annobón
Annobón ( es, Provincia de Annobón; pt, Ano-Bom), and formerly as ''Anno Bom'' and ''Annabona'', is a province (smallest province in both area and population) of Equatorial Guinea consisting of the island of Annobón, formerly also Pigalu a ...
, which is part of
Equatorial Guinea.
Setting
The three islands are
volcanic
A volcano is a rupture in the crust of a planetary-mass object, such as Earth, that allows hot lava, volcanic ash, and gases to escape from a magma chamber below the surface.
On Earth, volcanoes are most often found where tectonic plates a ...
, part of the
Cameroon Line of volcanoes that extends from Annobón in the southwest, through the islands of São Tomé, Príncipe, and Bioko, and onto the mainland as
Mount Cameroon
Mount Cameroon is an active volcano in the South West region of Cameroon next to the city of Buea near the Gulf of Guinea. Mount Cameroon is also known as Cameroon Mountain or Fako (the name of the higher of its two peaks) or by its indigenous n ...
and the volcanoes of the
Cameroon Highlands
The Western High Plateau, Western Highlands or Bamenda Grassfields is a region of Cameroon characterised by high relief, cool temperatures, heavy rainfall and savanna vegetation. The region lies along the Cameroon line and consists of mounta ...
.
Príncipe is the northernmost island, and lies closest to the African mainland, with an area of 128 km
2. São Tomé is the largest of the islands, approximately 836 km
2, and lies southwest of Príncipe. Annobón is the southernmost island and lies furthest from the African coast, with an area of 17 km
2. The islands are mountainous, with the highest peaks reaching to 2,024 meters on São Tomé (
Pico de São Tomé), 948 meters on Príncipe (
Pico do Príncipe), and 598 meters on Annobón (
Pico Quioveo).
Príncipe is the oldest of the islands, with the oldest rocks dating back 31 million years. São Tomé is 14 million years old, and Annobón 4.8 million years old. None of the islands have been connected to mainland Africa.
The Tinhosas islands are two unvegetated rocky islets lying 22 km south of Príncipe.
Tinhosa Grande has an area of 22 hectares, and reaches 56 meters elevation, and
Tinhosa Pequena is 3 hectares in area and 65 meters elevation.
[Christy, Patrice. "Important Bird Areas in Africa and associated islands – São Tomé and Príncipe" BirdLife International.] See also:
Wildlife of São Tomé and Príncipe.
Flora
The natural vegetation of the islands consisted of forests, which varied based on exposure and elevation, including wet lowland forests on the south and southwest portion of the islands, facing the prevailing winds, and drier lowland forests to the north and east in the islands' rain shadow. On São Tomé, lowland forests extend from sea level to 800 meters elevation, montane forests from 800 to 1400 meters elevation, and cloud forests above 1400 meters elevation. The upper montane forests and cloud forests include plants characteristic of
afromontane flora, including ''
Olea capensis
''Olea capensis'', the black ironwood, is an African tree species in the olive family Oleaceae. It is widespread in sub-Saharan Africa: from the east in Somalia, Ethiopia and Sudan, south to the tip of South Africa, and west to Cameroon, Sierra ...
,
Syzygium guineense'', and ''Pauridiantha floribunda'', and the endemic trees ''
Afrocarpus mannii,
Tabernaemontana stenosiphon,
Homalium henriquesii, Croton stelluliferus,
Polyscias quintasii
''Polyscias quintasii'' is a species of plant in the family Araliaceae. It is endemic to São Tomé and Príncipe. It was first described by Arthur Wallis Exell
Arthur Wallis Exell OBE (21 May 1901, in Birmingham – 15 January 1993, in Chel ...
,'' and ''Craterispermum montanum''.
There are 37 endemic plant species on Príncipe, 95 on São Tomé (along with one endemic genus), and 20 on Annobón. Only 16 of the islands' endemic plants are shared by more than one island.
Fauna
Birds
The islands are home to 143 species of birds, including 72 breeding resident species.
28 bird species, all forest dwellers, are endemic to ecoregion.
[ Seven species are endemic to Príncipe. The endemic subspecies of olive ibis on Príncipe, ''B. o. rothschildi'', is probably the rarest bird in the archipelago.] Sixteen species are endemic to São Tomé, with two endemic genera. These include the São Tomé ibis (''Bostrychia bocagei''), São Tomé olive pigeon
The São Tomé olive pigeon or maroon pigeon (''Columba thomensis'') is an endangered species of pigeon which is endemic to the island of São Tomé off the coast of western Africa. It was described by José Vicente Barbosa du Bocage in 1888.
...
(''Columba thomensis''), São Tomé scops-owl (''Otus hartlaubi''), São Tomé fiscal (''Lanius newtoni''), São Tomé shorttail (''Amaurocichla bocagii''), giant sunbird (''Nectarinia thomensis''), São Tomé grosbeak
The São Tomé grosbeak (''Crithagra concolor'') is the largest member of the canary genus ''Crithagra'', 50% heavier than the next largest canary species, and possesses a massive bill for a member of that genus. It is endemic to the island of S ...
(''Neospiza concolor'') and São Tomé oriole (''Oriolus crassirostris''). Annobón is home to the endemic Annobón white-eye (''Zosterops griseovirescens'') and Annobón paradise-flycatcher, (''Terpsiphone smithii''). An additional four endemic species inhabit two or more of the islands, including the Príncipe speirops (''Speirops leucophoeus'') and velvet-mantled drongo
The velvet-mantled drongo (''Dicrurus modestus'') is a species of bird in the family Dicruridae.
It is found from Nigeria and Cameroon to the Democratic Republic of Congo and Angola
, national_anthem = "Angola Avante"()
, image_ma ...
(''Dicrurus modestus''), which inhabit both São Tomé and Príncipe, and the São Tomé bronze-naped pigeon (''Columba malherbii'') which inhabits both São Tomé and Annobón.
The Tinhosas islands are home to the largest seabird colonies in the Gulf of Guinea, with breeding colonies of sooty terns (''Onychoprion fuscatus'', 100,000 breeding pairs), black noddies (''Anous minutus'', 10,000–20,000 breeding pairs), brown noddies (''Anous stolidus'', 4,000–8,000 breeding pairs), brown boobies
The brown booby (''Sula leucogaster'') is a large seabird of the booby family Sulidae, of which it is perhaps the most common and widespread species. It has a pantropical range, which overlaps with that of other booby species. The gregarious brow ...
(''Sula leucogaster,'' 1,500–3,000 breeding pairs) and small numbers of white-tailed tropicbird
The white-tailed tropicbird (''Phaethon lepturus'') is a tropicbird. It is the smallest of three closely related seabirds of the tropical oceans and smallest member of the order Phaethontiformes. It is found in the tropical Atlantic, western P ...
s (''Phaethon lepturus'').
Mammals
The ecoregion is home to three endemic mammal species: the São Tomé shrew (''Crocidura thomensis''), São Tomé collared fruit bat
The São Tomé collared fruit bat (''Myonycteris brachycephala'') is a species of megabat in the family Pteropodidae. It is endemic to São Tomé and Príncipe. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist and montane forest. It is t ...
(''Myonycteris brachycephala'') and São Tomé free-tailed bat (''Chaerephon tomensis'').
Protected areas
A 2017 assessment found that 323 km², or 33%, of the ecoregion is in protected areas.[Eric Dinerstein, David Olson, et al. (2017). An Ecoregion-Based Approach to Protecting Half the Terrestrial Realm, BioScience, Volume 67, Issue 6, June 2017, Pages 534–545; Supplemental material 2 table S1b]
/ref>
Protected areas in the ecoregion include Obo Natural Park, which includes the Tinhosas islands and portions of São Tomé and Príncipe islands, and the Annobón Natural Reserve on Annobón.
References
External links
*
Obo Natural Parks
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sao Tome and Principe moist lowland forests
Afromontane ecoregions
Afrotropical ecoregions
Ecoregions of Equatorial Guinea
Ecoregions of São Tomé and Príncipe
Environment of São Tomé and Príncipe
Geography of São Tomé and Príncipe
Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests