|
ÃŽle Vache Marine
Sea Cow Island, also known as ÃŽle Vache Marine, is a round 18 ha island on the Great Chagos Bank atoll of the Chagos Archipelago in the British Indian Ocean Territory. History It was named after the dugongs that were once abundant in the area, although they have since become regionally extinct. It is the smaller of the two islands in the Eagle Islands group on the western side of the atoll and forms part of the Chagos Archipelago strict nature reserve. It has been identified as an Important Bird Area by 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 i ... because of its significance as a breeding site for brown noddies, of which 11,500 pairs were recorded in a 2004 survey. The whole shore of this island and some of the interior can be explored thro ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eagle Islands ISS006
Eagle is the common name for the golden eagle, bald eagle, and other birds of prey in the family of the Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of genera, some of which are closely related. True eagles comprise the genus '' Aquila''. Most of the 68 species of eagles are from Eurasia and Africa. Outside this area, just 14 species can be found—two in North America, nine in Central and South America, and three in Australia. Eagles are not a natural group but denote essentially any kind of bird of prey large enough to hunt sizeable (about 50 cm long or more overall) vertebrates. Etymology The word "eagle" is borrowed into English from and , both derived ultimately from ("eagle"). It is cognate with terms such as , and . It is broadly synonymous with the less common English term "erne" or "earn", deriving from , from , in which it acts as the usual word for the bird. The Old English term is turn derived from and is cognate with other synonymous words in Germanic la ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Great Chagos Bank
The Great Chagos Bank, in the Chagos Archipelago, about south of Maldives, is the largest atoll structure in the world, with a total area of . Islands Despite its enormous size, the Great Chagos Bank is largely a submarine structure. There are only four emerging reefs, mostly located on the western rim of the atoll, except for lonely Nelson Island, which lies wholly isolated in the middle of the northern fringe. These reefs have eight individual low and sandy islands, with a total land area of about . All islands and their surrounding waters are a Strict Nature Reserve since 1998. The total length of the eastern and southern expanses of the bank, as well as the reefs in its central area, are wholly submerged. The islands of the Great Chagos Bank, starting clockwise from the south, are: * Danger Island (slightly more than long from North to South, by wide, land area , vegetated with palm trees up to high. * Eagle Islands ** ÃŽle Aigle (Eagle Island, vegetated with hig ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Atoll
An atoll () is a ring-shaped island, including a coral rim that encircles a lagoon. There may be coral islands or cays on the rim. Atolls are located in warm tropical or subtropical parts of the oceans and seas where corals can develop. Most of the approximately 440 atolls in the world are in the Pacific Ocean. Two different, well-cited models, the subsidence model and the antecedent karst model, have been used to explain the development of atolls.Droxler, A.W. and Jorry, S.J., 2021. "The Origin of Modern Atolls: Challenging Darwin's Deeply Ingrained Theory". ''Annual Review of Marine Science'', 13, pp. 537–573. According to Charles Darwin's subsidence model, the formation of an atoll is explained by the sinking of a volcanic island around which a coral fringing reef has formed. Over geologic time, the volcanic island becomes extinct and eroded as it subsides completely beneath the surface of the ocean. As the volcanic island subsides, the coral fringing reef becomes a ba ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chagos Archipelago
The Chagos Archipelago (, ) or Chagos Islands (formerly , and later the Oil Islands) is a group of seven atolls comprising more than 60 islands in the Indian Ocean about south of the Maldives archipelago. This chain of islands is the southernmost archipelago of the Chagos–Laccadive Ridge, a long submarine mountain range in the Indian Ocean. In its north are the Salomon Islands, Nelsons Island and Peros Banhos; towards its south-west are the Three Brothers, Chagos, Three Brothers, Eagle Islands, Egmont Islands and Danger Island, Great Chagos Bank, Danger Island; southeast of these is Diego Garcia, by far the largest island. All are low-lying atolls, save for a few extremely small instances, set around lagoons. From 1715 to 1810, the Chagos Islands were part of France's List of French possessions and colonies, Indian Ocean possessions, administered through Isle de France (Mauritius), Isle de Francewhich was a French colonial empire, colony of France (later renamed as Mauritius). ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
British Indian Ocean Territory
The British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT) is an British Overseas Territories, Overseas Territory of the United Kingdom situated in the Indian Ocean, halfway between Tanzania and Indonesia. The territory comprises the seven atolls of the Chagos Archipelago with over 1,000 individual islands, many very small, amounting to a total land area of . The largest and most southerly island is Diego Garcia, , the site of a British Forces British Indian Ocean Territories, Joint Military Facility of the United Kingdom and the United States. Official administration is remote from London, though the local capital is often regarded as being on Diego Garcia. Mauritius claimed that the British government separated the Chagos Archipelago from Mauritius, creating a new colony in Africa, the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT). However, this was disputed by the United Kingdom, who said that the Chagos Islands had no historical or cultural ties to Mauritius, and that they were only governed durin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dugong
The dugong (; ''Dugong dugon'') is a marine mammal. It is one of four living species of the order Sirenia, which also includes three species of manatees. It is the only living representative of the once-diverse family Dugongidae; its closest modern relative, Steller's sea cow (''Hydrodamalis gigas''), was hunted to extinction in the 18th century. The dugong is the only sirenian in its range, which spans the waters of some 40 countries and territories throughout the Indo-West Pacific. The dugong is largely dependent on seagrass communities for subsistence and is thus restricted to the coastal habitats that support seagrass meadows, with the largest dugong concentrations typically occurring in wide, shallow, protected areas such as bays, mangrove channels, the waters of large inshore islands, and inter-reefal waters. The northern waters of Australia between Shark Bay and Moreton Bay are believed to be the dugong's contemporary stronghold. Like all modern sirenians, the d ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eagle Islands
Eagle Islands is a group of two islands in the Chagos Archipelago. They are located on the central-western rim of the Great Chagos Bank, which is the world's largest coral atoll structure. Islands With a land area of 2.45 km, ÃŽle Aigle is the largest single island of the Great Chagos Bank, and after Diego Garcia the second largest of the Chagos Archipelago. *Eagle Island (ÃŽle Aigle) *Sea Cow Island (ÃŽle Vache Marine) History There was once a coconut plantation in Ile Aigle, as well as a small settlement of Chagossians, Chagossian plantation workers. But at the time of Commander Robert Moresby's survey of the Chagos in 1838, this island was populated only occasionally. Not long after the settlement of the Chagos group by the French planters at the end of the 18th century, the tendency was to concentrate the workers on only a few islands from which the plantations were run, like Ile Boddam in the Salomon Atoll. In 1975 during the Joint Services Expedition to Danger Island ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Strict Nature Reserve
A strict nature reserve (IUCN category Ia) or wilderness area (IUCN category Ib) is the highest category of protected area recognised by the World Commission on Protected Areas (WCPA), a body which is part of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). These category I areas are the most stringently protected natural landscapes. Purpose Strict nature reserves and wilderness areas are protected areas that are created and managed mainly for the purposes of research or for the protection of large, unspoiled areas of wilderness. Their primary purpose is the preservation of biodiversity and as essential reference areas for scientific work and environmental monitoring. * IUCN category Ia strict nature reserves are generally established exclusively for scientific field work. * IUCN category Ib wilderness areas are defined as "large unmodified or slightly modified areas, retaining their natural character and influence, without permanent or significant human ... [...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 dr ... [...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 List of BirdLife International national partner organisations, 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 Area, Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas and is the official International Union for Conservation of Nature's IUCN Red List, Red List authority for birds. BirdLife International has established that 1,375 bird species (13% of the total) are threatened with extinc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Brown Noddy
The brown noddy or common noddy (''Anous stolidus'') is a seabird in the family Laridae. The largest of the noddies, it can be told from the closely related black noddy by its larger size and plumage, which is dark brown rather than black. The brown noddy is a tropical seabird with a worldwide distribution, ranging from Hawaii to the Tuamotu Archipelago and Australia in the Pacific Ocean, from the Red Sea to the Seychelles and Australia in the Indian Ocean and in the Caribbean to Tristan da Cunha in the Atlantic Ocean. The brown noddy is colonial, usually nesting on elevated situations on cliffs or in short trees or shrubs. It only occasionally nests on the ground. A single egg is laid by the female of a pair each breeding season. In India, the brown noddy is protected in the PM Sayeed Marine Birds Conservation Reserve. Taxonomy The first formal description of the brown noddy was by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in 1758 in the tenth edition of his ''Systema Naturae' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Important Bird Areas Of The British Indian Ocean Territory
Importance is a property of entities that matter or make a difference. For example, World War II was an important event and Albert Einstein was an important person because of how they affected the world. There are disagreements in the academic literature about what type of difference is required. According to the causal impact view, something is important if it has a big causal impact on the world. This view is rejected by various theorists, who insist that an additional aspect is required: that the impact in question makes a value difference. This is often understood in terms of how the important thing affects the well-being of people. So in this view, World War II was important, not just because it brought about many wide-ranging changes but because these changes had severe negative impacts on the well-being of the people involved. The difference in question is usually understood counterfactually as the contrast between how the world is and how the world would have been withou ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
