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Falaises D'Entrecasteaux
The Falaises d'Entrecasteaux (in English the Cliffs of Entrecasteaux, named after 18th century French navigator Bruni d'Entrecasteaux) comprise the cliffs, which reach heights of over 700 m, along the west coast of Amsterdam Island, a small French territory in the southern Indian Ocean. Important Bird Area The western coastline of the island, including the cliffs, has been identified as a 360 ha Important Bird Area (IBA) by BirdLife International because it is home to one of the largest colonies of Indian yellow-nosed albatrosses in the world, with about 19,000 pairs constituting some 20% of the world population, and about 240 pairs of sooty albatrosses. There is also a large colony of northern rockhopper penguins, with 25,000 pairs. Two species, grey and soft-plumaged petrels, which have become rare on the island due to predation by rats and cats, are thought to breed in the IBA. There is a large rookery of subantarctic fur seals in the IBA. Ten endemic arthropods h ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Amsterdam ASTER
Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the capital and most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population of 907,976 within the city proper, 1,558,755 in the urban area and 2,480,394 in the metropolitan area. Located in the Dutch province of North Holland, Amsterdam is colloquially referred to as the "Venice of the North", for its large number of canals, now designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Amsterdam was founded at the mouth of the Amstel River that was dammed to control flooding; the city's name derives from the Amstel dam. Originally a small fishing village in the late 12th century, Amsterdam became a major world port during the Dutch Golden Age of the 17th century, when the Netherlands was an economic powerhouse. Amsterdam is the leading center for finance and trade, as well as a hub of production of secular art. In the 19th and 20th centuries, the city expanded and many new neighborhoods an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Grey Petrel
The grey petrel (''Procellaria cinerea''), also called the brown petrel, pediunker or grey shearwater is a species of seabird in the Procellariidae, or petrel family. It is pelagic and occurs in the open seas of the Southern Hemisphere, mainly between 32°S and 58°S. Taxonomy The grey petrel was formally described in 1789 by the German naturalist Johann Friedrich Gmelin under the binomial name ''Procellaria cinerea''. Gmelin's description was based on the "Cinereous fulmar" that had been described by the English ornithologist John Latham in 1785. The genus name is from the Latin ''procella'' meaning "storm" or "gale". The specific ''cinerea'' is from the Latin ''cinereus'' meaning "ash-grey" or "ash-coloured". The word ''petrel'' is derived from Saint Peter and the story of his walking on water. This is in reference to the petrels' habit of appearing to run on the water to take off.Gotch, A. T. (1995) The grey petrel is a member of the family Procellariidae, and the order Pr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Important Bird Areas Of Île Amsterdam
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 on 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 actually is and how the world would have bee ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cliffs Of France
In geography and geology, a cliff is an area of rock which has a general angle defined by the vertical, or nearly vertical. Cliffs are formed by the processes of weathering and erosion, with the effect of gravity. Cliffs are common on coasts, in mountainous areas, escarpments and along rivers. Cliffs are usually composed of rock that is resistant to weathering and erosion. The sedimentary rocks that are most likely to form cliffs include sandstone, limestone, chalk, and dolomite. Igneous rocks such as granite and basalt also often form cliffs. An escarpment (or scarp) is a type of cliff formed by the movement of a geologic fault, a landslide, or sometimes by rock slides or falling rocks which change the differential erosion of the rock layers. Most cliffs have some form of scree slope at their base. In arid areas or under high cliffs, they are generally exposed jumbles of fallen rock. In areas of higher moisture, a soil slope may obscure the talus. Many cliffs also featur ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Amsterdam Island Cattle
Amsterdam Island cattle were a rare feral breed of cattle (''Bos taurus'') that were introduced in 1871 and existed in isolation on Amsterdam Island, a small French territory in the southern Indian Ocean. The population was eradicated in 2010 in the course of an environmental restoration program. History A party led by Heurtin, a French farmer (sometimes described as a peasant) from Réunion island, on 18 January 1871 attempted to settle the uninhabited 55 km2 island. After seven months, their attempts to raise sheep and cattle and grow crops had been unfruitful and they departed on 19 August, abandoning their livestock, including five cattle, on the island.Carroll (2003). Over the next century or so a combination of factors caused further ecological devastation of the island, which had already been impacted by the introduction of invasive species of plants and animals, as well as by unrestricted hunting, timber-cutting and wildfire caused by sealers and other visitors. Th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Juncaceae
Juncaceae is a family of flowering plants, commonly known as the rush family. It consists of 8 genera and about 464 known species of slow-growing, rhizomatous, herbaceous monocotyledonous plants that may superficially resemble grasses and sedges. They often grow on infertile soils in a wide range of moisture conditions. The best-known and largest genus is ''Juncus''. Most of the ''Juncus'' species grow exclusively in wetland habitats. A few rushes, such as ''Juncus bufonius'' are annuals, but most are perennials. Description The leaves are evergreen and well-developed in a basal aggregation on an erect stem. They are alternate and tristichous (i.e., with three rows of leaves up the stem, each row of leaves arising one-third of the way around the stem from the previous leaf). Only in the genus '' Distichia'' are the leaves distichous. The rushes of the genus ''Juncus'' have flat, hairless leaves or cylindrical leaves. The leaves of the wood-rushes of the genus ''Luzula' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tussock (grass)
Tussock grasses or bunch grasses are a group of grass species in the family Poaceae. They usually grow as singular plants in clumps, tufts, hummocks, or bunches, rather than forming a sod or lawn, in meadows, grasslands, and prairies. As perennial plants, most species live more than one season. Tussock grasses are often found as forage in pastures and ornamental grasses in gardens. Many species have long roots that may reach or more into the soil, which can aid slope stabilization, erosion control, and soil porosity for precipitation absorption. Also, their roots can reach moisture more deeply than other grasses and annual plants during seasonal or climatic droughts. The plants provide habitat and food for insects (including Lepidoptera), birds, small animals and larger herbivores, and support beneficial soil mycorrhiza. The leaves supply material, such as for basket weaving, for indigenous peoples and contemporary artists. Tussock and bunch grasses occur in almost any ha ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Arthropod
Arthropods (, (gen. ποδός)) are invertebrate animals with an exoskeleton, a Segmentation (biology), segmented body, and paired jointed appendages. Arthropods form the phylum Arthropoda. They are distinguished by their jointed limbs and Arthropod cuticle, cuticle made of chitin, often Mineralization (biology), mineralised with calcium carbonate. The arthropod body plan consists of segments, each with a pair of appendages. Arthropods are bilaterally symmetrical and their body possesses an exoskeleton, external skeleton. In order to keep growing, they must go through stages of moulting, a process by which they shed their exoskeleton to reveal a new one. Some species have wings. They are an extremely diverse group, with up to 10 million species. The haemocoel, an arthropod's internal cavity, through which its haemolymph – analogue of blood – circulates, accommodates its interior Organ (anatomy), organs; it has an open circulatory system. Like their exteriors, the internal or ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Subantarctic Fur Seal
The subantarctic fur seal (''Arctocephalus tropicalis'') is found in the southern parts of the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic Oceans. It was first described by Gray in 1872 from a specimen recovered in northern Australia—hence the inappropriate specific name ''tropicalis''. Description The subantarctic fur seal is medium in size compared with other fur seals. Males grow to 2m and 160 kg, whereas females are substantially smaller—1.4m and 50 kg. Both sexes are strongly sexually dimorphic, with creamy-orange chests and faces. Their bellies are more brownish. Males have a dark grey to black back, while females are a lighter grey. Pups are black at birth, but molt at about 3 months old. The snout is short and flat, and the flippers are short and broad. Subantarctic fur seals live for about 20–25 years. Distribution Subantarctic fur seals are geographically widespread. As their name implies, they generally breed in more northerly locations than the Antarcti ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Soft-plumaged Petrel
The soft-plumaged petrel (''Pterodroma mollis'') is a species of seabird in the family Procellariidae. Distribution It breeds on islands in the Southern Hemisphere, nesting on Tristan da Cunha, Gough Island, the Prince Edward Islands, Crozet Islands, Macquarie Island, and on the Antipodes Islands of New Zealand. Small numbers breed in the Maatsuyker Island Group of southern Tasmania. It disperses outside the breeding season, reaching eastern South America north to Brazil, southern Africa and Australia. It has occurred as a vagrant in Israel, Norway and Jordan. Taxonomy Fea's petrel (''P. feae''), Desertas petrel (''P. desertae'') and Zino's petrel (''P. madeira'') of the North Atlantic were formerly treated as subspecies of this bird. Description The soft-plumaged petrel is a medium-sized petrel. Its plumage is dark grey and white, and its wings are narrow and with a pointed tail distinct in flight. It has a dark grey head with prominent white feathers on the cheeks and thro ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Northern Rockhopper Penguin
The northern rockhopper penguin, Moseley's rockhopper penguin, or Moseley's penguin (''Eudyptes moseleyi'') is a penguin species native to the southern Indian and Atlantic Oceans. It is described as distinct from the southern rockhopper penguin. A study published in 2009 showed that the population of the northern rockhopper had declined by 90% since the 1950s. For this reason, the northern rockhopper penguin is classified as endangered. Taxonomy The rockhopper penguins have been considered to consist of two species, northern and southern rockhopper penguin, since research published in 2006 demonstrated morphological, vocal, and genetic differences between the two populations. Molecular datings suggest that the genetic divergence with the southern rockhopper penguin may have been caused by a vicariant event caused by a shift in the position of the Subtropical Front during the mid-Pleistocene climate transition. Analysis of a part of a mitochondrial control region from a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Thalassarche Carteri - SE Tasmania
The mollymawks are a group of medium-sized albatrosses that form the genus ''Thalassarche''. The name has sometimes been used for the genus ''Phoebetria'' as well, but these are usually called sooty albatrosses. They are restricted to the Southern Hemisphere, where they are the most common of the albatrosses. They were long considered to be in the same genus as the great albatrosses, ''Diomedea'', but a study of their mitochondrial DNA showed that they are a monophyletic taxon related to the sooty albatrosses, and they were placed in their own genus. Taxonomy The genus ''Thalassarche'' was introduced in 1853 by the German naturalist Ludwig Reichenbach with the black-browed albatross as the type species. The genus name combines the Ancient Greek ''thalassa'' meaning "sea" and ''arkhē'' meaning "power" or "command" (from ''arkhō'', to govern). The word ''mollymawk'', which dates to the late 17th century, comes from the Dutch ''mallemok'', which means ''mal'' – foolish and ''m ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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