New Georgia Island, Solomon Islands Photograph by Don Henry   Solomon Islands, east of New Guinea Tropical and Subtropical Moist Broadleaf Forests   13,900 square miles (35,900 square kilometers) -- about the size of New Hampshire and Connecicut combined Vulnerable

· Jewels in the Ocean
· Special Features
· Did You Know?
· Wild Side
· Cause for Concern
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Jewels in the Ocean

Because the Solomon Islands have been isolated for so long, the earliest animals to live here have evolved into many different species. This ecoregion, for example, contains no less than 69 bird species found nowhere else in the world.

Special Features

Seven broad types of natural vegetation grow on the Solomons and on nearby Bougainville and Buka Islands, also part of this ecoregion. Coastal strand vegetation, mangroves, and freshwater swamps transition into areas of lowland rain forests, seasonally dry forests, grasslands, and montane rain forests. This ecoregion is subject to dramatic natural events, including tectonic plate movement, cyclones, and severe drought.

	Unlike other bats, which emit clicking sounds through their mouths for echolocation, horseshoe bats emit their calls through their nostrils. Their nostrils have a horseshoe-shaped structure that acts as a megaphone for amplifying the sounds.

Wild Side

The Solomon Islands are an important area for bird conservation. A total of 138 bird species live in this ecoregion. Seven species are endangered or critically endangered: the Makira moorhen, yellow-legged pigeon, thick-billed ground-dove, imitator sparrowhawk, Woodford’s rail, chestnut-bellied imperial pigeon, and white-eyed starling. Mammals include several species of rodents and bats, including two species of horseshoe bats.

Cause for Concern

Large areas of this ecoregion’s lowland forests have been logged or are scheduled for logging. Native mammals are especially at risk from introduced cats. Birds are vulnerable simply because their natural ranges are small. And they are becoming confined to even smaller patches of habitat as timber operations and agricultural development fragment and destroy the forests.

For more information on this ecoregion, go to the World Wildlife Fund Scientific Report.