Satellite view of Ile Europa (bottom), and Bassas da India (top left), France Photograph by USGS   Southern Africa: Islands about half-way between southern Madagascar and southern Mozambique Deserts and Xeric Shrublands   50 square miles (100 square kilometers) -- about the size of Washington DC Critical/Endangered

· Small but Significant
· Special Features
· Did You Know?
· Wild Side
· Cause for Concern
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Small but Significant

This ecoregion is extremely small. Yet these offshore islands are important as layover points for migrating birds and as nesting grounds for thousands of turtles and seabirds. They support many insects as well. During high tides much of this ecoregion goes underwater as the sea washes over parts of these low lying islands.

Special Features

Ile Europa is about one-sixth the size of Washington, D.C., and Bassas da India is only about one-third the size of the famous Mall in the nation’s capital. These rocky islands, volcanic in origin and surrounded by coral reefs, lie low in the water. Ile Europa has elevations as high as 78 feet (24 m), but Bassas da India has hardly any elevation at all and is sometimes flooded during extremely high tides. Ile Europa is a wildlife sanctuary. Euphorbes are the most common plants growing here, and they include shrubs and thicket-forming vegetation. Few plant species are native to the island, and coconuts and several others species have been introduced.

	Antarctic terns fly all the way to the Antarctic region in summer to breed. There they nest in small groups of up to ten or twelve pairs on barren gravel or low turf grasses.

Wild Side

Ile Europa’s nature reserve is important for nesting seabirds and green and hawksbill sea turtles. Many beaches host up to 8,000 nesting female turtles each year. An endemic Chalcidoid wasp species is a specialized parasite whose host species is the red wood ant. The only endemic bird is a subspecies of the Madagascar white-eye, but many other species are also found here. Antarctic terns can be distinguished by their bright red bills, feet, and legs. Pied crows look and sound like crows, but their chests are white. Frigate birds are common high overhead and along the coast. Great egrets are also present on the island and feed on small fish and invertebrates in the lagoons and along the coasts. Over 55 species of insects make their home on these islands.

Cause for Concern

The presence of the French military on Ile Europa affects the native xeric scrub habitat, but the extent of the damage is unclear. Installation of the military airstrip undoubtedly had some effect, as does the continued presence of people on this small, fragile island. Furthermore, the Mozambique Channel is becoming polluted from heavy vessel traffic. Egg collection on these remote islands is also problematic, as are introduced species such as goats and brown and black rats. There are currently more than 400 goats on Ile Europa and they are responsible for denuding the island of much of its native vegetation.

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