St Croix, US Virgin Islands, USA Photograph by Tundi Agardy   Islands of the Lesser Antilles in the Caribbean Deserts and Xeric Shrublands   600 square miles (1,600 square kilometers) -- about half the size of Rhode Island Vulnerable

· Island Drylands
· Special Features
· Did You Know?
· Wild Side
· Cause for Concern
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Island Drylands

If you want to visit the Leeward Islands Xeric Scrub ecoregion, be sure to take lots of water. This is an extremely dry ecoregion, often exposed to fierce winds along its coasts. Only tough, hardy plants such as cactuses and spiny shrubs survive here. But some endemic animals have adapted to the harsh conditions, including several reptiles. The tiny virgin gorda gecko, a shy, secretive lizard, inhabits rocky hillsides with scrubby woods in the British Virgin Islands. The large, critically endangered Anegada ground iguana also lives in the Virgin Islands, primarily on dry, limestone areas. Among the many birds found in this ecoregion are the zenaida dove and the black-faced grassquit.

Special Features

The Leeward Islands comprise two roughly parallel arcs. The outer arc runs from Antigua to the Antilles and includes Grande-Terre of Guadeloupe. The inner arc ranges from the Netherlands Antilles all the way down to the Windward Islands. The low limestone islands of the outer arc are older than the inner, volcanic arc. Islands on the inner arc tend to have high, rugged profiles. Cactuses, evergreen bushland and thickets, and other xeric scrub vegetation can be found throughout all the islands on rocky, well-drained surfaces. No trees grow on the impoverished dry soils of this ecoregion.

	Agave plants, which grow throughout this ecoregion, produce woody stalks up to 20 feet (6 m) tall with large, dinner-plate-sized flowers on top. Also called century plants, they flower infrequently, about once every few years--not once every century purported by folklore. The wood stalks are used by fishermen in rafts and floats.

Wild Side

Among the many cactuses that you can see in this ecoregion are columnar cactuses, prickly pear cactuses, and Turk's head cactuses. The stout, rounded Turk’s head cactus received its whimsical name from its red, flower-covered cylinder, which resembles a fez, or traditional Turkish hat. A variety of birds and reptiles inhabit this ecoregion. The vulnerable Lesser Antilles iguanas are bright green when young and fade to a darker green-gray as adults. They may be extinct on Antigua and Barbados because of overhunting and the introduced mongoose, but they are still found on the other Leeward Islands. Pearly-eyed thrashers flit about, making loud, raucous calls. These robin-sized birds have heavy tan bills and a reputation for eating a wide variety of prey as well as most fruits. The small, gray and yellow Adelaide’s warbler hunts for insects in arid scrub and dry forests on Barbuda.

Cause for Concern

This ecoregion is not suitable for agriculture because of low rainfall and soil infertility. However, it is threatened by urbanization and increasing resort development. Feral and introduced animals, overgrazing, and woodcutting are all concerns.

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