Palmyra Atoll, USA Photograph by USFWS   Oceania Tropical and Subtropical Moist Broadleaf Forests   200 square miles (600 square kilometers) -- about four times the size of Washington DC Critical/Endangered

· Spots for Sea Birds
· Special Features
· Did You Know?
· Wild Side
· Cause for Concern
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Spots for Sea Birds

Travel to the South Pacific and you might come across one of the many diverse islands that compose the Central Polynesian Tropical Moist Forests ecoregion. Some of these islands are inhabited, and some of them are not. Some are continually wet, and others receive very little rain. But most of them support large populations of sea birds, including sooty terns, wedge-tailed shearwaters, and black noddies.

Special Features

The islands that lie in the north and south of this ecoregion are subject to "trade winds" that deliver regular moisture throughout the year--on average 60 to 120 inches (1,500-3,000 mm) annually. Those that lie on the equator, however, aren’t subject to trade winds and therefore often go through extreme droughts. These differences influence both the vegetation and the use of the islands. The wet islands historically supported large areas of moist forest, although most are now covered with coconut plantations. The dry islands, dominated by grasses, have generally not been able to sustain human populations.

	The coconut crab, a land crab, can weigh as much as 9 pounds (4 kg)!

Wild Side

Coconuts and pandanus trees are common on the numerous atolls. Some of the larger islands have forests composed of Pisonia, Cordia, and Tournefortia trees. Among the many birds that inhabit these islands are the bokikokiko (a small reed-warbler), the long-tailed cuckoo, and Kuhl's lorikeet (an endangered parrot). Migratory ducks and shorebirds frequent the freshwater lagoons and bogs on Teraina and Flint Islands. And a number of islands support enormous seabird populations. Starbuck Island supports three to six million sooty terns. Palmyra Island supports more than 10,0000 brown noddies and over 20,000 black noddies. Jarvis Island has nearly one million sooty terns. And Kiritimati Island harbors large populations of red-tailed tropicbirds, phoenix petrels, Christmas shearwaters, wedge-tailed shearwaters, and nearly 15 million sooty terns--the world's largest colony of this species. Flint Island and Caroline Island are also home to some of the world's largest populations of the enormous coconut crab, a species largely eliminated elsewhere due to hunting for food.

Cause for Concern

Many of these islands have been heavily disturbed. Coconut plantations, phosphate mines, military occupation, nuclear weapons testing, airports, and chemical weapons incinerators are among the disturbances that have altered the islands. At the same time, some of the islands have flourished without long-term human settlement and have been set aside as nature reserves. The major threats to the islands today include human population growth, exotic species introductions such as cats and Norwegian rats, and global warming. Rising sea levels caused by global warming could completely submerge many of the islands and their ecosystems.

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