Rangiroa Atoll, French Polynesia Photograph by WWF/BIOS/M. & C. Denis-Huot   French Polynesia (France), Pitcairn Island (Great Britain) Tropical and Subtropical Moist Broadleaf Forests   300 square miles (900 square kilometers) -- about one-third the size of Rhode Island Critical/Endangered

· Scattered Isles
· Special Features
· Did You Know?
· Wild Side
· Cause for Concern
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Scattered Isles

You'd have to cross more than 1,620 nautical miles (3,000 km) of the Pacific Ocean to visit the 76 islands and coral atolls that make the Tuamotu Tropical Moist Forests ecoregion. The isolation of these islands has led to the evolution of a remarkable variety of native plants and animals--from sandpipers and fruit doves to parrots. But many of these species are at risk because of harmful human activities.

Special Features

Many of the islands in this ecoregion are low coral atolls, some of which surround enormous lagoons. The rest are high volcanic islands. The climate varies somewhat across this large geographic area, with tropical temperatures in the northern Tuamotus and subtropical conditions in Pitcairn Islands. Rainfall averages 60 to 80 inches (1,500 to 2,000 mm) throughout the region, with slightly more on the high volcanic islands. Mixed broadleaf forests are the dominant vegetation throughout the ecoregion.

	Rats accidentally reached the Tuamotus aboard ships in the late 19th and early 20th centuries when people established coconut plantations across many of the islands. But cats were introduced on purpose--to control the rats! Unfortunately, both species still proliferate in this region, and both do great harm to local species.

Wild Side

Visit some of the beaches of this island group and you have a chance of seeing Tuamotu sandpipers skittering to and fro with the waves. On Pitcairn Island, you might spy a small introduced population of Galapagos giant tortoises. Climb up into the forests and you can find such birds as Polynesian pigeons, Makatea fruit-doves, Tuamotu reed-warblers, Henderson Island fruit-doves, and Stephen's lories perched in the trees. Many of these birds are highly specialized. For example, the Stephen's lory feeds primarily on the nectar of only two plant species.

Cause for Concern

Introduced species such as goats, rabbits, rats, and cats have drastically reduced much of the biodiversity of this ecoregion, driving many bird species to extinction. The Gambier Islands have lost about 98 percent of their native vegetation through clearing by humans and grazing by introduced species. Nuclear testing conducted by the French government has devastated many of the atolls in the southeastern portions of the Tuamotu archipelago.

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