October 1, 2011

An amazing example of isolated oceanic islands, born of volcanic activity more than 2,000 m under the sea, these islands boast amagnificent topography and are home to numerous endemic species, especially birds.

Based in the South Pacific, 700 km north-east of Sydney, the house is included administratively in New South Wales. The preserve includes some 75% of the land area of  Lord Howe Island and all of  the offshore islands and rocks of significant size in the region.

These are the Admiralty Group; Mutton Bird and Sail Rock; Blackburn (Rabbit) Island; Gower Island; and Ball’s Pyramid, together with several of small islands and rocks.

The seaward boundary follows the mean high water mark and therefore excludes all littoral and marine areas. The entire island group has remarkable volcanic exposures unfamiliar elsewhere.

The main island of Lord Howe measures 10 km from north and south and is nothing more than 2 km in width. It roughly describes a crescent, enclosing a coral reef lagoon on its south-western side. The island’s topography is covered with the southerly Mount Gower and Mount Lidgbird. Only a narrow isthmus of lowland country in the north-central part of the island is habitable. The northern tip consists of steep hillsides culminating in extensive sea cliffs resistant to the northern coastline.

Lord Howe Island is the eroded remnant of a large shield volcano which erupted from the sea floor intermittently for about 500,000 years in the late Miocene (6.5-7 million years ago). The island group represents the exposed peaks of a large volcanic seamount which is about 65 km long and 24 km wide and which rises from ocean depths of over 1,800 m.

Four separate series of volcanic rocks are recognized on the main island group: tuffs, breccia and basalts, with widespread intrusion of basaltic dykes.

The dominant landforming process on Lord Howe since the last of the volcanic eruptions has been marine erosion, which has cut and maintained major cliffs. Slope failure and accumulation of talus at the foot of some cliffs, particularly in the south, have modified their original shape.

The island supports the southern truest coral reef in the world, which is of Pleistocene to Recent Age and differs considerably from more northerly warm water reefs. It is unique in being a transition between the algal and coral reef, due to fluctuations of hot and cold water around the island.

A wide variety of vegetation types has been described for the islands, with the diversity corresponding with the range of habitats. Variable exposure to wind and penetration of salt spray appear to be the main determinants of vegetation occurrence, structure and floristic.

A population of the large forest bat occurs on the Island. No other indigenous native mammals are known. Introduced species, however, include mice, rats and goats.

There are at least 129 native and introduced bird species. Lord Howe is now the only known breeding ground for providence petrel. Fleshy-footed shearwater breeds in large numbers, with possibly half the world’s population present seasonally. Other important species breeding within the preserve include kermadec petrel, black-winged petrel, wedge-tailed shearwater, little shearwater, white-bellied storm petrel, masked booby, and red-tailed tropic bird in greater concentrations than probably anywhere else in the world.

The earliest European discovery of Lord Howe appears to have been in 1788 by the British. A small permanent settlement was established in the 19th century, subsisting on trade with passing ships. There is no recognized evidence of prior Polynesian or Melanesian discovery or settlement.

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• Great Barrier Reef, Australia
• Barrier Reef Reserve System, Belize
• Maya Sites, Xel-Ha
• Kakadu National Park, Australia

February 19, 2011

Coastal area of Belize is an ideal natural system consisting of a main obstacle to the reef in the northern hemisphere, offshore atolls, several hundred sand banks, mangroves, coastal lagoons and estuaries. System of seven sites illustrate the evolutionary history of reef development and are an important habitat for endangered species like sea turtles, manatees and the American marine crocodile.

The coastal region of Belize is a natural system consisting of the largest reef in the northern hemisphere, offshore atolls, several hundred sand cays, mangrove forests, coastal lagoons and estuaries. The system of seven sites illustrate the evolutionary history of reef development and are an important habitat for endangered species.

Reef stretches from the Mexican border to the north, near the border with Guatemala to the south. Belize submarine shelf and its barrier reef is the second largest coral reef system in the world’s largest reef complex in the Atlantic and Caribbean. Outside the fence are three large atolls: Turneffe Islands, Lighthouse Reef and Glover’s Reef.

Mainland and the offshore reef is a large lagoon, which will increase the breadth and depth from north to south. In the north, the average water depth of 2-3 m above the flat, featureless bottom 20-25 km wide. South of Belize City, the shelf gradually deepens to form a channel between the mainland and the outer surface to a depth of 65 m over the Gulf of Honduras.

The approximately 450 sand cays and mangroves confined within the barrier and atolls vary in size from small sand more ephemeral, permanent islands capable of sustaining human settlements.

A total of 178 terrestrial plant species and 247 taxa of marine life described in this region. There are over 500 species of fish, 65 scleritian corals, hydroids 45 and 350 of seafood in the area, plus a variety of sponges, marine worms and crustaceans. The region hosts a number of species conservation, including the West Indian manatee, the green turtle, hawksbill, loggerhead turtles and American crocodile. The population of West Indian manatees (300-700 people) is probably the largest in the world. Several bird species whose conservation is in the cays and atolls. colonies of seabirds and waterfowl are the major red-footed boobies noddy (3000-4000 people) Half Moon Caye, weapons of Brown on Man O’War Caye, Glover’s Reef and common. Other notable breeding birds are brown pelicans and magnificent frigate birds.

ecosystem of the coral reef of Belize in the Western Hemisphere is distinctive because of its size, variety of types and abundance of reef corals flourishing so pristine conditions. Several unusual features geophysicists, such as the near side by side on the reef shelf edge reef complex maze of barriers and patch the Faros is a relatively deep lagoon storage, types of coral reefs are unusual in a small area, the presence of atolls, and a large mangrove cays offshore.

Shell dump on Mayan sites along the coast and Cayes provide evidence that the reefs have been used for fishing 2500 years ago. Between 300 BC and AD 900, was in the coastal waters probably widely used for fishing by the Mayans and commercial messages, ceremonial centers and cemeteries were established on the Cayes. With the decline of Mayan civilization, the resources of coral probably went largely unused for a number of centuries, though the first Spanish explorers used the Cayes to repair their boats and get fresh water. In the early 17th century, the coastal waters of Belize, however, become a haven for pirates and buccaneers, mostly from Britain, who plundered the Spanish merchant ships and British and survived on the abundant marine resources. Subsequently, most of the pirates and traders Puritan the Mosquito Coast of Nicaragua, moved to Cayes, fishermen and plantation owners.

Since then, there have been several waves of immigration into the coastal zone, including the Garifuna people, immigrants from Mexico, and later the North Americans and other foreigners who were attracted by the beauty of the reef and its surroundings and make their home in Les Cayes.

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• Great Barrier Reef, Australia
• Lord Howe Island Group, Australia
• Kakadu National Park, Australia
• Willandra Lakes Region, Australia

February 17, 2011

The Great Barrier Reef is a site of remarkable variety and beauty on the north-east coast of Australia. It contains the world’s largest assortment of coral reefs, with 400 types of coral, 1,500 species of fish and 4,000 types of mollusc.

It also holds great scientific interest as the habitat of species such as the dugong (‘sea cow’) and the large green turtle, which are threatened with extinction.
The Great Barrier Reef is a site of remarkable variety and beauty on the north-east coast of Australia. It the world’s most extensive stretch of coral reef and is probably the richest area in terms of faunal diversity in the world.

Its great diversity reflects the maturity of an ecosystem which has evolved over millions of years on the north-east continental shelf of Australia.

The site contains a huge diversity of species including over 1,500 species of fish, about 360 varieties of hard coral, 5,000 species of mollusc, and more than 175 species of bird, plus a great diversity of sponges, anemones, marine worms and crustaceans, among others.

The reef system, extending to Papua New Guinea, the reef comprises some 2900 individual reefs of all sizes and shapes covering more than 20,000 km2, including 760 fringing reefs, which range in size from under 1ha to over 10,000 ha and vary in shape to offer the most spectacular marine scenery on Earth.

There are approximately 600 continental islands including many with towering forests and freshwater streams, and some 300 coral cays and unvegetated sand cays. A rich number of landscapes and seascapes, including rugged mountains with dense and diverse vegetation and adjacent fringing reefs, provide spectacular scenery.

The shape and structure of the people reefs show great variety. Two main classes may be defined: platform or patch reefs, caused by radial growth; and wall reefs, resulting from elongated growth, often in areas of strong water currents. İn addition there are many fringing reefs where the reef growth is established on subtidal rock of the mainland coast or continental islands.

The site includes major feeding grounds for the endangered dugong and nesting grounds of world importance to two endangered species of marine turtle, the green and the loggerhead, as well as habitat for four other species of marine turtle; given the severe pressures being added to these species elsewhere, the good Barrier Reef may be their last secure stronghold. It is also an important breeding area for humpback and other whale species.

A wide range of fleshy algae occurs, lots of that are small and inconspicuous but which are highly productive and are heavily grazed by turtles, fish, molluscs and sea urchins. In addition, algae are a significant element of reef building processes. 15 types of seagrass grow through the entire reef area forming over 3,000 km2 of seagrass meadows and providing an important food source for grazing animals, such as dugongs.

The Great Barrier Reef, in particular the northern sector, is very important in the historic and contemporary culture of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander groups of the coastal areas of north-east Australia. This contemporary use of and association with the Marine Park plays a huge role in the repair off their cultures then there is a powerful spiritual reference to the ocean and its inhabitants.

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• Barrier Reef Reserve System, Belize
• Kakadu National Park, Australia
• Lord Howe Island Group, Australia
• Tasmanian Wilderness, Australia