Marshall Islands

Oceanía

131

Documented species

Parks and reserves

Dive sites

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The Marshall Islands are made up of twenty-nine atolls and five coral islands arranged in two parallel chains across an immense expanse of ocean. Their land area is minimal and very low-lying, but their lagoons are among the largest in the world: Kwajalein's encloses a body of inland water comparable in area to that of a small country. The Marshallese reefs, far from any large centre of population, keep their coral and fish communities in good condition, with an abundance of sharks unusual in the Pacific. In 2011 the country declared a shark sanctuary covering its entire exclusive economic zone, one of the largest on the planet at the time. Its beaches are green turtle nesting grounds.

The nature of Marshall Islands

National animal: No official national animal

Did you know?

Bikini atoll was the setting for twenty-three nuclear tests between 1946 and 1958, including one that left a crater two kilometres across on the floor of the lagoon. Decades later, that crater is covered in large corals and the lagoon is patrolled by sharks and reef fish at very high densities. The reason is as simple as it is uncomfortable: once the area became uninhabitable for people, fishing disappeared completely.

Biodiversity profile

MicronesiaDato no disponible con precision en fuentes verificadas consultadas

Climate

•Tropical oceanico calido y humedo (Af/Aw segun atolon)

Main biomes

•Vegetacion de atolon coralino de baja altitud sobre suelos arenosos pobres
•Manglares en algunas lagunas
•Atolón coralino
•Laguna de gran tamaño
•Arrecife oceánico
•Playa de puesta de tortugas
•Bosquete costero de pisonia
•Cráter submarino colonizado
•Océano abierto

Marine and coastal ecosystems

•Atolones coralinos (Bikini, Enewetak, Majuro, Kwajalein entre otros)
•Amplia zona economica exclusiva oceanica con alta biodiversidad marina

Flagship wildlife

•Aves marinas migratorias y residentes
•Tortuga marina verde
•Peces de arrecife tropicales
•Tiburón gris de arrecife
•Tortuga verde
•Tortuga carey
•Manta de arrecife
•Pez napoleón
•Cangrejo de los cocoteros
•Charrán blanco
•Rabijunco colirrojo
•Delfín girador
•Atún de aleta amarilla

Notable endemic species

•Dato no disponible con precision en fuentes verificadas consultadas; endemismo terrestre limitado, tipico de atolones bajos

Notable threatened species

•Dato no disponible con precision en fuentes verificadas consultadas

Notable protected areas

•Plan Nacional de Areas de Conservacion Reimaanlok (marco de gestion de conservacion nacional)
•Atolón de Bikini
•Atolón de Rongelap
•Atolón de Kwajalein
•Atolón de Bikar
•Atolón de Namdrik
•Santuario de Tiburones de las Marshall

Main conservation threats

•Subida del nivel del mar (amenaza existencial, altitud maxima de pocos metros)
•Legado de pruebas nucleares en Bikini y Enewetak con impacto ecologico historico
•Especies invasoras
•Sobrepesca

Notable natural phenomena

•Parte del Hotspot de Biodiversidad Polinesia-Micronesia
•Bikini Atoll, sitio de pruebas nucleares, hoy Patrimonio Mundial UNESCO por su valor historico y de recuperacion ecologica parcial

Conservation

Bikini is a World Heritage Site as a testimony to the nuclear age. The shark sanctuary bans shark fishing and the retention of their fins across more than one and a half million square kilometres, although effective surveillance over so vast an area remains a challenge.

Where and when to watch wildlife

Bikini, with restricted access, for reefs and sharks. Namdrik and the southern atolls for seabirds and turtles. The northern lagoons between March and October for mantas and cetaceans.

Informacion terrestre especifica de fauna/flora limitada en las fuentes consultadas; se recomienda ampliar en una revision posterior dedicada.

Sources: One Earth - Eastern Micronesia Tropical Moist Forests | Reimaan National Planning Team 2008 (citado en One Earth)

Ocean

Diving and snorkelling

Deep wreck

Bikini Atoll

The floor of the atoll, where the ships sunk in the American nuclear tests of 1946 (Operation Crossroads) now rest, among them the aircraft carrier USS Saratoga and the Japanese battleship Nagato.

View dive site Wreck/Reef