Dominican Republic

América del Norte

160

Documented species

Parks and reserves

Dive sites

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The Dominican Republic shares the island of Hispaniola with Haiti and concentrates the highest ground in the whole Caribbean in the Cordillera Central, with Pico Duarte above three thousand metres and Hispaniolan pine forests on its slopes. In the southwest, Lake Enriquillo occupies a depression below sea level, is hypersaline and holds American crocodiles and rhinoceros iguanas on its islands. The Sierra de Bahoruco, Jaragua park and the lake itself form a biosphere reserve running from cloud forest to semi-desert thorn scrub. In the north, Samaná bay and the Silver Bank receive every winter one of the largest humpback whale breeding concentrations in the world.

The nature of Dominican Republic

National animal: The palmchat, the national bird, endemic to Hispaniola

Did you know?

Between January and March, between two and three thousand humpback whales gather in the warm shallow waters of the Silver Bank and Samaná bay to mate and calve, after travelling thousands of kilometres from the North Atlantic. It is the largest breeding congregation of the species in the whole Atlantic Ocean, and one of the few places on the planet where meeting them in the water is permitted, under very limited licences.

Biodiversity profile

Caribe (Antillas Mayores, isla La Española/Hispaniola)Dato no disponible con precision agregada especifica; el pais cuenta con un Sistema Nacional de Areas Protegidas (SINAP) con Fondo de Dotacion propio y un Plan de Sostenibilidad Financiera en desarrollo

Climate

•Tropical con estacion seca (Aw) en la mayor parte del territorio
•Clima semiarido en el suroeste (Lago Enriquillo)
•Templado de montaña en la Cordillera Central

Main biomes

•Bosque nuboso (Sierra de Bahoruco, Barbacoa-Casabito)
•Bosque seco y semiarido (region del Lago Enriquillo, punto mas bajo del Caribe)
•Manglares (Bajo Yuna)
•Bosque nublado de montaña
•Pinar de altura
•Lago hipersalino bajo el nivel del mar
•Matorral espinoso semidesértico
•Manglar costero
•Arrecife de coral
•Banco marino somero

Marine and coastal ecosystems

•Arrecifes de coral y humedales costeros de importancia Ramsar (Jaragua)
•Bahia de Samana (avistamiento de ballenas jorobadas en temporada)

Flagship wildlife

•Solenodonte de La Española
•Jutia de La Española
•Cotorra de La Española
•Iguana rinoceronte (Lago Enriquillo)
•Ballena jorobada (temporada en Samana)
•Cigua palmera
•Cocodrilo americano
•Manatí del Caribe
•Flamenco americano
•Tortuga carey

Notable endemic species

•La Española (compartida con Haiti) y Cuba son los mayores contribuyentes a la biodiversidad de las islas del Caribe, uno de los 36 hotspots mundiales
•Sierra de Bahoruco, Barbacoa-Casabito y Sierra de Neiba concentran la mayor proporcion de especies endemicas de flora y fauna del pais
•35 Areas Clave de Biodiversidad (KBA) cubren aprox. 18% del territorio
•Cigua palmera
•Iguana de Ricord
•Solenodonte de La Española
•Todi de La Española

Notable threatened species

•Solenodonte de La Española (En Peligro)
•Iguana rinoceronte (Vulnerable, restringida al entorno del Lago Enriquillo)
•45% de arboles y arbustos endemicos de la region en riesgo de extincion (cifra referida al conjunto de la isla/hotspot Caribe)

Notable protected areas

•Reserva de la Biosfera Jaragua-Bahoruco-Enriquillo
•Parque Nacional La Humeadora
•Parque Nacional Los Haitises
•Santuario de Mamíferos Marinos del Banco de la Plata
•Parque Nacional Jaragua
•Parque Nacional Sierra de Bahoruco
•Lago Enriquillo
•Parque Nacional Valle Nuevo

Main conservation threats

•Perdida de habitat en zonas de alto endemismo (Bahoruco, Neiba)
•Corredor Biologico del Caribe (2007) establecido junto a Haiti y Cuba para mitigar amenazas compartidas
•Desarrollo turistico costero

Notable natural phenomena

•Migracion y reproduccion invernal de ballenas jorobadas en la Bahia de Samana
•El Lago Enriquillo es el punto mas bajo del Caribe y alberga ecosistemas hipersalinos unicos

Conservation

The Silver Bank marine mammal sanctuary was one of the first in the world created specifically to protect a whale breeding ground, in 1986. The palmchat builds enormous communal stick nests that can house several pairs in separate compartments.

Where and when to watch wildlife

Samaná and the Silver Bank between January and March for humpback whales. Lake Enriquillo in the dry season for crocodiles and iguanas. Bahoruco at dawn for endemic birds.

Sources: Interactive Country Fiches (UNEP-GRID) - Biodiversity Dominican Republic | Ecosystem Profile - Caribbean Islands Biodiversity Hotspot (CEPF)

Freshwater Ocean

Parks and reserves

National Park

Del Este

Coastal dry forest, Saona island and caves holding the largest body of Taíno rock art in the Caribbean.

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Jaragua

The largest national park in the Dominican Republic; it holds the largest flamingo colony in the insular Caribbean

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Los Haitises

A karst landscape of mogotes among boat-navigable mangroves, with caves of Taíno rock art

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Diving and snorkelling

Surface pelagic

Silver Bank (ballenas jorobadas)

One of the very few places in the world where swimming with humpback whales is permitted. Together with the neighbouring Navidad Bank it holds the largest known humpback population in the North Atlantic, according to a 2015 NOAA review. A count by NOAA researchers in 2005 estimated between 5,000 and 7,000 animals passing through the sanctuary each winter.

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