The Pacific Islands - Melanesia

When we use the term “Pacific Islands”, we refer to approximately 20,000 to 30,000 islands in the Pacific Ocean, south of the Tropic Cancer. Usually, these islands are divided into three groups:

- Melanesia: (black islands) these are New Guinea (Papua New Guinea and the Indonesian provinces of Maluku, Papua and West Papua), Vanuatu, Fiji, New Caledonia, the Solomon Islands and the Torres Strait Islands.

- Micronesia: (small islands) these are Wake Island, the Marianas, Palau, Guam, the Federated States of Micronesia, Nauru and Kiribati.

- Polynesia: (many islands) these are the Hawaiian Islands, New Zealand, the Midway Islands, Easter Island, Rotuma, Samoa, American Samoa, French Polynesia, the Cook Islands, Tonga and Tuvalu.

Let us discuss each group of islands separately, starting with Melanesia. The first island in our list is New Guinea, which is divided into Papua New Guinea and the provinces of Maluku, Papua and West Papua.

Photo: A waterfall in the middle of an ancient forest in Papua New Guinea.


Starting with Papua New Guinea, the capital of which is Port Moresby, the area has a total population of 5,190,786 individuals as of 2000 and covers a total area of 462,243 square kilometers, according to the Pacific Islands Applied Geoscience Commission. The two main languages spoken by the natives of Papua New Guinea are Pidgin and English, while there are more than 700 other languages spoken in the area.

Moving on to Papua and West Papua, both provinces have a total population of 2,646,489 individuals as of 2005, while the island has 16,000 different plant species, while on the Foja Mountains in the area, in 2006 several new species of birds, butterflies, plants and amphibians were discovered.

Vanuatu is a small island of Melanesia, covering a total area of 12,190 square kilometers with a population of 186,678 individuals as of 1999. The official languages of the area are Bislama, French and English. The island is covered by tropical forests but has a limited number of plant and animal species, which include 19 species of reptiles, 11 species of bats and 61 species of birds, while there are no indigenous large mammals in the area. However, like most other Pacific Islands, Vanuatu has a rich sea life.

A beloved destination for travelers and tourists are the Fiji Islands, the capital of which is Suva. The islands cover an area of 18,272 square kilometers and have a total population of 831,600 individuals as of 2003. The languages spoken in the area are Fijian, English and Hindi, while indigenous Fijians are mostly Christian – 97.2% of the total population – and the Indo-Fijians mostly Hindu – 70.7% of the total population.

Photo: A native fisherman in Fiji Islands.


New Caledonia covers an area of 18,576 square kilometers and has a total population of 235,200 individuals as of 2003. The main languages spoken in the area are French and English. New Caledonia is considered one of the most endangered places of our planet and at the same time one of botanically most important areas of the world. Some fossil remains on the island indicate that it was once inhabited by large terrestrial animals, which became extinct prior to the European arrival. One of the official emblems of New Caledonia is the Nautilus, a magnificent sea creature. The island is covered both by rain forests and dry forests, the latter of which are highly endangered.

Moving on to the Solomon Islands, a total area of 28,785 square kilometers with a population of 409,042 individuals as of 1999; these islands are also considered a favorable destination for travelers. They are located East of Papua New Guinea and comprise nearly 1,000 islands, the climate of which is extremely humid, with the cooler period being from June through August. On some of the larger islands there are volcanoes with both high and low activity, the most active of which are the Tinakula and the Kavachi volcanoes. In the area there are more than 230 varieties of orchids and other tropical flowers.

Last but not least of the Melanesia islands are the Torres Strait Islands, a group of at lest 274 small islands, distributed across an area of 48,000 square kilometers. The islands and the waters surrounding them comprise a highly diverse set of both marine and land ecosystems. These ecosystems include a large number of unique species, which include saltwater crocodiles, flat back sea turtles and dugongs. Dugongs are an endangered species of sea mammal also found in the waters of New Guinea. The eastern Torres Strait Islands provide rich and fertile red volcanic soils and are thus thickly vegetated.


Sources:

Wikipedia Online Encyclopedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/
The Pacific Islands Applied Geoscience Commission - http://www.sopac.org/
Photo Atlas - http://www.photoatlas.com/
Greenpeace - http://www.greenpeace.org

Baiji Dolphins: Are They Really Extinct?

The Baiji Dolphin, also known as the Chinese River Dolphin, the Yangtze River Dolphin, the Whitefin Dolphin and the Yangtze Dolphin, is obviously the animal closest to extinction - if we assume that the species hasn't already extinct. The Baiji is grey-blue on the dorsal side and white on the ventral side and as its names indicate it is - or was - found only in fresh waters and more specifically in the Yangtze River in China. Its eyes are smaller compared to dolphins that live in the ocean and its vision is rather poor, hense it relies on sonar for navigation and swims slower than its maximun speed.

The Yangtze River Dolphin breeds during the first half of the year (usually around February - April) and the calf is born 10-11 months later. Each female dolphin gives birth to one calf at a time and will not mate for two years until the calf is mature enough to survive alone in the wild. Based on studies conducted on Baiji Dolphins in captivity, a Baiji lives approximately 25 years and reaches sexual maturity at 4-6 years of age.

Fossil records indicate that the Baiji first appeared on our planet 25 million years ago at the banks of the Yangtze River in the Pacific Ocean and migrated up the river 20 million years ago.


According to the World Conservation Union (IUCN) the following are considered the main threats to the Baiji Dolphins:

- hunting by humans during breeding season,
- entanglement in fishing gear,
- the illegal practice of electric fishing,
- collisions with boats and ships,
- habitat loss and
- pollution

...for all of which responsible are humans.

The Xinhua News Agency announced on December 4, 2006 that in an expedition conducted by 30 scientists on the Yangtze River in China, no Baiji Dolphins were spotted, which raised suspicion of a first extinction of a species due to human action. However, in August 2007, footage was released to the public of sighting of what was believed to be a Baiji Dolphin.

"On October 11, 2007, Chinese state media announced that under a development plan an additional 4,000,000 people will be relocated from their homes near the dam by the year 2020 due to ecological concerns." However, is this enough? We've forced a beautiful animal, which has been an inhabitant of this planet for almost as long as we have, to extinction. Is it enough to take measures now that the species has already extinct?


Sources:

Animal Info - http://www.animalinfo.org/
Wikipedia Online Encyclopedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/
NOAA Fisheries: Office of Protected Resources - http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/
The New York Times - A Fellow Mammal Leaves the Planet, Robert L. Pitman - http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/26/science/26field.html?_r=1
Life of Guangzhou - http://www.lifeofguangzhou.com/

The Iberian Lynx - Forced Close to Extinction

The Iberian Lynx (sometimes reffered to as the Spanish Lynx) is a habitat of the Iberian Peninsula in Southern Europe. It is a critically endangered species, similar to the Eurasian Lynx but with distinct differences. The Iberian Lynx, unlike the Eurasian Lynx, bears "leopard-like" markings on its body. It weighs from 9 to 13 kg. and it's an excellent tree climber, while it nests in several different locations, such as in small caves or even up on trees, sometimes more than 10 meters higher up the ground.

During the mating season (January - February), the female leaves her territory in search of a male. The cubs are born around March or April and usually each female gives birth to three or four cubs.

The Iberian Lynx was originally found all over Portugal and Spain, while today it is only found in two areas of Andalucia (in Southern Spain). The decline of its population size began in the beginning of the 20th century with a greater impact on the Lynx around the 1950's due to a fatal disease that affected the European rabbit, which is the Lynx's main pray. Other factors that participated in the decrease of the Lynx's population were the loss of habitat (due to the vast expansion of the rural areas), roadkills and hunting.


According to studies conducted in 2005, the Iberian Lynx population included around 100 members in total, while another study conducted in 2000 revealed that the population at the time included 400 members. This means that within only a period of five years, more than 300 Iberian Lynxes were killed. Today the population is believed to have reached almost 200 members in total, a number that will hopefully increase due to extraordinary efforts by several organizations worldwide.



Sources:

Wikipedia Online Encyclopedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iberian_Lynx
Animal Info - http://www.animalinfo.org/species/carnivor/lynxpard.htm