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ISLAND DIRECTORY
Islands of Bermuda (United Kingdom)
Bermuda - including St George, St David, Somerset [1116]
Group:
Country: Bermuda
Lat: 32.30º N Long : 64.75º W
Area: 39.3 sq. km Altitude: 79 m
Shoreline: 87.0 km (scale 1:284000) Coastal Index: 2.2137
Depth to nearest land: 5000 m
Nearest island: 917 km group: 917 km
Nearest continent: North America Distance: 917 km Isolation Index: 91
ISLAND TYPE: raised coral limestone Natural Protection Indicator: 0
GEOLOGY/SOILS:
Ten main limestone islands 35 km long, area 53.35 km} and 140 small
islands
and islets, hilly, many caves
CLIMATE: wet subtropical 10-32øC, mean 17-26øC, 1470 mm
WATER BALANCE: even rainfall, no permanent streams
CATASTROPHIC THREATS: cyclones (hurricanes)
Threat Indicator: 1
ECOSYSTEMS: Number of Ecosystems - Terrestrial: 4 Marine: 6
Former cedar forest devastated (96%) in 1946-51 by scale insects
introduced in
1942; original vegetation restored on Nonsuch Island; inland peat
marshes (48
ha, reduced from 116 ha in 1900) but little remaining swamp forest;
tidal and
non-tidal ponds (30 ha); rocky coast (140 km), sandy beach (9 km),
shallow
marine bays (1000 ha), most northerly mangroves in the world (16.7 ha),
most
northerly coral reefs in the Atlantic, including coral/algal and
algal/vermetid reefs Forest Coral reefs, Mangroves
| SPECIES NUMBERS: |
Total |
Endemic |
Threatened (EVRI) |
| Plants |
165 |
14 |
25 |
| Butterflies |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| Land snails |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| Rept/Amphib |
1 |
1 |
1 |
| Land birds |
16 |
2 |
2 |
| Mammals |
0 |
0 |
0 |
SPECIES OF CONSERVATION INTEREST:
Plants:
146 flowering plants, 19 ferns, with 14 endemics, all threatened
Diplazium laffanianum (fern) endemic, Extinct
Dryopteris speluncae (fern) endemic, Extinct
Eloecharis bermudiana (Bermuda Spike Rush) endemic, Extinct
Juniperus bermudiana (Bermuda Cedar) endemic, scale-tolerant strain
now
established, Vulnerable
11 non-endemics are Rare or Endangered in Bermuda
Invertebrates:
Butterflies
Pantinonemertes agricola (Nemertine Worm) endemic, Rare
Cardisoma quantami (Giant Land Crab) two small colonies in mangroves,
reintroduced to Nonsuch Island
Reptiles/amphibians:
1 native land species:
Eumeces longirostris (Rock Lizard) endemic skink, rare
Birds:
16 native breeding species, out of 320 observed
Vireo griseus bermudianus (Bermuda White-eyed Vireo) endemic,
threatened
Pterodroma cahow (Bermuda Petrel or Cahow) endemic, Endangered, 35
nesting
pairs (1985) up from 18 in 1961
Marine life:
Fundulus bermudae (Killifish) endemic, in Trott's Pond and Mangrove
Lake
Attempts to reintroduce breeding population of Chelonia mydas by
releasing
16,000 hatchlings from Costa Rica between 1967 and 1978
SPECIES RICHNESS:
Species Richness Indicator - Terrestrial: 1 Marine: 0
poor
ENDEMISM: Terrestrial: Terrestrial Endemism Indicator - Island: 2 Group: 2
moderate
Marine endemic species: 1
Marine Endemism Indicator - Island: 1 Group: 1
SPECIAL FEATURES : Special Features Indicator - Terrestrial: 5 Marine: 0
seabird rookery, former green turtle nesting area
many caves, most northerly mangroves and coral reefs
INVASIVE SPECIES: Invasive Species Indicator: 3
many introduced species
HUMAN OCCUPATION: Inhabited, capital Hamilton
Population: 56652 (1984) Density: 1442 persons/sq. km
Growth Rate: 0.3%/yr Stable
Major Human Activities: tourism, international finance,, semitropical produce
HUMAN IMPACTS:
Military bases (U.S. Air Force Base and Naval Station); 251 ha of market
gardens; high urbanization, much land use is residential; only small
remaining
natural areas
Habitat: urban/residential Urban Pop: 3000 Urban Indicator: 0
Accessibility: port, airport Annual tourist arrivals: 600000
Percent population in agr/mining/fishing: 2% Human Threat Indicator: 0
Gross Domestic Product: $ 18036 per capita Economic Pressure Indicator: 9
Conservation support: government and public support, legislation
PROTECTED AREAS: Protected Area Coverage Indicators - Terrestrial: 1 Marine: 0
Number: 5 Area: Terrestrial: 0.5 sq. km Marine: 2 sq. km
Government Parks system covers 240 ha
North Shore Coral Reef Preserve
South Shore Coral Reef Preserve
Castle Harbour Islands National Park, 9 islands (10 ha) in 200 ha
National Trust owns 34 ha of protected area, Walsingham Trust 9 ha
DATA RELIABILITY: good Data Rel. Indicator: 3
HUMAN IMPACT INDEX HI: 51
CONSERVATION IMPORTANCE INDEX CI-Terrestrial: 21 Very high
CI-Marine: 11 Moderate
REFERENCES:
Johnson, Timothy H. 1989. Unpublished ICBP profiles of Atlantic
islands.
Last updated: 15/09/90
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Page last updated: 09/05/10