The flora and fauna of Bermuda form part of a unique ecosystem due to Bermuda's isolation from the mainland of North America. The wide range of endemic species and the islands form a distinct ecoregion, the Bermuda subtropical conifer forests.
The flora and fauna of Bermuda form part of a unique ecosystem due to Bermuda's isolation from the mainland of North America. The wide range of endemic species and the islands form a distinct ecoregion, the Bermuda subtropical conifer forests.
Located 900 km off the American East Coast, Bermuda is a crescent-shaped chain of 184 islands and islets that were once the rim of a volcano. The islands are slightly hilly rather than having steep cliffs, with the highest point being 79m. The coast has many bays and inlets, with sandy beaches especially on the south coasts. Bermuda has a semi-tropical climate, warmed by the Gulf Stream current. Bermuda is very densely populated. Twenty of the islands are inhabited.
Wildlife that could fly to the island or were carried there by winds and currents formed the species. There are no native mammals other than bats, and only two reptiles, but large numbers of birds, plants, and insects. [1] [2] Once on the island, organisms had to adapt to local conditions, such as the humid climate, lack of fresh water, frequent storms, and salt spray. The area of the islands shrank as water levels rose at the end of the Pleistocene epoch, and fewer species were able to survive in the reduced land-area. Nearly 8,000 different species of flora and fauna are known from the islands of Bermuda. The number is likely to be considerably higher if all microorganisms, cave-dwellers and deep-sea species were counted. [3]
Today the variety of species on Bermuda has been greatly increased by introductions, both deliberate and accidental. Many of these introduced species have posed a threat to the native flora and fauna because of competition and interference with habitat.
Over 1000 species of vascular plant are found on the islands, the majority of which are introduced. Of the 165 native species, 17 are endemic.
At the time of the first human settlement by shipwrecked English sailors in 1593, Bermuda was dominated by forests of Bermuda cedar ( Juniperus bermudiana ) [4] with mangrove swamps on the coast. More deliberate settlement began after 1609, and colonists began clearing forests to use for building and shipmaking, and to develop agricultural cultivation. By the 1830s, the demands of the shipbuilding industry had denuded the forests, but these recovered in many areas.
In the 1940s the cedar forests were devastated by introduced scale insects, which killed roughly 8 million trees. Replanting using resistant trees has taken place since then, but the area covered by cedar is only 10% of what it used to be. Another important component of the original forest was Bermuda palmetto ( Sabal bermudana ), a small palm tree. It now grows in a few small patches, notably at Paget Marsh. Other trees and shrubs include Bermuda olivewood ( Cassine laneana ) and Bermuda snowberry ( Chiococca alba ). The climate allows for the growth of other palms such as royal palm ( Roystonea spp.) and coconut palm ( Cocos nucifera ), although the lack of very warm temperatures does not usually allow coconuts to fruit properly. Bermuda is the farthest north location in the Northern Hemisphere where coconut palms will grow naturally. [5]
Remnant patches of mangrove swamp can be found around the coast and at some inland sites, including Hungry Bay Nature Reserve and Mangrove Lake, Bermuda. These were important for moderating the effects of storms and providing transition habitats. Here black mangrove ( Avicennia germinans ) and red mangrove ( Rhizophora mangle ) are the northernmost mangroves in the Atlantic. The inland swamps are particularly interesting as mangroves thrive in salty water; in this case, the saltwater arrives through underground channels rather than the usual tidal wash of coastal mangrove swamps. Areas of peat marsh include Devonshire, Pembroke, and Paget marshes.
Bermuda has four endemic ferns: [6] Bermuda maidenhair fern ( Adiantum bellum ), Bermuda Shield Fern ( Thelypteris bermudiana ), Bermuda cave fern ( Ctenitis sloanei ) and Governor Laffan's fern ( Diplazium laffanianum ). The latter is extinct in the wild but is grown at Bermuda Botanical Gardens. The endemic flora of the island also include two mosses, ten lichens and forty fungi.
Among the many introduced species are the Casuarina ( Casuarina equisetifolia ) and Suriname cherry ( Eugenia uniflora ).
Bermudiana ( Sisyrinchium bermudiana ) Darrell's fleabane ( Erigeron darrellianus ) Bermuda campylopus (moss) ( Campylopus bermudianus ) Bermuda bean ( Phaseolus lignosus ) Bermuda spike rush ( Eleocharis bermudiana ) Bermuda trichostomum (moss) ( Trichostomum bermudanum ) Governor Laffan's fern ( Diplazium laffanianum )
Bermuda has no native amphibians. A species of toad, cane toad (Rhinella marina), and two species of frog, Antilles coqui (Eleutherodactylus johnstonei), and Eleutherodactylus gossei were introduced by humans and subsequently became naturalized. R. marina and E. johnstonei are common, but E. gossei is thought to have been recently extirpated.
Four species of lizard and two species of turtle comprise Bermuda's non-marine reptilian fauna. Of the lizards, the Bermuda rock lizard (Plestiodon longirostris), also known as the rock lizard or Bermuda skink, is the only endemic species. [2] Once very common, the Bermuda skink is critically endangered. The Jamaican anole ( Anolis grahami ) was deliberately introduced in 1905 from Jamaica and is now by far the most common lizard in Bermuda. The Leach's anole (Anolis leachii) was accidentally introduced from Antigua about 1940 and is now common. The Barbados anole (Anolis extremus) was accidentally introduced about 1940 and is rarely seen. The diamondback terrapin (Malaclemys terrapin) is native to Bermuda. [1] The red-eared slider (Trachemys scripta elegans) was introduced as a pet, but has subsequently become invasive. [7]
All mammals in Bermuda are human introductions, except for four species of migratory North American bats of the genus Lasiurus : the hoary bat, eastern red bat, Seminole bat and silver-haired bat. Early accounts refer to wild or feral hogs, descendants of pigs left by the Spanish and Portuguese as feedstock for ships stopping at the islands for supplies. The house mouse, brown rat and black rat were accidentally introduced soon after the settlement of Bermuda, and feral cats have become common as another introduced species.
Over 360 species of bird have been recorded on Bermuda. The majority of these are migrants or vagrants from North America or elsewhere. Only 24 species breed; 13 of these are thought to be native.
One endemic species is the Bermuda petrel or cahow (Pterodroma cahow), which was thought to have been extinct since the 1620s. Its ground-nesting habitats had been severely disrupted by introduced species and colonists had killed the birds for food. In 1951, researchers discovered 18 breeding pairs, and started a recovery program to preserve and protect the species.
An endemic subspecies is the Bermuda white-eyed vireo or chick-of-the-village (Vireo griseus bermudianus). The national bird of Bermuda is the white-tailed tropicbird or longtail, which is a summer migrant to Bermuda, its most northerly breeding site in the world. Other native birds include the eastern bluebird, grey catbird and perhaps the common ground dove. The common moorhen is the most common native waterbird; very small numbers of American coot and pied-billed grebe are breeding. Small numbers of common tern nest around the coast. The barn owl and mourning dove colonized the island during the 20th century, and the green heron has recently begun to breed.
Of the introduced birds, the European starling, house sparrow, great kiskadee, rock dove, American crow and chicken [8] are all very numerous and considered to be pests. Other introduced species include the mallard, northern cardinal, European goldfinch and small numbers of orange-cheeked and common waxbills. The yellow-crowned night heron was introduced in the 1970s to replace the extinct native heron.
Fossil remains of a variety of species have been found on the island, including a crane, an owl and the short-tailed albatross. Some of these became extinct as the islands' land-mass shrank by nine tenths after the Last Glacial Maximum, while others were exterminated by early settlers. The Bermuda petrel was thought to be extinct until its rediscovery in 1951.
Among the many non-breeding migrants are a variety of shorebirds, herons and ducks. In spring many shearwaters can be seen of the South Shore. Over 30 species of New World warbler are seen each year, with the yellow-rumped warbler being the most abundant. The arrival of many species is dependent on weather conditions; low-pressure systems moving across from North America often bring many birds to the islands. Among the rare visitors recorded are the Siberian flycatcher from Asia and the fork-tailed flycatcher and tropical kingbird from South America.
Lawrence Ogilvie, Bermuda's agricultural scientist 1923 to 1928 identified 395 Bermuda insects and wrote the Department of Agriculture's 52-page book The Insects of Bermuda, including Aphis Ogilviei that he discovered.
More than 1100 kinds of insects and spiders are found on Bermuda, including 41 endemic insects and a possibly endemic spider. Eighteen species of butterfly have been seen; about six of these breed on the islands, including the large monarch and the very common Bermuda buckeye (Junonia coenia bergi). More than 200 moths have been recorded; one of the most conspicuous is Pseudosphinx tetrio , which can reach 9 cm (3.5 in) in length.
Bermuda has lost a number of its endemic invertebrates, including the Bermuda cicada ( Neotibicen bermudianus), which became extinct when the cedar forests disappeared. Some species feared extinct have been rediscovered, including a Bermuda land snail ( Poecilozonties circumfirmatus ) and the Bermuda ant ( Odontomachus insularis ).
Bermuda lies on the western edge of the Sargasso Sea, an area with high salinity, high temperature and few currents. Large quantities of seaweed of the genus Sargassum are present and there are high concentrations of plankton, but the area is less attractive to commercial fish species and seabirds.
Greater diversity is present in the coral reefs which surround the island.
A variety of whales, dolphins and porpoises have been recorded in the waters around Bermuda. The most common of these is the humpback whale, which passes the islands in April and May during its northward migration.
Bermuda was the first place in the Americas to pass conservation laws, protecting the Bermuda petrel in 1616 and the Bermuda cedar in 1622. It has a well-organised network of protected areas including Spittal Pond, marshes in Paget and Devonshire and Pembroke Parishes, Warwick Pond and the hills above Castle Harbour.
Only small areas of natural forest remain today; much was cleared since colonisation began in the 17th century, and recovered forest was lost in the 1940s due to insect infestation. The Bermuda petrel and Bermuda skink are highly endangered, and Bermuda cedar, Bermuda palmetto and Bermuda olivewood are all listed as threatened species. Some wild plants, including a spike rush, have disappeared. Introduced plants and animals have had adverse effects on the wildlife of the islands. The thriving tourist industry creates its own challenges to preserve the wildlife and habitat that attract visitors.
Bermuda is an overseas territory of the United Kingdom in the North Atlantic Ocean. Located off the east coast of the United States, it is situated around 1,770 km (1,100 mi) northeast of Miami, Florida, and 1,350 km (840 mi) south of Halifax, Nova Scotia, west of Portugal, northwest of Brazil, 1,759 km (1,093 mi) north of Havana, Cuba and north-northeast of San Juan, Puerto Rico. The nearest landmass is Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, about 1,030 km (640 mi) west-northwest, followed by Cape Sable Island, Nova Scotia, Canada 1,236 km northward. Although commonly referred to in the singular, the territory consists of approximately 138 islands, with a total area of 57 km2 (22 sq mi).
Dactyloidae are a family of lizards commonly known as anoles and native to warmer parts of the Americas, ranging from southeastern United States to Paraguay. Instead of treating it as a family, some authorities prefer to treat it as a subfamily, Dactyloinae, of the family Iguanidae. In the past they were included in the family Polychrotidae together with Polychrus, but the latter genus is not closely related to the true anoles.
Trinidad and Tobago are continental islands with a geologically very recent history of direct land bridge connection to South America. As a result, unlike most of the Caribbean Islands, Trinidad and Tobago supports a primarily South American flora and fauna and has greater diversity of plant and animal species than the Antilles. However, rates of endemism are lower than in the rest of the Caribbean because there has been less time for genetic isolation from mainland populations because of the history of land bridge connections and hence fewer opportunities for speciation, and so a greater proportion of the species in Trinidad and Tobago are also found on the South American mainland. Trinidad is nearer to mainland South America and has been directly connected to the mainland via land bridges more often and for longer periods than Tobago. This, as well as Trinidad's larger size and more varied topography and hydrology compared to that of Tobago allow greater species and ecosystem diversity on the former compared to that on the later of the islands.
The Bermuda petrel is a gadfly petrel. Commonly known in Bermuda as the cahow, a name derived from its eerie cries, this nocturnal ground-nesting seabird is the national bird of Bermuda and can be found pictured on Bermudian currency. The Bermuda petrel is the second rarest seabird on the planet. They have medium-sized body and long wings, a greyish-black crown and collar, dark grey upper-wings and tail, white upper-tail coverts and white under-wings edged with black, and the underparts are completely white.
Spittal Pond Nature Reserve is the largest wildlife sanctuary in Bermuda, located close to the Atlantic coast of Smith's Parish. Surrounding the third largest pond in Bermuda, Spittal Pond, it covers an area of 60 acres (24 ha). It is one of 13 parks or reserves managed by the Bermuda Department of Conservation Services which protects and conserves environmentally critical areas and habitats. The pond reserve, a wetland site, is one of the seven Ramsar Sites in Bermuda, which was approved on 10 May 1999 for the criteria of its unique characteristics such as its lagoon which is permanently brackish, ecology featuring wet grassland and mangrove forests, seasonal shorebirds, other ver run waterbirds and European eels. It is also home to many types of species mostly including birds.
Juniperus bermudiana is a species of juniper endemic to Bermuda. This species is most commonly known as Bermuda cedar, but is also referred to as Bermuda juniper. Historically, this tree formed woodland that covered much of Bermuda. Settlers cleared part of the forest and the tree was used for many purposes including building construction and was especially prized for shipbuilding. Scale insects introduced during the Second World War construction of United States airbases in Bermuda devastated the forests, killing over 99% of the species. Since then, the salt tolerant Casuarina equisetifolia has been planted as a replacement species, and a small number of Bermuda cedars have been found to be resistant to the scale insects. Populations of certain endemic birds which had co-evolved with the tree have plummeted as a result of its demise, while endemic cigalas and solitary bees were driven to extinction.
Anolis roosevelti, also known commonly as the Virgin Islands giant anole, Roosevelt's giant anole or the Culebra giant anole, is an extremely rare or possibly extinct species of lizard of the genus Anolis in the family Dactyloidae. The species is native to the Virgin Islands and Vieques.
The fauna of Puerto Rico is similar to other island archipelago faunas, with high endemism, and low, skewed taxonomic diversity. Bats are the only extant native terrestrial mammals in Puerto Rico. All other terrestrial mammals in the area were introduced by humans, and include species such as cats, goats, sheep, the small Indian mongoose, and escaped monkeys. Marine mammals include dolphins, manatees, and whales. Of the 349 bird species, about 120 breed in the archipelago, and 47.5% are accidental or rare.
The knight anole is the largest species of anole in the Dactyloidae family. Other common names include Cuban knight anole or Cuban giant anole, highlighting its native country, but it has also been introduced to Florida. In its native Cuba, this large anole is called chupacocote.
The fauna of Barbados comprises all the animal species inhabiting the island of Barbados and its surrounding waters. Barbados has less biodiversity than the other Antilles. Human activities are responsible for the change in the composition of the fauna, in particular, the replacement of native species. Species that are able to adapt to human presence have survived.
The fauna of Europe is all the animals living in Europe and its surrounding seas and islands. Europe is the western part of the Palearctic realm. Lying within the temperate region, the wildlife is not as rich as in the hottest regions, but is nevertheless diverse due to the variety of habitats and the faunal richness of Eurasia as a whole.
Anolis cristatellus is a small species of anole, belonging to the Dactyloidae family of reptiles. The species is native to Puerto Rico and the U.S. and British Virgin Islands, with introduced populations in locations around the Caribbean. The males of A. cristatellus are easily recognizable by the fin running down the top of the tail, which is known as a "caudal crest". The females also have this crest, but it is smaller than that of the males. The species is often quite common in many areas on Puerto Rico, where it can be seen during the day passing the time on the lower parts of tree trunks, or on fences and the walls of buildings in urban areas, sometimes venturing down onto the ground in order to lay eggs, have a snack, or do other cursorial activities. Like many anoles, this species displays the characteristic behaviour of doing push-ups as well as inflating a pizza-like flap of coloured skin on its throat, known as a dewlap, in order to show others how dominant it is, and thus attract mates or intimidate rivals.
The Puerto Rican twig anole or dwarf anole is a species of small, arboreal anole endemic to Puerto Rico and primarily inhabiting the Cordillera Central from the Sierra de Cayey range in the Southeast to the central-western ranges of Maricao. A mostly grey to olive-brown bodied lizard, A. occultus is the smallest of the Puerto Rican anoles with a snout to vent length of 34–42 mm. In comparison to other twig anoles, A. occultus is extremely cryptic through its unique sleeping behaviors and mottled pattern. Sleeping behavior including site selection minimizes the probability of predator encounter along with A. occultus' extensive list of antipredator behaviors.
Paget Marsh Nature Reserve, also known as Paget Marsh, is an unspoiled marsh, forest, and nature reserve in central Bermuda. It is located next to St. Paul's Church along Middle Road in Paget Parish, to the south of Hamilton Harbour. The 25 acres (10 ha) official reserve is protected by the Bermuda National Trust and Bermuda Audubon Society. It is also a Ramsar wetland of international importance.
Anolis cuvieri is a species of lizard in the family Dactyloidae. The species is endemic to Puerto Rico, and is common in the Toro Negro State Forest.
The ecomorph concept is a term first coined by Ernest Edward Williams in 1972 which he defined as a “species with the same structural habitat/niche, similar in morphology and behavior, but not necessarily close phyletically.” Williams first applied this definition to the Greater Antillean anoles upon observing their evolutionary radiation, although it has since been used widely elsewhere.
The fauna of the United States Virgin Islands consists of 144 species of birds, 22 species of mammals, 302 species of fish and 7 species of amphibians. The wildlife of the U.S.V.I. includes numerous endemic species of tropical birds, fish, and land reptiles as well as sea mammals. The only endemic land mammals are six species of native bats: the greater bulldog bat, Antillean fruit-eating bat, red fruit bat, Brazilian free-tailed bat, velvety free-tailed bat and the Jamaican fruit bat. Some of the nonnative land mammals roaming the islands are the white-tailed deer, small Asian mongoose, goats, feral donkeys, rats, mice, sheep, hogs, dogs and cats.
The Madeira evergreen forests is a laurissilva ecoregion of southwestern Europe. It covers the archipelago of Madeira and some nearby islands in the Atlantic Ocean. Laurel forest, known as Laurisilva of Madeira, once covered the islands. Over centuries the laurel forests were mostly cleared. Madeira's remaining forests are now protected.
The Jamaican moist forests is a tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests ecoregion in Jamaica.
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