Komodo Biosphere Reserve

Komodo Biosphere Reserve and National Park
Komodo Biosphere Reserve and National Park
Coordinates	8°37′30″S119°35′27″E / 8.62500°S 119.59083°E Coordinates: 8°37′30″S119°35′27″E / 8.62500°S 119.59083°E
Area	1,118,003 ha (terrestrial: 332,951 ha; marine: 785,052 ha)
Created	1977
Operated by	Komodo National Park; Forum communication and consultation; Indonesian MAB Programme National Committee; Local Government of West Manggarai; PT Putri Naga Komodo; Bogor Agricultural University ; University of Indonesia ; Gadjah Mada University ;

Last updated April 15, 2019

The Komodo Biosphere Reserve and National Park is situated between Flores and Sumbawa in Indonesia. It is renowned for its population of about 5,000 giant lizards, called 'Komodo dragons' (Varanus komodoensis). They exist nowhere else in the world and are of significant interest to scientists studying the theory of evolution.^[1]

Flores is one of the Lesser Sunda Islands, a group of islands in the eastern half of Indonesia. The population was 1,831,000 in the 2010 census and the largest town is Maumere. The name Flores is derived from the Portuguese for "flowers".

Sumbawa is an Indonesian island, located in the middle of the Lesser Sunda Islands chain, with Lombok to the west, Flores to the east, and Sumba further to the southeast. It is part of the province of West Nusa Tenggara, but there are presently steps being taken by the Indonesian government to turn the island into a separate province. Traditionally the island is known as the source of sappanwood, as well as honey and sandalwood. Its savanna-like climate and vast grasslands are used to breed horses and cattle and to hunt deer.

Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia, between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It is the world's largest island country, with more than seventeen thousand islands, and at 1,904,569 square kilometres, the 14th largest by land area and the 7th largest in combined sea and land area. With over 261 million people, it is the world's 4th most populous country as well as the most populous Muslim-majority country. Java, the world's most populous island, is home to more than half of the country's population.

Rinca, also known as Rincah and Rindja, is a small island near Komodo and Flores island, East Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia, within the West Manggarai Regency. It is one of the three largest islands included in Komodo National Park. The island is famous for Komodo dragons, giant lizards that can measure up to 3 metres (9.8 ft) long. Rinca is also populated with many other species such as wild pigs, buffalos and many birds.

A coral reef is an underwater ecosystem characterized by reef-building corals. Reefs are formed of colonies of coral polyps held together by calcium carbonate. Most coral reefs are built from stony corals, whose polyps cluster in groups.

Ecological characteristics

The biosphere reserve is situated in a transition zone between Australian and Asian flora and fauna habitats. Terrestrial ecosystems include open grass land,- woodland savannah, tropical deciduous (monsoon) forest, mangroves and quasi cloud forest.^[1]

A mangrove is a shrub or small tree that grows in coastal saline or brackish water. The term is also used for tropical coastal vegetation consisting of such species. Mangroves occur worldwide in the tropics and subtropics, mainly between latitudes 25° N and 25° S. The total mangrove forest area of the world in 2000 was 137,800 square kilometres (53,200 sq mi), spanning 118 countries and territories.

The marine area constitutes 70.2% of the biosphere reserve and is characterized by a combination of strong currents, coral reefs and islets, which make navigation around the islands in Komodo National Park difficult and dangerous. Komodo has one of the world's richest marine environments, including over 260 species of reef building coral, 70 species of sponge, ascidians, marine worms, mollusks, echinoderms, crustaceans, cartilaginous, over 1,000 species of bony fishes, marine reptiles (green turtle and hawksbill turtle), and marine mammals (dolphins, whales, and dugongs).^[1]

Any worm that lives in a marine environment is considered a marine worm. Marine worms are found in several different phyla, including the Platyhelminthes, Nematoda, Annelida, Chaetognatha, Hemichordata, and Phoronida. For a list of marine animals that have been called "sea worms", see sea worm.

Echinoderm is the common name given to any member of the phylum Echinodermata of marine animals. The adults are recognizable by their radial symmetry, and include such well-known animals as sea stars, sea urchins, sand dollars, and sea cucumbers, as well as the sea lilies or "stone lilies". Echinoderms are found at every ocean depth, from the intertidal zone to the abyssal zone. The phylum contains about 7000 living species, making it the second-largest grouping of deuterostomes, after the chordates. Echinoderms are also the largest phylum that has no freshwater or terrestrial (land-based) representatives.

Crustaceans form a large, diverse arthropod taxon which includes such familiar animals as crabs, lobsters, crayfish, shrimp, krill, woodlice, and barnacles. The crustacean group is usually treated as a subphylum, and because of recent molecular studies it is now well accepted that the crustacean group is paraphyletic, and comprises all animals in the Pancrustacea clade other than hexapods. Some crustaceans are more closely related to insects and other hexapods than they are to certain other crustaceans.

Notable species of high commercial value include sea cucumbers, Napoleon wrasse (Cheilinus undulatus), and groupers. The number of terrestrial animal species is important from a conservation perspective, as some species are endemic. The Komodo dragon (Varanus komodoensis) is among the world’s largest reptiles and can reach over 3.6 metres in length and weigh over 90 kg. In 1991, the Komodo National Park was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site to protect the Komodo dragon. Many of the mammals are Asiatic in origin (e.g. deer, pig, macaques, civet), while several reptile and bird species are Australian. These include the orange-footed scrubfowl (Megapodius reinwardti), the lesser sulphur-crested cockatoo (Cacatua sulphure) and the friarbird.^[1]

Sea cucumbers are echinoderms from the class Holothuroidea. They are marine animals with a leathery skin and an elongated body containing a single, branched gonad. Sea cucumbers are found on the sea floor worldwide. The number of holothurian species worldwide is about 1,717 with the greatest number being in the Asia Pacific region. Many of these are gathered for human consumption and some species are cultivated in aquaculture systems. The harvested product is variously referred to as trepang, namako, bêche-de-mer or balate. Sea cucumbers serve a useful role in the marine ecosystem as they help recycle nutrients, breaking down detritus and other organic matter after which bacteria can continue the degradation process.

Groupers are fish of any of a number of genera in the subfamily Epinephelinae of the family Serranidae, in the order Perciformes.

The macaques constitute a genus (Macaca) of Old World monkeys of the subfamily Cercopithecinae. The 23 species of macaques are distributed throughout Asia, North Africa and Gibraltar. Macaques are principally frugivorous, although their diet also includes seeds, leaves, flowers, and tree bark, and some, such as the crab-eating macaque, subsist on a diet of invertebrates and occasionally small vertebrates. Macaques are found in a variety of habitats throughout the Asian continent, and are extremely adaptable. All macaque social groups are arranged around dominant, matriarchal females. They also have learned to live with humans, and have become an invasive species in some human inhabited landscapes, such as the island of Mauritius and Silver Springs State Park in Florida. Macaques can be a threat to conservation, along with a threat to human wellbeing through carrying transmittable and fatal diseases. Currently, macaques as an invasive species are handled with several control methods.

Socio-Economic Characteristics

The Komodo Biosphere Reserve has a total population of 97,988 inhabitants of which 3,267 live in the core area (2011 figures). Resident populations include local communities such as the Komodo, Bima and Manggarai, and migrant communities such as the Bajo and Bugis. Descendants of the original people of Komodo, the Ata Modo, still live in the reserve, but their culture and language is slowly being integrated into that of the migrant communities.^[1]

Population numbers have increased rapidly due to migration, resulting in rises in illegal logging, poaching and unsustainable fishing practices, which constitute threats to the biosphere reserve. People from local communities mostly obtain their livelihoods from farming, while the majority of migrant communities work as fishermen.^[1]

Tourism has increased significantly in recent years, a trend that this likely continue. A primary objective of the biosphere reserve is therefore to promote the sustainable use of resources through ecotourism.^[1]

Sources

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The Komodo dragon, also known as the Komodo monitor, is a species of lizard found in the Indonesian islands of Komodo, Rinca, Flores, and Gili Motang. A member of the monitor lizard family Varanidae, it is the largest living species of lizard, growing to a maximum length of 3 metres (10 ft) in rare cases and weighing up to approximately 70 kilograms (150 lb).

Megalania is an extinct giant goanna or monitor lizard. They were part of a megafaunal assemblage that inhabited southern Australia during the Pleistocene. The youngest fossil remains date to around 50,000 years ago. The first aboriginal settlers of Australia might have encountered them and been a factor in their extinction.

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References

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "Komodo". United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization . Retrieved 18 May 2016.

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[UNESCO-1] 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "Komodo". United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization . Retrieved 18 May 2016.