Mascarene Islands
Native name: Mascareignes | |
---|---|
Geography | |
Location | Indian Ocean |
Coordinates | 20°12′S 57°45′E / 20.20°S 57.75°E |
Major islands | Mauritius, Réunion, Rodrigues |
Administration | |
Demographics | |
Population | 2,195,087 |
The Mascarene Islands (English:
Geography
The archipelago comprises three large islands, Mauritius, Réunion, and Rodrigues, plus a number of volcanic remnants in the tropics of the southwestern Indian Ocean, generally between 700 and 1,500 kilometres east of Madagascar. The terrain includes a variety of reefs, atolls, and small islands. They present various topographical and edaphic regions. On the largest islands these gave rise to endemism and unusual biodiversity. The climate is oceanic and tropical.
Mauritius is located 900 km east of Madagascar. It has an area of 1,865 km2. The highest point is 828 meters above sea level. Mauritius is the most populous of the Mascarene Islands,[1] with a population of 1,252,964.
Réunion is located 150 km southwest of Mauritius. It is the largest of the islands, with an area of 2512 km2. Piton des Neiges (3,069 m), an extinct volcano, is the highest peak on Réunion and in the islands. Piton de la Fournaise is an active volcano on Réunion which erupts frequently.[1]
Rodrigues is located 574 km east of Mauritius. It has an area of 109 km2, and reaches 393 meters elevation.[1]
There are several submerged banks or shoals:
- submerged bank. Prehistorically it was a group of volcanic islands and was enjoined to the Great Chagos Bankuntil continental drift pushed them apart.
- Soudan Banks are a group of low-lying banks on the Mascarene Plateau.
- Nazareth Bank is located just north of Cargados Carajos, and prehistorically they were a single geological feature. Today it is a large, shallow fishing bank.
- Hawkins Bank is located on the northernmost point of the Mascarene Plateau.
Geology
The islands are
Réunion is home to the highest peaks in the Mascarenes, the shield volcanoes Piton des Neiges (3,069 m) and Piton de la Fournaise (2,525 m). Piton de la Fournaise, on the southeastern corner of Réunion, is one of the most active volcanoes in the world, erupting last in December 2021. Piton de la Petite Rivière Noire (828 m) is the highest peak on Mauritius, and the gentle hills of Rodrigues rise to only 390 m.
The
History
The early colonial history of the islands, like that of the Caribbean, featured a succession of takeovers between rival powers: the Portuguese, Dutch, French and British all ruled some or all of the islands.
Around 1507, the explorer
Mauritius
It is postulated from navigational charts, such as the Cantino planisphere of 1502,[6] that Arab sailors first discovered Mauritius around 975, calling it Dina Arobi (abandoned island).[7][8] The earliest confirmed discovery on record was in 1507 by Portuguese sailors.
The Dutch took physical possession in 1598, establishing a succession of short-lived settlements over a period of about 120 years, before abandoning their efforts in 1710. France took control in 1715, renaming it Isle de France. In 1810, the United Kingdom invaded the island to protect its East India ships coming around the Cape of Good Hope from French pirates. Four years later, at the Treaty of Paris, France ceded Mauritius and its dependencies to the United Kingdom. Under British Mauritius (1810-1968), the island successfully developed as a sugar cane-based plantation economy and colony until independence in 1968.
Rodrigues
Rodrigues was first discovered by the Arabs but named after Portuguese navigator Diogo Rodrigues. It was under Dutch control in 1601 and settled by the French in 1691. Britain took possession of Rodrigues in 1809. When Mauritius gained independence in 1968, Rodrigues was forcefully joined to it.[discuss] Rodrigues remains an autonomous region of Mauritius.[citation needed]
Réunion
Réunion was discovered first by the Arabs then by the Portuguese, who named it Santa Apolónia. It was then occupied by the French as part of Mauritius. It was first inhabited by French mutineers who arrived on the island between 1646 and 1669.
Climate
The climate of the islands is tropical. At low elevations summer temperatures (December to April) average 30 °C. Winter temperatures (May to November) are generally cooler, around 25 °C. Temperatures are cooler in the mountains, averaging 18 °C. During the winter short-lived snow can fall on Réunion's high peaks.[11]
Southeasterly trade winds blow throughout the year. Rainfall is generally higher on the windward sides of the islands. On Mauritius average annual rainfall in the lowlands varies from 1905 mm on the windward southeast coast to 890 mm on the leeward side. Rainfall in the mountains is higher, varying from 2540 mm to 4445 mm annually. Tropical cyclones occur occasionally, bringing heavy rain and high winds, and causing erosion and landslides.[11]
Flora
The habitats of the Macarenes vary with the islands' size, topography, age, and proximity to Madagascar, the nearest major land mass. As is common among remote islands, the Mascarene fauna and flora display a high degree of endemism; they include over a thousand species of which several hundred are endemic. The Mascarene islands form a distinct ecoregion known as the Mascarene forests.[11] Until Europeans first settled the islands in the sixteenth century the Mascarenes are not known to have harbored any human population, and the islands' wildlife was still flourishing during the early days of settlement. Today much of the natural vegetation is gone, and there are many introduced species on the islands.
In prehistoric times the islands were covered in a diverse range of tropical moist broadleaf forests. The plant communities are not homogeneous, and comprise at least five fairly distinct vegetation zones that reflect variations in altitude and in moisture regime. These include dry lowland forests, semi-dry sclerophyllous forests, lowland rainforests, montane cloud forests, and high-elevation heathlands on Réunion.[12]
Coastal habitats include beach vegetation, coastal
The dry lowland forests are found on the leeward sides of the islands, from sea level to 200 metres in areas with less than 1000 mm of average annual rainfall. Palms are the dominant trees, including species of
Semi-dry
The lowland rain forests are characterized by dense
The cloud forests are evergreen rain forests found on mountain slopes with high rainfall. They occur on Réunion between 800 and 1900 metres elevation on eastern slopes with an average annual rainfall of 2000–10,000 mm, and between 1100 and 2000 metres on western slopes with an average annual rainfall of 2000–3000 mm. By 2005, relatively intact cloud forests still covered approximately 44,000 ha on Réunion. On Mauritius they are restricted to a small area of Montagne Cocotte in the island's southwest, above 750 metres elevation and with average annual rainfall of 4500–5500 mm. Trees form a dense canopy 6 to 10 metres high. Typical canopy trees include species of Dombeya on Réunion, and species of Monimia and Tambourissa (Monimiaceae) on both islands. There is an understory of small trees and shrubs including species of Psiadia (Asteraceae) and Melicope (Rutaceae). The forests are rich in epiphytes (orchids, ferns, mosses, lichens), emergent tree ferns (Cyathea species), and, originally the palms Acanthophoenix rubra, but poaching has wiped out palms in many areas of Réunion. Three monodominant plant communities are also found in the cloud forests – forests of Acacia heterophylla (Fabaceae) as the canopy tree, which are similar to the Acacia koa forests in Hawaii, thickets dominated by Erica reunionensis (Ericaceae), and hyperhumid forests of screw-pine (Pandanus montanus).[12]
Subalpine shrub occurs on the volcanoes on Réunion, above the treeline at 1800 to 2000 metres elevation. Average annual rainfall is from 2000 to 6000 mm, and frosts occur regularly in winter. Characteristic shrubs include Erica reunionensis and Erica galioides (Ericaceae), Stoebe passerinoides and species of Hubertia and Psiadia (Asteraceae), and Phylica nitida (Rhamnaceae). Herbaceous endemic species include Heterochaenia rivalsii (Campanulaceae), Eriotrix commersonii (Asteraceae), and Cynoglossum borbonicum (Boraginaceae).[12]
Recent volcanic deposits on Réunion's volcanic summits are covered by sparse grasslands rich in endemic grasses, including Festuca borbonica, Agrostis salaziensis, and Pennisetum caffrum. along with orchids like Disa borbonica. Ericoid thickets and thickets of the small tree Sophora denudata (Fabaceae) are found on weathered volcanic substrates.[12]
Most of the indigenous Mascarene flora and fauna are thought to have descended originally from Madagascan and African ancestors.[12]
The four largest families present in the Mascarene Islands are
The Mascarenes are home to many endemic species of
There are 24 species of trees and shrubs in the Mascarenes from subfamily
The flora of the islands co-evolved with the island's unique fauna over millions of years. The human-caused extinction of several of the Mascarenes' land animals, and the introduction of exotic animals to the islands by humans, has disrupted the reproduction and thriving of various island plants. For example, the
Fauna
Much of the Mascarenes' native fauna has become endangered or extinct since the human settlement of the islands in the 17th century. Settlers cleared most of the forests for agriculture and grazing, and introduced many exotic species, including pigs, rats, cats, monkeys, and mongooses.[citation needed]
Birds
Many of the Mascarene birds evolved into flightless forms, the most famous of which was the
Contemporary sources state that the dodo used
Today 17 endemic bird species survive on the islands. Two species – the
Reptiles
Mauritius, Réunion, and Rodrigues were also once each home to one or more species of giant tortoises, now extinct, which comprised the genus Cylindraspis. There are thirteen living endemic reptile species, including a number of species of day geckoes (genus Phelsuma).[11]
Mammals
The islands' only native mammals are
Freshwater
The three largest islands have many freshwater streams which descend from the mountains to the sea. The upper reaches, particularly on Réunion, are fast-flowing and steep with numerous waterfalls.
The Grand River South East (34 km) is the longest river on Mauritius, followed by Rivière du Poste (23 km), Grand River North West (22 km), Rivière La Chaux (22 km), and Rivière des Créoles (20 km). Mauritius has two natural crater lakes, Grand Bassin and Bassin Blanc.[23]
There are about twenty species of fish which spend at least part of their lives in freshwater. The islands have five endemic freshwater fish species, all gobies (Gobiiformes) – Hypseleotris cyprinoides, Cotylopus acutipinnis, Glossogobius kokius, Gobius commersonii, and Oxyurichthys guibei. Cotylopus acutipinnis, which is endemic to Réunion, hatches in the sea before migrating to the rainforest streams where it lives its adult life.[23]
Marine
The Mascarene Islands are surrounded by approximately 750 square km of coral reef. Rodrigues has nearly continuous fringing reefs bounding an extensive lagoon, 7 to 20 km wide, with deep channels. Mauritius is also surrounded by a fringing reef.[1] In contrast, Réunion has very short stretches of narrow fringing reef along the western and southwestern coasts only. The islets of the Cargados Carajos Shoals, which have a very depauperate terrestrial biota owing to being so low-lying and swamped during cyclones, are bound to the east by an extensive arc of fringing reef, which accounts for ~30% of the reefs of the Mascarene Islands. Lagoon reefs and reef flats are dominated by scleractinian corals such as branching and tabular Acropora, Porites massives, foliaceous Montipora and Pavona, and sand consolidated with beds of seagrass such Halophila (Hydrocharitaceae). Among coral reef fishes, wrasses (
Wildlife, threats and preservation
Today Mauritius has one of the highest population densities in the world and on all of the islands, there has been a great loss of habitat and many of the surviving endemic species are still threatened with extinction with little protection. Less than 40 percent of Réunion is covered with natural vegetation, only about 5 percent of Mauritius, and almost none of Rodrigues. On Réunion, forest has been cleared for agriculture and then overtaken by introduced plants. Mauritius was largely converted to sugar cane, tea, and conifer plantations. On Rodrigues the damage has been done by shifting cultivation.
Launch of Saint Brandon Conservation Trust
On 8 May 2024, an independent Mauritian NGO called the
Protected and Future Protected areas
40.6% of the Mascarene Islands' land area is constituted of protected areas. Terrestrial protected areas on Mauritius include
See also
- St. Brandon
- Île Raphael
- L'île du Sud
- Avocaré Island
- France Staub
- L'île du Gouvernement
- Île Verronge
- Constitution of Mauritius
- Mauritian Wildlife Foundation
References
- ^ JSTOR 45066025.
- ^ "Le bail permanent de Raphaël Fishing confirmé sur St.-Brandon". Archived from the original on 2017-09-15. Retrieved 2022-11-27.
- ^ "Privy Council Judgment 30 July 2008 - Raphaël Fishing Company Ltd". Archived from the original on 1 October 2022. Retrieved 27 November 2022.
- ^ Emmanuel Van Heygen. "Dispersal of the Genus Phelsuma in the Mascarenes". Phelsumania.com. Archived from the original on 2012-07-16. Retrieved 2012-07-09.
- OCLC 416495775. Retrieved 11 June 2011.
- ^ "The Cantino Planisphere (1502) – Earliest Documented Evidence of the Cargados Carajos Shoals". saintbrandonconservation.org. Retrieved 21 May 2024.
- ^ "History | Mauritian Archaeology". Archived from the original on 2022-06-28. Retrieved 2022-11-27.
- ISBN 9781317467519. Archivedfrom the original on 7 April 2023. Retrieved 19 March 2023.
- hdl:2042/14363. Archived from the original(PDF) on 2017-08-08. Retrieved 2013-10-25.
- ^ "Reunion | History, Location, Map, Population, & Facts". Encyclopedia Britannica. Archived from the original on 2022-04-13. Retrieved 2020-05-25.
- ^ a b c d e f "Mascarene forests". Terrestrial Ecoregions. World Wildlife Fund.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Thébaud, Christophe & Warren, Ben & Cheke, Anthony & Strasberg, Dominique. (2009). Mascarene Islands, Biology. [1]
- ^ "Mascarenes Ferns – Investigating the fern diversity of the Mascarene Islands using phylogeographic approaches". Ist-world.org. Archived from the original on 2013-06-05. Retrieved 2012-07-09.
- ISBN 978-1-84246-182-2.
- S2CID 83958986.
- .
- ^ "Rodrigues Solitaire". Internationaldovesociety.com. Archived from the original on 2017-03-13. Retrieved 2012-07-09.
- ^ "Rodrigues Solitaire". Beautyofbirds.com. Archived from the original on 2014-05-06. Retrieved 2012-07-09.
- ^ a b "Seed Dispersal in Australian Subtropical Rainforest". Tmale.tripod.com. Archived from the original on 2013-12-20. Retrieved 2012-07-09.
- ^ "Le Musée Du Dodo - Dodo And Solitaires, Myths And Reality". Potomitan.info. Archived from the original on 2011-07-22. Retrieved 2012-07-09.
- ^ Rothschild, Walter (1907). Extinct Birds (PDF). London: Hutchinson & Co.
- ^ Racey, Paul. "Prof". bats.org. Archived from the original on 1 August 2017. Retrieved 15 August 2017.
- ^ a b c "Mascarenes". Freshwater Ecoregions of the World. Accessed 21 August 2021. [2] Archived 2021-08-21 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "2024 U.S-Africa Biz Summit Takes Place in Dallas, Texas, May 6-9". allafrica.com. Retrieved 1 June 2024.
- ^ "Saving Africa's Rarest Species at the Corporate Council on Africa". usafricabizsummit.com. Retrieved 1 June 2024.
- ^ ""Mascarene forests". DOPA Explorer. Accessed 18 August 2021". Archived from the original on 19 August 2021. Retrieved 19 August 2021.
- ^ UNEP-WCMC (2021). Protected Area Profile for Réunion from the World Database of Protected Areas. Accessed 18 August 2021. [3] Archived 2021-12-20 at the Wayback Machine
Sources
- Quammen, David, (1996) The Song of the Dodo. Touchstone, New York.
- Tucson.
External links
- Scientific research application on the nature reserve of Mare-Longue (Réunion - Mascarene Islands)
- "Mascarene forests". Terrestrial Ecoregions. World Wildlife Fund.
- Dispersal of the Genus Phelsuma in the Mascarenes (Phelsumania)
- Carta del Cantino, PDF from the site of Biblioteca Estense, Modena
- del Cantino, Cantino planisphere image, zoomable to very high resolution, at Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec. (Click on 1:1 button to get maximum resolution. Click on Image plein écran to get full-screen view.) (in French)