What Are Low Island Environments?
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USP Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data Paci"c low island environments / created by Island Research & Education Initiative in collaboration with Paci"c Resources for Education and Learning. -- Palikir, Pohnpei : Island Research & Education Initiative, 2014. 42 p. : col. ill. ; 29cm. ISBN 978-982-9123-89-3 1. Physical geography--Oceania--Juvenile literature. I. Island Research & Education Initiative. II. Paci"c Resources for Education and Learning. GB391.P334 2014 910.021--dc23 Paci!c Islands Climate Education Partnership (PCEP) Author: Danko Taboroši Editors: Marylin Low and Art Sussman Photography: please see page 40 for photo credits Vector illustrations: please see page 40 for illustration credits Design, layout, and image processing: Jyrgalism Design Funded by National Science Foundation (NSF) Grant #1239733 Published by Island Research & Education Initiative (iREi) i REi PO Box PS 303, Palikir, Pohnpei, FM 96941 Federated States of Micronesia $is book is one in a series of environmental and climate education books prepared for schools in the Paci"c Islands. $is and the other titles in the series can be obtained from iREi and PREL. For more information, please visit PCEP at pcep.prel.org or contact iREi at [email protected] or PREL at [email protected]. Citation: Taboroši, Danko. Paci!c Low Island Environments. Paci"c islands Climate Education Partnership (PCEP), Place-based resources for Paci"c Island schools. Pohnpei, Federated States of Micronesia: Island Research & Education Initiative, 2014. © 2014 iREi and PREL. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form or by any means without the prior permission of the iREi and PREL. Note: We hereby grant permission to the employees and volunteers of PREL, iREi, WestEd, College of the Marshall Islands, and the University of Hawai‘i, as well as employees and volunteers of government education authorities in American Sāmoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI), the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM), Guam, Hawai‘i, the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI), and the Republic of Palau (ROP) to reproduce and/or modify parts of this publication for direct teaching purposes provided that this book is cited as the source and reproduced and/or modi"ed material is less than 50% of the total. PACIFIC Disclaimer: $is work has been funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) under Grant #1239733 to Paci"c Resources for Education and Learning (PREL) in partnership with WestEd, University of Hawaii, and the LOW ISLAND ENVIRONMENTS College of the Marshall Islands. $e "ndings and opinions expressed here are those of Island Research & Education Initiative (iREi) and do not necessarily re%ect the views of the funding agency. Place-based resources for Pacific Island schools DEDICATION TABLE OF CONTENTS For students, teachers and communities 4 INTRODUCTION living in tropical Paci!c island environments. 6 WHAT IS A LOW ISLAND? 8 WHAT ARE LOW ISLAND ENVIRONMENTS? 10 ATOLL FOREST 12 VILLAGES 14 AGROFOREST 16 TARO PATCH 18 LAGOON-FACING SHORE 20 OCEAN-FACING SHORE 22 ISLAND WITHOUT PEOPLE 24 LAGOON 26 LAGOON-FACING REEF 28 PATCH REEF 30 OCEAN-FACING REEF 32 OPEN OCEAN 34 GLOSSARY 36 TEACHING TIPS 40 ILLUSTRATION CREDITS 2 3 t INTRODUCTION There are two main kinds of This book describes di&erent These islands are in the Paci"c The words that are in brown islands in the Paci"c Ocean: environments on Paci"c low Ocean near the equator. Because might be new words in English high islands and low islands. All islands. $is book has pictures of this location, the islands have for you to know. Check out the islands where people live have of these environments, and the a warm climate. It is warm for Glossary near the back of the some of the same environments plants and animals that live the whole year. It is warm during book where you can learn what (kinds of places such as coral there. See how many of these the day and warm during the each of these words mean. We reef, open ocean, and forest). environments you know about. night. $e ocean is warm all year. write these words in brown the Some islands have unique places You can also read the high $is warm climate is di&erent "rst time they are in the book. that are not on all the other island book that describes other from the climate in many other islands. environments such as upland parts of the planet. Many of the forests and caves. plants and animals that live here This book has pictures of plants are di&erent from the plants and and animals that live on low animals that live in colder parts islands. How many of the plants of the planet. and animals do you already know? What plants and animals do you see on the island that are not in the book? Talk with your friends, family and teachers to "nd out what they know about the environments, plants and animals on your island home. 4 5 t WHAT IS A LOW ISLAND? BIRTH OF A LOW ISLAND Low islands in the Paci"c Some places on top of the ring- Ocean that are far from shaped reef can become low CORALS HIGH ISLAND continents started as underwater islands. $ese low islands begin volcanoes. $e lava from the as piles of sand and rocks that are volcano rose above the ocean pieces of dead coral and shells surface and became an island of other ocean organisms. Over with high hills or mountains. time, the piles keep growing Because such islands usually and become small islands. $ese rise high above the ocean, we small islands are very di&erent CORAL REEF call them high islands. $e top from high islands. $e small atoll picture shows a high island that islands are usually narrow and is surrounded by a coral reef. %at, with no hills or mountains. Since these atoll islands rise very little above the ocean surface, we Over millions of years, a high call them low islands. island can become lower and lower, and then disappear below CORAL REEF the water. $e middle picture LOW ISLAND shows that as the high island gets lower, coral reefs can still grow LAGOON around it in a ring-like shape. Even a'er the original island has been gone for a very long time (bottom picture), the coral of the surrounding reefs keeps growing and stays near sea level. A reef shaped like a ring and the lagoon that it surrounds are called an atoll. An atoll is shaped like the coast of the original high island that disappeared. 6 7 WHAT ARE LOW ISLAND Ancient people traveling in canoes discovered these islands. t $en more people came and brought animals, built villages, and ENVIRONMENTS? planted fruits and other plants that they needed. Low islands began without any plants or animals living on them. These low islands that began without plants or animals became Over time, ocean currents, wind, and birds brought seeds of plants to home to many di&erent kinds of plants and animals. $ey live in these new islands. Small plants began to grow. $eir roots held sand terrestrial (land) environments, such as forests and gardens. $e and rocks, and stopped the waves and currents from easily washing plants and animals also live in aquatic (water) environments, such them away. as taro pits and the lagoon. Each kind of environment has di&erent conditions that make it a good habitat for the kinds of plants and animals that live in that environment. Turtles came to beaches to make their nests. Plants grew and made the soil richer, and this richer soil then helped larger trees to grow on these islands. Birds and bats came %ying and made new homes in the new forests. Other land animals, such as lizards and insects, arrived on things that %oat in the ocean such as logs. OCEAN LOW ISLAND LAGOON REEF 8 9 t ATOLL FOREST Atoll forests exist on low Typical trees in atoll forests islands that are not disturbed are coconut, beach gardenia, by human activity. $ey have "sh poison tree, strangler "g, trees, bushes, and herbs that terminalia, wild hibiscus, and survive well on low islands. lanterntree. Atoll forests are Most of these plants are native important habitats for many – they grew on the islands native lizards, birds, and bats. before people came there. 10 11 t AGROFOREST Many low islands in the Over time, contact with Paci"c have been inhabited by people from other islands people for hundreds, or even brought additional useful plants several thousand years. Ancient and ways of growing food. people brought breadfruit, taro, $ese activities have created a pandanus, kinds of coconut, kind of man-made forest that and other plants that they is full of fruit trees and other needed. useful plants. Scientists call this type of forest an “agroforest.” 12 13 t VILLAGES In addition to the trees, Also, there are many weeds bushes, and herbs that people that grow wild and are not planted and carefully managed wanted by people. Weeds are in agroforests, various native usually non-native plants that and non-native plants grow grow in disturbed areas such within villages. People look as rubbish piles, roadsides, and a'er some of them. Others are messy yards. Some weeds are wild plants that are allowed to invasive. $ese invasive weeds grow because people use grow quickly and spread, and them or simply like the way can harm the environment. they look. 14 15 t TARO PATCH Taro is one of the most The ground a few meters important traditional food below the land surface has fresh sources on low islands.