 | This articleneeds additional citations forverification. Please helpimprove this article byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Wildlife of Seychelles" – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(February 2012) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
Thewildlife of Seychelles comprises the flora and fauna of theSeychelles islands off the eastern coast of Africa in the western Indian Ocean.
In common with many fragile island ecosystems, the early human history of Seychelles saw theloss of biodiversity including the disappearance of most of thegiant tortoises from the granitic islands, felling of coastal and mid-level forests and extinction of species such as theMarianne white-eye,Seychelles parakeet,Aldabra brush warbler, and thesaltwater crocodile. However, extinctions were far fewer than on other islands such asMauritius or Hawaii, partly due to a shorter period of human occupation (since 1770). The Seychelles today is known for success stories in protecting its flora and fauna.
Arguably the first scientific study of Seychelles was that of theMarion Dufresne expedition in 1768, two years prior to settlement. Dufresne instructed Duchemin, captain of the vesselLa Digue, to "especially give the greatest attention to the study and prospects of all the species of inland productions such as trees, bushes, plants, herbs, quadruped animals, birds, insects, freshwater fish, stones, soil, minerals. Nothing is unimportant. You must not avoid giving details and descriptions- everything is worthy of attention". Their observations remain an intriguing window on Seychelles prior to human interference.
Subsequent to settlement,Fairfax Moresby's hydrographic survey in 1822, was the first scientific study in the islands, while early collectors included Pervillé,[which?] Wright[which?] and Mobius[which?] from the early to mid-19th century. The first major avian collector was Newton[which?] in 1865 followed by Lantz[which?] in 1877, both in the granitic islands. Abbott[which?] collected in the granitic islands in 1890 and in the Aldabra group in 1893. Voeltzkow[which?] also made general natural history collections on Aldabra in 1895.
In 1882, Coppinger[which?] made extensive collections and observations. Several expeditions followed, the most significant of which was thePercy Sladen Expedition aboardSealark[which?] in 1905, when Gardiner[which?] made extensive collections in the granitics and outer islands. His collections for some islands remain the only records available into the 21st century.
Studies after Gardiner were sparse up to the 1950s, though some residents of Seychelles made valuable contributions, notably Dupont,[which?] Thomasset,[which?] Baty[which?] and Vesey Fitzgerald.[which?] Visiting oceanographic expeditions also made some collections. In the 1950s, Smith[which?] conducted a major study of marine fish, whileJacques Cousteau also visited in 1954 aboard theRVCalypso. Legrand collected Lepidoptera in the 1950s, while the Bristol University expedition of 1964–1965 focussed on birds and insects.
The contribution ofRoyal Society to the knowledge ofAldabra from 1966 is legendary and work on Aldabra continued under the custodianship ofSeychelles Islands Foundation
In more modern times, International Council for Bird Preservation (ICBP, nowBirdLife International) conducted a great deal of research onCousin Island. In the second half of the 1980s and during the 1990s, many reports and published papers for the granitic islands were the result of work conducted onAride Island first by Royal Society for Nature Conservation (nowRoyal Society of Wildlife Trusts) and then by the local NGOIsland Conservation Society inRamos National Park, summarised in annual reports from 1987 to the present. Extensive scientific research has been carried out since the 1990s and much of this is published in Seychelles in the scientific journalPhelsuma (published byNature Protection Trust of Seychelles).
Although many of the conservation laws date back to British colonial days, the Seychelles government has strictly protected the natural heritage of the islands for many years.
Seychelles is home to twoUNESCOWorld Heritage Sites run by theSeychelles Islands Foundation. They are the atoll ofAldabra, which is the world's largest raised coralatoll and also theVallée de Mai onPraslin island, billed as the original site of theGarden of Eden. The Cousin Island Special Reserve, purchased by International Council for Bird Preservation (ICBP, nowBirdLife International) in 1968 and managed by Nature Seychelles, is an internationally known bird and marine sanctuary which has won several awards for conservation andecotourism. Seychelles has six national marine parks including theSainte Anne Marine National Park located adjacent to the capital, Port Victoria which are managed by the governmentparastatal, Marine Parks Authority. Much of the land territory (about 40%) and a substantial part of the coastal sea around Seychelles are protected as national parks, including marine parks, and reserves. Seychelles will soon become the first country to have half its land protected.
AWorld Bank/Environment Facility project in 1999 and a project for rat eradication has led to a programme of restoration of private islands by the government, Nature Seychelles and private island owners. These islands include Fregate, Denis and Cousine. The management of these islands now employ full-time conservation officers and fund conservation programmes. The island restoration program has now been taken to the outer islands by theIsland Conservation Society, with the first Island Conservation Centre opened at Alphonse Atoll in 2007. The Island Conservation Society has also implemented conservation programmes on Conception,North Island, Cosmoledo Atoll and Farquhar Atoll.
The granitic islands of Seychelles are home to about 75 endemic plant species, with a further 25 or so species in the Aldabra group. Particularly well known is thecoco de mer, a species of palm that grows only on the islands ofPraslin and neighbouringCurieuse. Sometimes nicknamed the "love nut" because of its suggestive shape, the coco de mer is the world's largest seed. Thejellyfish tree is to be found in only a few locations today. This strange and ancient plant has resisted all efforts to propagate it. Other unique plant species include theRothmannia annae found only onAride Island Special Reserve.
Lodoicea maldivica (sea coconut),Deckenia nobilis (cabbage palm),Nephrosperma vanhoutteanum,Phoenicophorium borsigianum (thief palm),Roscheria melanochaetes, andVerschaffeltia splendida (stilt palm), all of which are the only species in their respective genera, arepalm trees endemic to the Seychelles.[1]
The gianttortoises (Aldabrachelys) fromAldabra now populate many of the islands of the Seychelles. The Aldabra population is the largest in the world. These reptiles can be found even in captive herds. It has been reported that the granitic islands of Seychelles supported distinct species ofSeychelles giant tortoises, but the status of the different populations is currently unclear. Two of them,Arnolds giant tortoise and theSeychelles giant tortoise are in the process of being re-introduced, after some individuals were discovered surviving among Aldabra populations.[2][3]
Flagshipspecies include: the Seychelles magpie robin and the Seychelles warbler, have been spectacularly rescued from the brink of extinction byBirdLife International,Royal Society of Wildlife Trusts,Island Conservation Society,Nature Seychelles, private islands (Fregate and Denis) and the Government of Seychelles. These birds, once restricted to one island each, have been translocated to many others. The national bird is the rareSeychelles black parrot. Seychelles has 12endemic bird species. These are theAldabra drongo,Seychelles magpie robin,Seychelles paradise flycatcher,Seychelles fody,Seychelles scops-owl,Seychelles white-eye,Seychelles swiftlet,Seychelles kestrel,Seychelles blue pigeon,Seychelles bulbul,Seychelles warbler andSeychelles sunbird. In addition, the islands were formerly home to theSeychelles parakeet, a species that became extinct in the late 1800s.
Seychelles hosts some of the largest seabird colonies in the world. Islands such as Bird,Aride Island, Cousin,Aldabra andCosmoledo host many species of seabirds including thesooty tern, fairy tern, white-tailed tropicbird,noddies andfrigatebirds.Aride Island has more species of seabird and greater numbers than the other 40 granite islands combined including the world's largest colony oftropical shearwater and lesser noddy.
The marine life around the islands, especially the more remote coral islands, can be spectacular. More than 1000 species of fish have been recorded. Since the use ofspearguns anddynamite for fishing was banned through efforts of local conservationists in the 1960s, the wildlife is unafraid of snorkelers and divers.Coral bleaching in 1998 has unfortunately damaged most reefs, but some reefs show healthy recovery (e.g.Silhouette Island. The reefs comprise a vast selection of soft corals and hard corals alike. There is great diving and snorkelling opportunity. The taking of marine turtles was completely stopped in 1994, and turtle populations are now recovering on several protected islands, most notablyCousin Island,Aride Island,Silhouette Island andAldabra. However, they continue to decline at unprotected sites. The use of gill nets for shark fishing as well as the practice of shark finning are now banned.
The Seychelles are home to 26 species ofterrestrial or semi-terrestrial crabs, and 5 species of terrestrialhermit crab, including the world's largest terrestrial invertebrate, thecoconut crab (Birgus latro). The granitic Seychelles are home to the country's only truefreshwater crab,Seychellum alluaudi, which is endemic to the archipelago.[4] Unusually for oceanic islands amphibians are native. Six species offrog are found here, five endemic and one introduced, as well as six endemic species ofcaecilian:Praslin's caecilian, theFrigate Island caecilian and four species ofGrandisonia. There are 20 species of lizard, includinggeckos,skinks, theMadagascar girdled lizard and the endemicchameleonArchaius tigris, as well as three land snakes (two native and one introduced).[5]
