TheBiak Islands (Indonesian:Kepulauan Biak, alsoSchouten Islands orGeelvink Islands) are anisland group ofPapua province, easternIndonesia in theCenderawasih Bay (or Geelvink Bay) 50 km off the north-western coast of the island ofNew Guinea. The group consists of the main islands ofBiak,Supiori andNumfor, and numerous smaller islands, mostly covered inrain forest. The population of the archipelago is about 130,000.
The first recorded sighting by Europeans of the Schouten Islands was by thePortuguese navigatorJorge de Menezes in 1526. On the voyage fromMalacca toMaluku, via northern Borneo, he was further carried eastward by a storm and strong winds. Jorge de Menezes landed atBiak, where he was forced to winter. Inspired by Malay, Moluccan or local Papuan names, he named the archipelago, and eventually the coasts of western Papua "Islands of Papuas". Biak was thenceforth called in Portuguese mapsIlha de Dom Jorge orIlha onde invernou Dom Jorge, andIlha de S. Jorge.[1][2]
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The archipelago was also sighted bySpanish navigatorÁlvaro de Saavedra who landed onYapen on June 24, 1528, when trying to return fromTidore toNew Spain. The islands were namedIslas de Oro (Golden Islands in Spanish). In 1545 they were visited byÍñigo Ortiz de Retes on board thegalleonSan Juan.[3]
The archipelago was first mapped in the Portuguese charts of Gaspar Viegas (c. 1537), an anonymous map of 1540, and on the maps of João de Lisboa and of Bartolomeu Velho (c. 1560), and by other Portuguese, Spanish, and Dutch maps.[4]
The Schouten Islands were eventually named after Dutch explorerWillem Schouten, who explored them in 1615.
TheTidore Sultanate had tributary ties with the islands. Seafarers from the region used to regularly pay homage to the sultan.[5]
The Biak Islands are among the most densely populated parts of Papua province.[6]
These small islands have been designated theBiak–Numfoor rain forests. They have the most highlyendemicavifauna of any single area in the New Guinea region. The forest consists of similar types of trees to that on mainland New Guinea.
There are over 100 bird species on the islands, of which 11 to 16 areendemic, that is, restricted to this small island group. These include:black-winged lory (Eos cyanogenia); the small tree-climbingGeelvink pygmy parrot (Micropsitta geelvinkiana);Biak scrubfowl (Megapodius geelvinkianus);Geelvink imperial pigeon (Ducula geelvinkiana);Geelvink fruit dove (Ptilinopus speciosus);Biak coucal (Centropus chalybeus); twotree kingfishers,Biak paradise kingfisher (Tanysiptera riedelii) andNumfor paradise kingfisher (Tanysiptera carolinae);Biak gerygone (Gerygone hypoxantha);Biak monarch (Monarcha brehmii);Biak flycatcher (Myiagra atra);long-tailed starling (Aplonis magna); andBiak white-eye (Zosterops mysorensis).[7][8]
As well as the birds, there are a number of endemic mammals, although there are only 29 mammal species on the islands. The endemics include:Biak naked-backed fruit bat (Dobsonia emersaa) a species ofbarebacked fruit bat (so-called because their wings are attached to the back rather than the sides, giving this type of bat a different appearance to most species; a marsupialBiak glider (Petaurus biacensis);Japen rat (Rattus jobiensis); and two species ofgiant naked-tailed rat,Uromys boeadii andUromys emmae.
The islands also have a number of endemic butterflies and one endemic spiderDioleniusangustipes.[9]
Much of the forest has been cut down for logging or to clear land for planting especially on Biak Island, which is the most populous in the area, although logging has slowed. There are two protected areas, which are close to each other:Pulau Supiori Nature Reserve, which is most of Supiori Island; andBiak Utara Nature Reserve which is an area on Biak Island just across the bridge from Supiori. However the logging industry may return, while birds are vulnerable to collectors and just because they have such a limited range of habitat on these small islands. The area needs more study.[10]
The seas around the Biak Islands are part of theCoral Triangle, a marine region which has the world's greatest diversity of coral reef species. Diving in the waters off Biak is a popular activity for tourists.
The islands have twomarine protected areas. The Biak Numfor Locally Managed Marine Area, established in 2015, protects Numfor's eastern coast and the southern coast of Biak.[11] Padaido Marine Recreation Park, established in 2009, protects the waters around thePadaido Archipelago, a group of small islands lying south and southeast of Biak.[12]
1°00′S136°00′E / 1.000°S 136.000°E /-1.000; 136.000
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