Cayman Islands xeric scrub
The Cayman Islands xeric scrub ecoregion covers a portion of the Cayman Islands in the Caribbean Sea. The dry parts of the island are surrounded by mangroves, dry forest, or developed areas. Grand Cayman Island has been heavily cleared or degraded for human development; while the less populated islands have more intact shrub and wooded habitat.
Location and description
The three main islands of the Caymans are Grand Cayman, Little Cayman and Cayman Brac. The islands are low and flat on a limestone base. The islands, 250 kilometers south of Cuba, are at the western end of the Greater Antilles.Climate
The climate of the ecoregion is Tropical savanna climate - dry winter. This climate is characterized by relatively even temperatures throughout the year and a pronounced dry season. The driest month has less than 60 mm of precipitation, and is drier than the average month. The wet months are May through November.Flora and fauna
While much of the islands are mangroves or developed areas, there are evergreen thickets on the eastern side of Grand Cayman, the north of Little Cayman, and the relatively higher elevations on Cayman Brac. Common species of trees and bushes are turpentine tree, the near-threatened West-Indian mahogany,, white bully, spicewood, and fringetree. Also common are palms such as Cayman thatch palm Coccothrinax proctorii and Florida thatch palm Thrinax radiata; also climbing cacti such as Moonlight cactus.The strong trade winds may help disperse plants over water: of the 601 vascular plant species on the islands, only 21 are endemic. A significant threat to the thickets is the introduction of the campeche logwood for commercial purposes.