Palau tropical moist forests
The Palau tropical moist forests is a tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests ecoregion in Micronesia. It encompasses the nation of Palau.
Geography
The Palau Islands are an archipelago approximately 200 km in length, located 800 km north of the equator and 800 km east of the Philippines. Kayangel is the northernmost island in the archipelago, and the island of Angaur is the southernmost. Babeldaob, or Babelthaup, is the largest island in the archipelago, and is 70% of the ecoregion's land area. Much of the archipelago is enclosed in a barrier reef.Some islands, including Babeldaob and Koror, have a core of weathered volcanic rock. Much of the archipelago is composed of uplifted marine limestone, which has eroded into dramatic karstic landscapes.
The ecoregion also includes some outlying atolls stretching southwest of the Palau Islands, including The Sonsorol islands, Tobi, and Helen.
Climate
The ecoregion has a humid tropical climate. The mean annual temperature in the capital city of Koror is 27º C, and the mean annual rainfall averages 3,730 mm. Rainfall is plentiful year-round, with more during the May through November summer rainy season, and less between February and April.Flora
The natural vegetation consists mostly of tropical moist broadleaf forests. The forests include eight main types – upland forest on the high volcanic islands, swamp forest, mangrove forest, atoll forest, casuarina forest, limestone forest, plantation forest, and palm forest.The forests on much of Babeldaob have been cleared and replaced with grassland.
Fauna
The ecoregion has 13 endemic species of birds – the Palau ground dove, Palau fruit dove, Palau nightjar, Palau swiftlet, Palau scops owl, Palau kingfisher, morningbird, Palau cicadabird, Palau fantail, Palau flycatcher, Palau bush warbler, giant white-eye, and dusky white-eye.The Palau scrubfowl is an endemic subspecies of Micronesian scrubfowl, which also inhabits the Marianas.