Natural Resources

Palmyra Atoll is a global “biodiversity hot spot,” with one of the most diverse and spectacular coral reef systems in the world and one of the largest remaining undisturbed stands of the globally imperiled Pisonia grandis beach forest. The waters surrounding Palmyra Atoll contain one of the last remaining intact, predator-dominated marine ecosystems on Earth; at least 343 fish species; and more than three times as many stony coral species than the Florida Keys and more than twice as many corals as found in Hawai‘i. Terrestrially, Palmyra is also habitat to the world's largest land invertebrate, the rare coconut crab and supports one of the largest red-footed booby populations in the world, second only to the Galapagos Islands. The nutrient rich waters of the north equatorial countercurrent are important feeding grounds for 29 species of seabirds that use the atoll for nesting and resting -- most numbering in the tens of thousands. In addition, the bristle-thighed curlew, a species of conservation concern, is found in relatively high numbers as they arrive from Alaska to winter at Palmyra, having flown nearly 4,000 miles.

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PHOTO CREDITS: TNC, FWS