Paving the Way for Climate Science on Palmyra Atoll

A hub for scientific research, Palmyra proves to be important for our understanding of climate science and ecosystem resilience.

Located 1,000 miles southwest of Hawaii, Palmyra Atoll is an important biodiversity hotspot and a scientific hub for ecological and climate change research. Palmyra’s extreme isolation makes the atoll sensitive as an environment, however, it also makes the spot a sensational place of study for climate science and restoration success.

Palmyra has had a long history of use and abuse. Formerly a U.S. military base during World War II, rats were introduced to Palmyra through vessels. Within a few years, the rat population on Palmyra became out of hand, leading to ecosystem fallout, harming native crab and bird populations and inducing the spread of another invasive species. The island also has a history of former use as a coconut palm plantation. This led to invasive coconut palms nearly taking over Palmyra, crowding out native tree species, and thus eliminating preferred nesting sites for native birds.

In 2011, The Nature Conservancy, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and Island Conservation successfully removed invasive black rats from the atoll to secure nesting habitat for the region’s seabirds. The island saw remarkable recovery over the next several years, including a 5000% increase in native vegetation. However, without the rodents around, the rapidly growing coconut trees were able to spread in greater numbers, forming dense thickets and outcompeting the islands’ many native tree species. The partners are now shifting focus towards removing the coconut palms to make way for native trees, in hopes of restoring Palmyra from rainforest to reef. 

Conservationists working to remove coconut palms from Palmyra. Credit: Katie Franklin

Consisting of 26 islets, Palmyra provides unique habitat for a wide range of threatened species including Sea Turtles, Giant Clams, Reef Sharks, Coconut Crabs, and Pearl Oysters. Palmyra also supports a colony of nearly 25,000 red-footed boobies as well as 400 species of fish within its reefs. Mele Khalsa, island restoration specialist from Island Conservation witnessed Palmyra’s incredible biodiversity firsthand, explaining: 

One of the things that really sticks with me is going out at night and just seeing armies of crabs marching down the beach… There were just so many of them, and they’re all just kind of ambling alone with no care in the world for humans and all the drama of the world.”

A Coconut Crab on Palmyra Atoll. Credit: Andrew Wright

In recent years, emerging scientific research has begun to make the connection between islands free of invasive species and the health of their nearshore ocean ecosystems. One of the key areas of research on Palmyra is in this link between the health of the terrestrial environment and the health of the surrounding coral reefs. As scientists warn that climate change could destroy almost all of Earth’s coral reefs by 2100, this connection is deeply relevant for the future of Palmyra as well as countless coral reef ecosystems around the world. 

What Palmyra demonstrates is that coral reefs are capable of taking the same impacts of climate change that are killing reefs, changing others, and are capable not only of surviving, but continuing to be diverse, healthy, and abundant,” says Chad Wiggins, the Nature Conservancy’s Palmyra programme director.

Wiggins calls Palmyra a “hope spring” and “conservation sandbox” from which important lessons can be learned about the ways restoration and resilience can push beyond artificial boundaries and provide a different form of support against future climate disturbances. 

Red Footed Boobies on Palmyra Atoll. Credit: Andrew Wright

Palmyra’s success depends largely upon human support in continuing to remove invasive species. The atoll is 1,000 miles by plane from the nearest hub in Honolulu. Thus, it’s restoration possibilities require an enormous amount of resources and support. There is a lot of potential for reversing the damage inflicted by humans on wild and special places including the Palmyra Atoll. Restoring and protecting islands has large positive impacts for coral reefs which will only grow more important as climate change progresses. 

Source: The Independent
Feature Photo: Coconut palms crowd out the native trees on the coastline of Palmyra Atoll. Credit: Andrew Wright

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