Page 225 - French Polynesia
P. 225
s the outer slope begins, fish diversity decreases with depth. pigeons, pacific reef herons, Tuamotu lorikeet, Sooty crakes, and
the migrant New Zealand cuckoo. The coral atolls such as Rangiroa
A On the uppermost part of the slope, the main residents are also have some of the last populations of the coconut crab (Birgus
latro), which has recently become a threatened species. The green
surgeonfishes, parrotfishes, triggerfishes, wrasses and groupers. sea turtle and a few small lizards, such as the azure-tailed skink
Maximum diversity occurs around depths of 10-20m where squir- and the house gecko make up the reptiles found on the atolls.
relfishes, butterflyfishes, damselfishes, snappers, and surgeon- There are only a few representatives of mammals on the island,
fishes are all present. The deeper coral reefs are less diverse and which include the Polynesian rat and the Norway rat, along with
more sparse, with a clearly different faunal community. There is cats that have become wild.
a decrease in the herbivorous species and in increase in the size
and number of important carnivorous species, such as groupers, T his large coral reef is open at two passes between the lagoon
wrasses, and snappers. and the ocean, and twice daily the tides carry water to and
from the lagoon through these passes, creating strong currents
R angiroa’s terrestrial flora and fauna is not as diverse as that and attracting an immense collection of marine life. Rangiroa’s
found in the marine environment. Vegetation is limited to calm lagoon is world-famous for its abundance and variety of
coconut palms (Cocos nucifera) and other plants that can handle marine life, being one of the richest spots in the number of na-
the arid environment. Much of the soil is depleted of nutrients and tive marine species. World famous thrill rides are in Rangiroa’s
does not hold much moisture. Any moisture that is kept in the soil passes, where experienced divers ride the strong currents. Favorite
is not there for extended periods of time because of sparse annual Rangiroa dives include Avatoru Pass and Tiputa Pass. At Avatoru
precipitation (for eight months of year evaporation exceeds the Pass, along the outer rim of the reef, expect large silvertip sharks,
amount of precipitation on the atoll). There is also a very low level schools of big eyes, silver fish, and blacktip reef shark. At Tiputa
of organic content in the soil, from only 2-3% to the highest being Pass, up ot 50 sharks circle under an immense school of barracuda.
15% around marshes. The dryness and infertility of the soil are the Species include gray reef sharks, whitetip reef sharks, blacktips
major limiting factors to terrestrial plant growth. reef sharks and silvertip sharks, as well as surgeon fish, napoleon
wrasse, grouper, sea turtles and moray eels. Big hammerhead
T he fauna of the limited terrestrial environment of the atoll is sharks can be seen in Tiputa Pass from December to March.
mainly composed of
, a few reptiles, and some invertebrates. There are a total of 27
nesting species of birds, including the Tuamotu warbler, green
