Palmyra Atoll

tiny Palmyra Atoll a National Marine monument located a thousand miles south of Hawaii is one of our planet's most remarkable and diverse wildlife refuge areas I visited Palmyra with the Nature Conservancy in the US Fish and Wildlife Service who have jointly managed this remote five square mile refuge since its acquisition in the year 2000 enroute to Palmyra our first set of land was a thin strip of sand Kingman reef it rises just several feet above sea level from ocean depths of more than two miles Palmyra's peak elevation is just 30 feet and we're reminded of the fragility of these landscapes over the planets life span of four and a half billion years unlike the larger Pacific Islands it appears that Palmyra was never settled today Palmyra Swedes support a vast array of wildlife including predators such as sharks and barracuda to thousands of other species such as manta rays and turtles swarms of Fusiliers Jack's butterfly and damselfish grasses parrotfish rare giant clams and many others [Music] the marine refuge is home to more than 100 species of coral many times the number found in the Caribbean Sea Palmyra is pristine ecosystems were dramatically disrupted soon after Pearl Harbor was attacked in 1941 and the United States plunged into World War two the island was transformed into a naval base with a runway long enough to accommodate large aircraft Cal Meyer is brief used as a military base had a devastating impact on its ecosystems recent restoration has made it a magical place to observe the natural world and the ability to restore ecosystems disrupted by human activity the eradication of non-native rats has contributed to a resurgence of tropical forests seabirds and invertebrates a recovering population of large pool Soniya trees sometimes rise to heights of 100 feet amidst lush vegetation supported by heavy rainfall nutrients from this once again vibrant terrestrial ecosystem support the vitality of Palmyra marine life the world's largest invertebrates rare coconut crabs roam the island along with other invertebrates such as hermit crabs [Music] Palmyra is teeming with a vast array of seabirds supported by restoration efforts over several decades the refuge is managed by a small team operating in modest facilities powered largely by solar panels and wind power congratulations to the Nature Conservancy and the Fish and Wildlife Service for their important work including scientific studies to understand how Palmyra can serve as a model for environmental sustainability around the world [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] you [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] you Oh [Music] [Music] you [Music] [Music] you [Music]

Channel: David Evans Shaw

Views: 75,078

Keywords: terrestrial crabs, David Shaw, David E Shaw, Sharks, hammerhead sharks, Nature Conservancy, davidshaw, BlackPointGroup, Ocean Conservation, Palmyra Atoll, coconut crabs, Shaw, Manta Ray, David, coral reefs, fairy terns

Id: HF9RGnlBmtU

Length: 11min 7sec (667 seconds)

Published: Fri Oct 06 2017