Vegetation of Central Pacific Atolls, a brief summary

Miocene pollen and spore flora of Eniwetok Atoll, Marshall Islands

“…R. mangle, now of New World and eastern Pacific distribution, was reported by St. John (1960) (Fosberg, 1947(Fosberg, , 1960.…”

“…All the living relatives of the identified Ehizophoraceae are trees occupying swamp habitats in the intertidal coastal zones or in mangrove depressions (Fosberg, 1947). Gynotroches, however, is an upland tree.…”

Terrestrial forest management plan for Palmyra Atoll

“…As observed by Fosberg (1953) elsewhere, though not common or large in extent, small groves of dense native Pandanus fischerianus are scattered throughout Palmyra Atoll. There were records or collections of Pandanus fischerianus from 20 islets in 2006.…”

“…Both are considered widespread, halophytic, pioneer species, and they can be found in monotypic stands or codominant as well as in mixed forest (Niering, 1963;Kepler and Kepler, 1994). They are generally not dense enough to prohibit ground cover and appear to have no substrate preference (Fosberg, 1953). This vegetation type, specifically tree heliotrope, is heavily used by red-footed boobies for roosting and nesting and is comparable to Pisonia grandis in native bird use overall (Young and others, 2010a).…”

“…Geckos have been observed drinking the nectar from tree heliotrope flowers (S. Hathaway and R. Fisher, U.S. Geological Survey, oral commun., 2007), and Rock (1916) reported that crabs feed on the flowers. Fosberg (1953) noted that bristle-thighed curlews (Numenius tahitiensis) transport the seeds of beach naupaka, and Herbst (1992) noted that beach naupaka is the dominant species on Barren Islet with only a few coconut palms and tree heliotrope present, suggesting that it represents a very early successional stage. Usinger and La Rivers (1953) reported that both beach naupaka and tree heliotrope at Arno Atoll have their own insect species fauna.…”