EPOW - Ecology Picture of the Week

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A Gondwana Island Forest

Credit & Copyright: Dr. Bruce G. Marcot

Explanation:  Once upon a time, the land masses of Earth consisted of two supercontinents, Pangea to the north and Gondwana (also called Gondwanaland) to the south.   As Gondwana broke apart beginning 200 million years ago, it formed India, Australia, Antarctica, Africa, South America, and New Zealand. Amazingly, remnants of the ancient forests of Gondwana can still be found today.  Some modern-day Gondwana forests are conserved in small reserves, such as Tuku Reserve shown here, which is a small corner of small sub-Antarctic Chatham Island, some 800 km from South Island, New Zealand.     Tuku Reserve is a global gem, housing a rare collection of irreplaceable and endemic plants and animals, including the plants Karamu (Coprosma chatamica), Chatham Island Matipo (Myrsine chatamica), and Chatham Island Mahoe (Melicytus chathamica) -- notice the specific epithets of these species, particularly marking them as endemic to Chatham Island.  Other native plants of these Gondwana forests include Lancewood (Pseudopanax crassifolius), Supplejack (Ripogonum scandens), Hound's Tongue Fern (Phymatosorus diversifolius), and several tree ferns, as pictured below.  Nearly 40 plant species are endemic to Chatham Island's native forests.  Gondwana forests elsewhere have various species of southern beech (Nothofagus spp.) and other rare trees.  Several endemic birds occur in native Gondwana forests of Chatham Island, including Chatham Island Warbler, Chatham Island Pigeon (a locally endemic subspecies of New Zealand pigeon),  and the  recently-rediscovered Taiko or Magenta Petrel (Pterodroma magentae), which is a seabird endemic to Chatham Island and Tuku Reserve.   Conservation of existing Gondwana forests is a priority in South America, Tasmania, New Zealand, and elsewhere.  They are the last of an ancient ecosystem that will never be seen again.

Next week's picture:  Invader in Your Garden: European Garden Spider