Jiddat al-Harasis and Kuria Muria Islands

Map of the Month: Jiddat al Harasis; Kuria Muria Islands
Map boundaries: 10 to 20 degrees North; 56 to 64 degrees East
Country: Oman (Al Wusta and Dhofar regions)

Overview
The majority of this map area encompasses the tropical waters of the Arabian Sea. In the south part of the map is the triple junction of the Arabian, Indian, and Somali Plates. However, the small area of land includes the Jiddat al Harasis, a flat limestone plateau with karst features, and the Kuria Muria Islands, offshore islands noted for seabird nesting. Between Jiddat al-Harasis and the ocean is the 100-meter Al-Huqf escarpment and the 300-m in height Janabah Hills (UNEP, 2008). The coastal fog deserts are the notable ecological feature. Formed by cool offshore waters, dense seasonal fogs and dews support a unique desert ecosystem with endemic flora. The fog reaches far inland and supports an open acacia woodland. Further inland are the deserts of the Arabian Peninsula.

World Wildlife Fund Terrestrial Ecoregions

Deserts and Xeric Shrublands
Afrotropic Biome
AT 1302, Arabian Peninsula Coastal Fog Desert. Luxurient vegetation and dense woodland dominated by Acacia and Prosopis supported by coastal fogs. The regional endemic tree Anogeissus is found on seaward facing slopes. At higher elevations, Olea, Dodonaca, and Carissa thickets are found. Found in Al Wusta and Dhofar.

Palearctic Biome
PA 1303, Arabian Desert and East Sahero-Arabian Xeric Shrublands. This includes a small area of the map northwest of Hayma in the Al Wusta region. This sparsely vegetated desert contains Calligonum, Conrnulaca, and Cyperus species.
PA 1325, Red Sea Nubo-Sindian tropical desert and semi-desert. This includes the central plains of the Jiddat al Harasis. Vegetation consists of scattered trees and shrubs such as Acacia and Prosopis, with grass noted after a rain. Heavy fogs and dews provide supplemental moisture up to 120 km inland. Found in Al Wusta region.

Marine Ecoregions of the World (Spalding et al., 2007)
Western Indo-Pacific Realm, Somali/Arabian Province
92. Western Arabian Sea. Includes continental shelf area shown on map

Freshwater Ecoregions of the World (Abel et al., 2008)
Europe and Middle East Region
Xeric freshwaters and closed basins
439. Southwestern Arabian Coast
440. Arabian Interior

Places of interest:
Ad Duqm. A shallow sandy bay with lagoons and tidal flats, containing important sites for wintering waterbirds.
Arabian Oryx Sanctuary. Established to protect the oryx; also noted for Houbara bustard and Arabian gazelle (Birdlife International, 2008; UNEP, 2008). Located in ecoregion PA 1325 and AT 1302.
Hamar an Nafur. A small isolated island, home of wintering Socotra cormorant and red-billed tropicbird (Birdlife International, 2008). Ecoregion AT 1302.
Al Hallaniyah. A massive limestone cliff 500 m high on the northeast coast of the Kuria Muria Islands. Important seabird and turtle nesting sites are found on all four islands. Birds of note include red-billed tropicbird, Audubon’s shearwater, masked booby, and Socotra cormorant (Birdlife International, 2008). Ecoregion AT 1302.
Khawr Dhirif. A lagoon noted for Ferruginous duck and Saunders tern (Birdlife International, 2008). Ecoregion AT 1302.
Khawr Ghawi. A tidal inlet noted for shorebirds and the western reef-egret (Birdlife International, 2008). Ecoregion AT 1302.

References:
Abell, Robin and 27 others. 2008. Freshwater Ecoregions of the World: A New Map of Biogeographic Units for Freshwater Biodiversity Conservation. Bioscience 58:403-414.
BirdLife International. 2008. BirdLife’s Online World Bird Database. Accessed 29/12/2008 at http://www.birdlife.org/
Olson, David M., et al., 2001. Terrestrial Ecoregions of the World: A New Map of Life on Earth. BioScience 51:933-938.
Spalding, Mark D. and 14 others. 2007. Marine Ecoregions of the World: A Bioregionalization of Coastal and Shelf Areas. Bioscience 57:573-583.
United Nations Environment Programme—World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP). 2008. Arabian Oryx Sanctuary, Oman. Langdon D. Clough, topic editor. IN Encyclopedia of Earth, Cutler J. Cleveland, ed. Washington, DC: Environmental Information Coalition, National Council for Science and the Environment. Retrieved April 28, 2009. http://www.eoearth.org/.

Rodrigues Triple Point

Following the Turks and Caicos, the next map in this tour of subtropical areas would be between 20 and 30 degrees South and 63 and 72 degrees East. There is no land or shallow marine area within these coordinates. The sea floor at this location is where the Somali Plate, Capricorn Plate, and Antarctic Plate join. The plate boundary between the Capricorn and Somali plates is the Mid-Indian Ridge, while the boundary between the Somali and Antarctic is the Southwest Indian Ridge.
Next series: 10 to 20 degrees; 60 degrees. This includes portions of Oman, Mauritius, Bolivia, and the eastern Caribbean.

Caicos Turks and Silver Bank

Map of the Month: Caicos, Turks, and Silver Bank
Map boundaries: 20 to 30 degrees North; 63 to 72 degrees West
Countries: Dominican Republic and United Kingdom (Overseas Territory)

Overview
The Caicos Bank, which is lined by numerous islands, the Turks Islands, and the three submerged banks located to the southeast (Mourchoir, Silver, and Navidad) are the southeasternmost extension of the Bahama Island chain. Like the rest of the Bahamas, each larger island has a mixture of three vegetation types: pine forests, tropical hardwoods, and mangroves. Smaller islands are viewed as valuable waterfowl refuges, and the large, shallow “banks” are viewed as important coral reef areas. Tourist development has focused on beaches, but there is a flamingo pond on North Caicos, a series of limestone caves and cliffs on Middle Caicos, and expansive salt flats on Turks and Salt Cay. The Dominican Republic has declared Silver and Navidad banks as a sanctuary for marine mammals.

Terrestrial Ecoregions
Tropical and Subtropical Dry Broadleaf Forests
NT 203, Bahamian dry forests. Broadleaf hardwoods such as Swietenia and Bursera grow over an understory of scrub bush and cacti. The West Indian rock iguana is the notable animal species. This vegetation covers about 90 percent of the Turks and Caicos.

Tropical and Subtropical Coniferous Forests
NT 301, Bahamian pine forests. Distributed throughout the Turks and Caicos.

Mangrove
NT 1403, Bahamian mangroves. Scrubby patches of mangroves are mixed with salt marshes. Mangroves are often found in association with seagrasses. The scattered mangrove distribution is attributed to high salinity.

Marine Ecoregions of the World
Tropical Atlantic Realm, Tropical Northwestern Atlantic Province
63. Bahamian

Freshwater Ecoregions of the World
Central America Region
212. Bahama Archipelago. No major rivers are found due to porous limestone

Ramsar Wetlands of International Importance
North, Middle and East Caicos. This wetland complex is found along the shallow coast and between ridges of marine sediments on the larger islands.

Important Bird Areas
Caicos Bank, noted for breeding areas of bridled tern, brown noddy, and roseate tern
East Caicos, noted for dryland, pond, cave, marsh, and wetland habitats with an important coral reef area. Birds are West Indian whistling duck and Kirtland’s warbler.
Middle Caicos, noted for fish ponds, limestone cliffs, offshore cays, sea caves, and inland caves
North Caicos, contains a gallery forest area with blue-headed quail dove and pearly-eyed thrasher
Grand Turk, Salinas or salt ponds containing piping plover dominate the island, named after the Turks cap cactus; colonial architecture is found in Cockburn Town.
Salt Cay, salt ponds
Turks Bank, contains seabird cays with 20,000 waterbirds.

Other points of interest:
Mourchoir Bank, an offshore plateau with parts as shallow as 6 feet, part of Turks and Caicos Islands
Silver Bank, an offshore plateau and sanctuary for sea mammals such as the humpback whale; a wrecked freighter sticks above the surface; part of the Dominican Republic
Navidad Bank, shallow bank that reaches within 13 m of the surface; a sanctuary for marine mammals; part of Dominican Republic

References
Abell, Robin and 27 others. 2008. Freshwater Ecoregions of the World: A New Map of Biogeographic Units for Freshwater Biodiversity Conservation. Bioscience 58:403-414.
BirdLife International. 2008. BirdLife’s Online World Bird Database. Accessed 03/19/2009 at http://www.birdlife.org/
Coates, Robert and others. 2008. The Rough Guide to the Caribbean. New York, Rough Guides.
Olson, et al. 2001. Terrestrial Ecoregions of the World: A New Map of Life on Earth. BioScience 51:933-938.
Spalding, Mark D. and 14 others. 2007. Marine Ecoregions of the World: A Bioregionalization of Coastal and Shelf Areas. Bioscience 57:573-583.
UNESCO World Heritage List. Accessed 2008 at whc.unesco.org/en/list/983