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Flora and fauna, Christmas Island

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Christmas Island is of immense interest to scientists and naturalists due to the number of species of endemic flora and fauna which have evolved in isolation and undisturbed by human habitation until the late 19th century. The 135 species of flora include 16 of which can only be found there. The island environment is of great broad habitats variety: for example shoreline platforms, sea cliff zone, terrace forest, shallow soil rainforests, limestone scree slopes and pinnacles, mangrove forest, perennially wet areas, caves, sinkholes. The land crabs and sea birds are the most noticeable animals on Christmas Island. The annual red crab mass migration to the sea to spawn (synchronised with the cycle of the moon) has been described by ecologists as one of the wonders of the natural world and gave the island name of "the crabbiest place in the world". Eight species or subspecies of sea birds nest there (for example island forest is the only known nesting habitat of the Abbott's Booby left in the world; the others are Red-footed Booby, Brown Booby, Common Noddy e.a.).

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