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Coastal Area 12601 Adjacent waters of Chichi-jima and Haha-jima islands

Basic Information A separate window opensReferences

Relevant municipalities Ogasawara, Tokyo
Area (km2) 798

Reason(s) for selection A separate window opensCriteria

Selected due to high levels for the criteria 1, 3, 6 and 7, and selected by MARXAN software.

Characteristics A separate window opensReferences

These are the waters in the vicinity of the Chichi-jima and Haha-jima islands. The Ogasawara Islands, which include Chich-ijima and Hah-ajima, are maritime islands that are home to numerous endemic species not just on land but in the nearby waters as well (Government of Japan, 2010). The Ogasawara Islands are the largest spawning ground of the green turtle, with the greatest number of eggs laid on the sandy beaches of Hatsune (Ministry of the Environment, 2001). Minami-jima Island is the only spawning grounds in the world on sandy beaches passing through the arch-shaped rock caverns (Ministry of the Environment, 2001). The waters in the vicinity of Ogasawara are home to members of about 30% of the world's species of cetaceans, and they serve as an important breeding ground for the humpback whale in the Northern Pacific (Ogasawara Maritime Center and Kato, 2002). Here too is the only breeding ground of the short-tailed albatross, an endemic species of sea bird. A total of 226 species of reef-building coral have been reported in these waters, and coral reefs distinctive of maritime islands are found here, although the number of species is small due to limited incoming and outgoing of species because the effects of the Kuroshio Current, the Equatorial Countercurrent, and other currents are low here. The coastlines of Haha-jima and the islands in its group (Muko-jima, Ane-jima, Imoto-jima, Mei-jima) are home to extremely high levels of biodiversity. In particular, the islands in the Haha-jima Group include many uninhabited islands, so that there are few naturalized species, with thriving endemic plants and abundant terrestrial hermit crabs (Hayashi et al, 1990). The coastal tide pools include places where whitetip reef sharks gather (Kato, personal communication). These coasts can be described as the most natural in Japan, and home to their own unique biodiversity.

Environment / Habitat infromation A separate window opensData source

Tidal mud flats (km2)
Moba (seaweed bed) (km2)
Coral reef coverage (km2) 6.1
Natural coast (km) 215.2
Rate of natural coast (%) 97.1
Sand bank / submerged sand bank
Other habitats

Species information (*) A separate window opensData source

Criteria 1
<Pisces>
Galeus longirostris (Longnose sawtail cat shark)
<Crustacea>
Panulirus brunneiflagellum
Palaemon ogasawaraensis
Eriocheir ogasawaraensis
Pagurus insulae
<Bivalva, Gastropoda>
Stenomelania boninensis
Criteria 2
<Mamal>
Megaptera novaeangliae (Humpback whale)
<Aves>
Monticola solitarius (Blue Rock-thrush)[Br/Ne]
Sula leucogaster (Brown Booby)
Sula leucogaster (Brown Booby)[Br/Ne]
Charadrius dubius (Little Ringed Plover)[Br/Ne]
Pandion haliaetus (Osprey)[Br/Ne]
Larus ridibundus (Black-headed Gull)
<Reptilia>
Chelonia mydas mydas (Green Turtle)
Criteria 3
<Pisces>
Rhinogobius ogasawaraensis
<Crustacea>
Ptychognathus glaber
Uca boninensis
<Bivalva, Gastropoda>
Stenomelania boninensis
<Hexacorallia>
Acropora aculeus
Acropora anthocercis
Acropora dendrum
Acropora donei
Acropora hemprichii
Acropora horrida
Acropora listeri
Acropora microclados
Acropora verweyi
Alveopora verrilliana
Astreopora cucullata
Astreopora incrustans
Astreopora moretonensis
Coscinaraea hahazimaensis
Euphyllia ancora
Galaxea astreata
Leptoseris yabei
Montipora angulata
Montipora australiensis
Montipora calcarea
Montipora caliculata
Montipora patula
Pachyseris rugosa
Pavona cactus
Pavona danai
Pavona decussata
Pavona venosa
Pocillopora elegans
Turbinaria mesenterina
Turbinaria peltata
Turbinaria reniformis
Criteria 7
<Reptilia>
Chelonia mydas mydas (Green Turtle)
<Bivalva, Gastropoda>
Clithon chlorostoma

* This is the species list of which meet the criteria. In that matter, this list does not include all species that inhabit the individual area.
Abbreviation in the information is as follows.
[Br/Ne] : Adjacent water of breeding area or nesting site
[Sp] : spawning area
[Ad] : species not used for analysis but add to the list because inhabit information was collected later
[Ex] : species used for analysis but considered to be possibly extinct in the EBSA region (area)
No mark : data of species distribution

 

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