Sientists say the remote Bikar and Bokak coral atolls in the Marshall Islands remain among Earth’s last ‘rare, wild and untouched’ tropical marine ecosystems
Two locations in the Pacific Ocean appear to have been discovered, and they have been described as “rare, wild, and untouched”. Scientists have revealed that two remote coral atolls remain among the last wild, virtually untouched tropical marine ecosystems on Earth.
The findings were published today (November 11), in the peer-reviewed scientific journal Frontiers in Marine Science. Researchers say two far-flung atolls in the Marshall Islands – Bikar and Bokak, in the Pacific northeast of Australia – rank among the ocean’s last truly wild, healthy ecosystems, largely unaffected by people.
The atolls, about 116km and 385km from the nearest inhabited atoll, were found to retain relatively intact tropical marine habitats and were rich with wildlife, including two species that may be new to science.
An area of roughly 48,000 square kilometres surrounding them has now been designated the Marshall Islands’ first national marine sanctuary.
“This study provides the first comprehensive ecological baseline of the newly created National Marine Sanctuaries of Bikar and Bokak atolls from the sky and land to the deep sea, and highlights some of the most intact ecosystems remaining in the region,” first author Dr Alan Friedlander, a marine ecologist at the University of Hawai’i, who served as Pristine Seas’ chief scientists aboard the joint expedition. said.
“Bikar and Bokak are not just treasures for the Marshall Islands but for the entire planet, a gift from the community of Utirik Atoll, which has traditionally and vigilantly safeguarded these fragile ecosystems for decades.”
Bikar and Bokak are the northernmost atolls in the Marshall Islands, lying approximately 116 and 385 kilometers from the nearest inhabited atoll, respectively, an official release states. In 2023, the team conducted extensive monitoring of local land, sea, and sky ecosystems.
They assessed sea- and shorebird populations, characterised vegetation, and carried out surveys of turtle nesting, coral reefs and fish assemblages using scuba, underwater video, deep-sea camera deployments, and a submarine.
“We set out to inform the creation of a highly protected area within the scope of the Marshall Islands’ Reimaanlok vision, which means ‘looking towards the future,’” said Friedlander. “It is a national, community-led conservation framework designed to protect marine and terrestrial resources while ensuring island life thrives for generations to come.”
Two years after the assessment, some 48,000 square kilometers around the atolls were declared the country’s first national marine sanctuary.
“These atolls have extensive seabird colonies, mature native vegetation, active turtle nesting, high reef-fish biomass and large predators, coral-dominated reefs at Bokak, structurally complex mesophotic habitats, and surprisingly diverse and poorly known deep-sea communities,” said Friedlander.
Across both atolls, the researchers found 15 seabird colonies that were confirmed or likely to be breeding. They also found at least 266 groups of reef fish, 138 groups of fish living at greater depths, and 79 groups of deep-sea fishes.
15 groups of open-water predators including sharks, jacks, and wahoo, were recorded. 14 of the observed groups haven’t previously been recorded in the Marshall Islands, and two might be species new to science.
Friedlander concluded: “As human activities increasingly threaten biodiversity, areas devoid of intense human impacts serve as vital refugia. Large marine protected areas serve as globally important ecological reference systems for understanding the structure and future trajectories of tropical oceanic ecosystems in the Anthropocene.”
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