http://www.triporati.com/blog/2009/02/04/palmyra-atoll/ Sharing stories about the world and travel Sun, 19 May 2013 18:57:46 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6 http://www.triporati.com/blog/2009/02/04/palmyra-atoll/#comment-2878 Frederick F. Monroe, Ph.D. Tue, 09 Aug 2011 17:21:15 +0000 http://www.triporati.com/blog/?p=1720#comment-2878 Palmyra Atoll is far from pristine. It is comprised of some 140+ islets artificially linked in order to house some 6,000 troops in WWII. Most of the vegetation was transplanted from Hawaii. The Japanese task force that hit Pearl Harbor attacked Palmyra a few days later and sunk a dredge, wounding the captain, before returning to Japan. There are two old aircraft runways on the main part of the island used by some 50,000 sooty terns for nesting and a small amount of old growth jungle inhabited by fairy terns. Blue-footed boobies (gannets) nest on much of the rest of the atoll and form the main food source for a large number of black tip reef sharks in the central lagoon. Rats and huge hermit crabs and some coconut crabs are the main other creatures that live on Palmyra, besides birds. Frigate birds, noddy terns, and several other species of Pacific marine birds are also represented. Marine life is abundant in and around the atoll. Palmyra Atoll is far from pristine. It is comprised of some 140+ islets artificially linked in order to house some 6,000 troops in WWII. Most of the vegetation was transplanted from Hawaii. The Japanese task force that hit Pearl Harbor attacked Palmyra a few days later and sunk a dredge, wounding the captain, before returning to Japan. There are two old aircraft runways on the main part of the island used by some 50,000 sooty terns for nesting and a small amount of old growth jungle inhabited by fairy terns. Blue-footed boobies (gannets) nest on much of the rest of the atoll and form the main food source for a large number of black tip reef sharks in the central lagoon. Rats and huge hermit crabs and some coconut crabs are the main other creatures that live on Palmyra, besides birds. Frigate birds, noddy terns, and several other species of Pacific marine birds are also represented. Marine life is abundant in and around the atoll.

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