|
Caño Martín Peña Nature Reserve
Caño Martín Peña Nature Reserve (Spanish: ''Reserva Natural Caño Martín Peña'') is a nature reserve in San Juan, Puerto Rico located along the 3.75 mile long Martín Peña Channel. The nature reserve protects wetlands and an urban mangrove forest which extends throughout the channel between the Los Corozos and San José Lagoons in the east and the San Juan Bay in the west, and between the districts of Santurce in the north and Hato Rey in the south. This reserve is managed by the Puerto Rico Department of Natural and Environmental Resources (DRNA) and belongs to the larger San Juan Bay National Estuary, the only tropical estuary in the National Estuary Program network. History This nature reserve is bordered by a number of residential areas, such as the Martín Peña neighborhood which formed in 1940 during the Great Depression. This community is constantly threatened by floods from the channel, and from industrial pollution which also threatens the ecosystem of the m ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
San Juan, Puerto Rico
San Juan ( , ; Spanish for "Saint John the Baptist, John") is the capital city and most populous Municipalities of Puerto Rico, municipality in the Commonwealth (U.S. insular area), Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the United States. As of the United States Census Bureau, 2020 census, it is the List of United States cities by population, 57th-most populous city under the jurisdiction of the United States, with a population of 342,259. San Juan was founded by Spanish Empire, Spanish colonists in 1521, who called it Ciudad de Puerto Rico (Spanish for "Rich Port City"). Puerto Rico's capital is the second oldest European-established capital city in the Americas, after Santo Domingo, in the Dominican Republic, founded in 1496, and is the List of North American settlements by year of foundation, oldest European-established city under United States of America, United States sovereignty. Several historical buildings are located in the historic district of Old S ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Avicennia Germinans
''Avicennia germinans'', the black mangrove, is a shrub or small tree growing up to 12 meters (39 feet) in the acanthus family, Acanthaceae. It grows in tropical and subtropical regions of the Americas, on both the Atlantic and Pacific Coasts, and on the Atlantic Coast of tropical Africa, where it thrives on the sandy and muddy shores where seawater reaches. It is common throughout coastal areas of Texas and Florida, and ranges as far north as southern Louisiana and northern Florida in the United States. Like many other mangrove species, it reproduces by vivipary. Seeds are encased in a fruit, which reveals the germinated seedling when it falls into the water. Unlike other mangrove species, it does not grow on prop roots, but possesses pneumatophores that allow its roots to breathe even when submerged. It is a hardy species and expels absorbed salt mainly from its leathery leaves. The name "black mangrove" refers to the color of the trunk and heartwood. The leaves oft ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Great Blue Heron
The great blue heron (''Ardea herodias'') is a large wading bird in the heron family Ardeidae, common near the shores of open water and in wetlands over most of North and Central America, as well as far northwestern South America, the Caribbean and the Galápagos Islands. It is occasionally found in the Azores and is a rare vagrant to Europe. An all-white population found in south Florida and the Florida Keys is known as the great white heron. Debate exists about whether these white birds are a color morph of the great blue heron, a subspecies of it, or an entirely separate species. Taxonomy The great blue heron was one of the many species originally described by Carl Linnaeus in his 18th-century work, ''10th edition of Systema Naturae, Systema Naturae''. The scientific name comes from Latin , and Ancient Greek (), both meaning "heron". The great blue heron's niche in the Old World is filled by the congeneric grey heron (''Ardea cinerea''), which is somewhat smaller (), and s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Great Egret
The great egret (''Ardea alba''), also known as the common egret, large egret, great white egret, or great white heron, is a large, widely distributed egret. The four subspecies are found in Asia, Africa, the Americas, and southern Europe. Recently, it has also been spreading to more northern areas of Europe. Distributed across most of the Tropics, tropical and warmer temperate regions of the world, it builds tree nests in colonies close to water. Taxonomy The great egret was Species description, formally described in 1758 by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in the 10th edition of Systema Naturae, tenth edition of his ''Systema Naturae'' under the binomial nomenclature, binomial name ''Ardea alba''. He specified the type locality (biology), type locality as Europe. The scientific name comes from Latin ''ardea'', "heron", and ''alba'', "white". Like all egrets, it is a member of the heron family (biology), family, Ardeidae. Traditionally classified with the storks in the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Snowy Egret
The snowy egret (''Egretta thula'') is a small white heron. The genus name comes from Provençal French for the little egret, , which is a diminutive of , 'heron'. The species name ''thula'' is the Araucano term for the black-necked swan, applied to this species in error by Chilean naturalist Juan Ignacio Molina in 1782.Jobling, 2010, p.143, 385 The snowy egret is the American counterpart to the very similar Old World little egret, which has become established in the Bahamas. At one time, the plumes of the snowy egret were in great demand as decorations for women's hats. They were hunted for these plumes and this reduced the population of the species to dangerously low levels. Now protected in the United States by law, under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, this bird's population has rebounded. Description Adult snowy egrets are entirely white apart from the yellow lores between the long black bill and the eye, black legs, and bright yellow feet. The nape and neck bear l ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Little Blue Heron
The little blue heron (''Egretta caerulea'') is a small heron of the genus '' Egretta''. It is a small, darkly colored heron with a two-toned bill. Juveniles are entirely white, bearing resemblance to the snowy egret. During the breeding season, adults develop different coloration on the head, legs, and feet. They have a range that encompasses much of the Americas, from the United States to northern South America. Some populations are migratory. They can be found in both saltwater and freshwater ecosystems. Their preference for either one depends on where they live. Nesting behaviors are documented by numerous sources. The adults build nests in trees, in colonies with other bird species. The number of eggs laid varies from place to place. The young mature quickly, requiring little attention from adults after about nineteen days of age. Both young and adults are sometimes preyed on by other species. Adults hunt fish, crabs, and other small animals. As with clutch sizes, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Little Egret
The little egret (''Egretta garzetta'') is a species of small heron in the family Ardeidae. It is a white bird with a slender black beak, long black legs and, in the western race, yellow feet. As an aquatic bird, it feeds in shallow water and on land, consuming a variety of small creatures. It breeds colonially, often with other species of water birds, making a platform nest of sticks in a tree, bush or reed bed. A clutch of three to five bluish-green eggs is laid and incubated by both parents for about three weeks. The young fledge at about six weeks of age. Its breeding distribution is in wetlands in warm temperate to tropical parts of Asia, Africa, Australia, and Europe. A successful colonist, its range has gradually expanded north, with stable and self-sustaining populations now present in the United Kingdom. In warmer locations, most birds are permanent residents; northern populations, including many European birds, migrate to Africa and southern Asia to over-winter there ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Merlin (bird)
The merlin (''Falco columbarius'') is a small species of falcon from the Northern Hemisphere, with numerous subspecies throughout North America and Eurasia. A bird of prey, the merlin breeds in the northern Holarctic; some migrate to subtropical and northern tropical regions in winter. Males typically have wingspans of , with females being slightly larger. They are swift fliers and skilled hunters which specialize in preying on small birds in the size range of sparrows to doves and medium-sized shorebirds. In recent decades merlin populations in North America have been significantly increasing, with some merlins becoming so well adapted to city life that they forgo migration; in Europe, populations increased up to about 2000 but have been steady subsequently. The merlin has for centuries been well regarded as a falconry bird. Nomenclature The merlin was described and illustrated by the English naturalist Mark Catesby (as the "pigeon hawk") in his ''Natural history of Carolina, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Caiman
A caiman ( (also spelled cayman) from Taíno language, Taíno ''kaiman'') is an alligatorid belonging to the subfamily Caimaninae, one of two primary lineages within the Alligatoridae family (biology), family, the other being alligators. Caimans are native to Central America, Central and South America and inhabit marsh, marshes, swamps, lakes, and mangrove rivers. They have scaly skin and live a fairly nocturnal existence. They are relatively small-sized crocodilians with an average maximum weight of depending on species, with the exception of the black caiman (''Melanosuchus niger''), which can grow more than in length and weigh in excess of 450 kg (1,000 Ib). The black caiman is the largest caiman species in the world and is found in the slow-moving rivers and lakes that surround the Amazon basin. The smallest species is the Cuvier's dwarf caiman (''Paleosuchus palpebrosus''), which grows to long. There are six different species of caiman found throughout the wate ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pterois
''Pterois'' is a genus of venomous marine fish, commonly known as the lionfish, native to the Indo-Pacific. It is characterized by conspicuous warning coloration with red or black bands and ostentatious dorsal fins tipped with venomous spines. '' Pterois radiata'', '' Pterois volitans'', and '' Pterois miles'' are the most commonly studied species in the genus. ''Pterois'' species are popular aquarium fish. ''P. volitans'' and ''P. miles'' are recent and significant invasive species in the west Atlantic, Caribbean Sea, and Mediterranean Sea. Taxonomy ''Pterois'' was described as a genus in 1817 by German naturalist, botanist, biologist, and ornithologist Lorenz Oken. In 1856, French naturalist Eugène Anselme Sébastien Léon Desmarest designated ''Scorpaena volitans'', which had been named by Bloch in 1787 and which was the same as Linnaeus's 1758 ''Gasterosteus volitans'', as the type species of the genus. This genus is classified within the tribe Pteroini of the subfamily Sco ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
