Marine Habitat
The dominant reef life that has
been studied during post 1997 expeditions include, benthic algae (Peter Vroom,
Kim Paige, per. comm.) corals, anemones, and coral disease (John Schmerfeld,
Jim Maragos, Bernardo Vargas, and Jean Kenyon, per. comm.), other reef
invertebrates (Scott Godwin, Dwayne Minton, and Robin Newbold, per. comm.), and
reef fishes (Mundy et al 2002., Ed DeMartini, Bruce Mundy, Brian Zgliczynski,
Brian Green, Richard Wass, Alan Friedlander, Stephanie Holzwarth, and others,
per. comm.). Summary data on coral, other invertebrates, algae, and fish
surveys data for Jarvis are reported in Maragos et al.2008.
The giant clam (Tridacna maxima) is abundant Jarvis
Island and is listed under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered
Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). Also found on Jarvis, the humphead
wrasse (Cheilinus undulates) is also
listed under CITES and designated as Endangered by the International Union for
the Conservation of Nature(IUCN).