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Rodrigues: can its flora be saved?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  24 April 2009

Wendy Strahm
Affiliation:
Forestry Quarters, Black River
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Rodrigues, the smallest of the three Mascarene islands, is in immediate danger of losing most of its native vegetation due to the activities of man and introduced cattle and goats. The endemic fauna has mostly disappeared, leaving two endangered land birds and a fruit bat, and most of the plants may soon follow: seven native species are known only from five or fewer individuals. The author visited Rodrigues for two weeks in June and July 1982 with the Director of the Conservatoire Botanique of Stangalarch, Brest, France, in an effort to locate and propagate many of the rare species.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Fauna and Flora International 1983

References

Balfour, J. B. 1879. The Botany of Rodriguez. Phil. Trans. R. Soc. 168, 168289 (expediton carried out 1874–1875).Google Scholar
Cadet, T. 1975. Contribution à l'étude de la végétation de l'lle Rodrigues (Océan Indien). Cah. Cent. Univ. La Réunion, No. 6 (Special Sciences), 529.Google Scholar
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Leguat, F. 1708. Voyages et aventures de François Leguat et de ses compagnons en deux isles désertes des Indes Orientates (1650–1689). Amsterdam and London.Google Scholar
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Other reports concerning conservation at Rodrigues, although primarily written with conservation of the endemic vertebrates in mind, include A.S. Cheke’s unpublished reports for the British Ornithologist's Union Mascarene Islands Expedition on Rodrigues (1974) and Habitat Management for Conservation in Rodrigues (Indian Ocean), Conservation Memorandum No. 4 arising from the BOU Mascarene Expedition (1978).Google Scholar