Christmas Island National Park

Concerns were expressed in the early 1970s about the effect of phosphate mining on the flora and fauna of Christmas Island. A particular focus was on the habitat of Abbott's booby (Papasula abbotti), Today the park covers approximately , or 63% of the island. == Geology and geography ==

Christmas Island consists of an uplifted limestone cap metamorphosed from coral reefs overlying more ancient volcanic andesite bedrock. The underlying seamount lies some southwest of Indonesia, and the isolation by the abyssal zone has led to endemism amongst the marine ecosystem. The park's boundaries extend beyond the low water line. Approximately of the island's shoreline is within the park limits. Many stretches of the shoreline are marked by rock platforms, which are filled by wave splashes to create rock pools. Sea cliffs, up to high in places, rise steeply from the sea and form a series of stepped terraces, the lower cliffs of which are higher and steeper. Soil on the island is generally poor, punctuated by limestone pinnacles, and tends to dehydrate during the dry season. The limestone is fractured and has created a substantial cave system. There are both water-filled and dry caves. Christmas Island's two Ramsar sites, The Dales and Hosnies Spring, are contained within the park. == Flora and fauna ==

Both the waters surrounding the island and its land surface are fecund, and the park exhibits a high level of biodiversity with many endemic species. and without any native ant species to compete against, rapidly formed 'supercolonies' of extremely high density. Populations of the ant have been observed bringing down red crabs over a hundred times their combined biomass. the world's largest land invertebrate. There may be as many as one million coconut crabs on Christmas Island. It is also home to several species each of hermit crab, grapsids and gecarcinucoidea. There are no mangroves on the park's coast. However, a stand of the normally estuarine mangrove species, Bruguiera gymnorhiza and B. sexangula, is found approximately above sea level, at Hosnies Spring. == Park management ==

The park is managed by the Director of National Parks whose duties include protection of the park's natural areas, its lifeforms and genetic resources, to maintain ecological diversity, and to manage visitor access for educational, cultural and recreational purposes. It latest management plan (2002) listed control of the yellow crazy ant as its highest priority. The park administration has a staff of 17, and operates out of an office in Drumsite on the northern side of the island. == See also ==