A pioneering wildlife audit carried out in the UK’s 11 overseas territories has revealed that they contain over 1500 exclusively "British" species.

 

The territories, which range in geography from the sub-Antarctic to the tropics, are home to 1,547  endemic species.

 

The UK’s overseas territories hold more than 94 percent of the 90 species known to be endemic in the UK. Scientists say that an increased understanding of the wildlife on these islands will lead to more discoveries. According to calculations they could still hold a staggering 2,100 undiscovered species. 

 

Among the haul of endemic species were some of the rarest known British species, including; the Ascension Island predatory shrimp, which is confined to two rock pools; Wilkin’s bunting, with around 80 pairs on Tristan da Cunha; and a large blue iguana, whose population is recovering from a low of 12 individuals on Grand Cayman in 2002.

 

Founded by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and conducted by the RSPB, the aim of the report was to obtain an overview of the wildlife known to occur on each of the island territories. The status of these species was then determined as unique, native or non-native to the territories. 

 

Further work will now be carried out to assess the risk of extinction for each species, and to determine conservation pressures including habitat destruction, climate change and attacks from non-native species. 

 

The Minister responsible for the overseas terrotories, Mark Simmonds MP, said: “This Government is proud of such rich and unique natural heritage and recognises that many of these environmental assets would be irreplaceable if lost”.

 

Dr Tim Stowe, RSPB’s international director, commented: “This report reminds us that these species are solely the UK’s responsibility, and we need to ensure that the investment in conservation in the territories rises to a level that is proportionate to their world importance.”