Biodiversity in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (VCT)
| FishBase | Complete | Literature | Reference | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Species | Families | Species | Families | |||
| Marine | 523 | 192 | No | |||
| Freshwater | No | |||||
| Total | 524 | 193 | No | |||
Ref. Microsoft, 1996
| Conservation | Oil spills from tankers leaving Venezuela and discharges from pleasure yachts wash up on many of the island’s beaches and pollute coastal waters. Further damage to the coast is caused by pollution from the use of fertilizers and pesticides for bananas, the main export crop. Damage to coral reefs from a number of disturbances is becoming more widespread. Swimming is prohibited in some areas due to the pollution. In 1990 about one-fifth of the country was designated protected land. |
| Geography and Climate |
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines is part of the Windward Islands group in the southeastern Caribbean Sea. The country comprises the island of Saint Vincent and the northern islands of the Grenadines including Bequia Island, Canouan, Mustique, Mayreau, and Union Island.
The island of Saint Vincent is volcanic in origin. It is crossed from north to south by a forested range that rises to a maximum elevation in the northern part of the island at La Soufrière (1,234 meters), an active volcano that erupted violently in 1821, 1902, and 1979.
The country has a tropical climate with an average annual temperature of about 24°C. The island’s annual rainfall averages 1,524 millimeters on the coast to 3,810 millimeters in the interior mountains. Ref. Microsoft, 1996 |
| Hydrography |