East Melanesian Islands

The East Melanesian Islands is a biodiversity hotspot defined by Conservation International (CI). As defined by CI, the hotspot lies east and northeast of New Guinea and encompasses some 1,600 islands with a land area of nearly 100,000 km², including the Bismarck Archipelago, Admiralty Islands, Solomon Islands, and the islands of Vanuatu. Politically, the hotspot includes parts of Papua New Guinea (including the Bismark Archipelago, Admiralty Islands, and Bougainville), and all of the Solomon Islands and Vanuatu.

This hotspot includes a number of ecoregions that make up the northeastern portion of the Australasia ecozone. The East Melanesian Islands have many plants and some animals whose ancestors arrived from neighboring New Guinea and New Caledonia, but differ from those islands in that they were never joined to a continent.

Ecoregions of the East Melanesian Islands

• Admiralty Islands lowland rain forests (Papua New Guinea)
  
• New Britain-New Ireland lowland rain forests (Papua New Guinea)
  
• New Britain-New Ireland montane rain forests (Papua New Guinea)
  
• Solomon Islands rain forests (Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands)
  
• Vanuatu rain forests (Solomon Islands, Vanuatu)
  

External link

East Melanesian Islands (Conservation International)