Setting
Located in the Atlantic Ocean 900 km off the American coast Bermuda is a crescent-shaped chain of 181 islands and islets that were once the rim of a volcano. The islands are slightly hilly rather than having steep cliffs with the highest point being only 79m and the coast has many bays and inlets, with sandy beaches especially on the south coasts. Bermuda has a wet tropical climate, warmed by the Gulf Stream current. Twenty of the islands are inhabited and Bermuda is one of the most densely populated countries in the world.
Being so remote they have only wildlife which were able to fly to the island or were carried by winds and currents. Therefore there are no native mammals other than bats, and only one reptile, but large numbers of birds, plants, and insects. Once on the island, organisms had to adapt to local conditions such as the humid climate, lack of fresh water, frequent storms and salt spray. The islands shrank as water levels rose at the end of the Pleistocene epoch and fewer species were able to survive in the reduced land-area. Nearly 8,000 different species of flora and fauna are known from the islands of Bermuda and the number is likely to be considerably higher if all micro-organisms, cave-dwellers and deep-sea species were counted.
Today the variety of species on Bermuda has been greatly increased by introductions, both deliberate and accidental. Many of these introduced species now pose a threat to the native flora and fauna.
Read more about this topic: Wildlife Of Bermuda
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