Martinique

General description

Martinique is a 1128 km² island within the Lesser Antilles volcanic arc in the Caribbean sea. The mountainous, volcanic north is covered in rain and altitudinal forests whereas its relatively flat, sunny southern part is covered in dry forest more or less degraded by livestock rearing and wood extraction and contains many habitats including savannah. A biodiversity hotspot, Martinique has a rich fauna and flora with numerous endemic species.

Study site

The Caravelle peninsula

A 10 km long small peninsula in the north-east of Martinique. Here, the Caravelle national nature reserve covers more than 400 hectares at the tip of the peninsula where 150 species of plant characteristic of the Lesser Antilles are afforded protection as are 50 bird species including the White-breasted thrasher which occurs within 5 km² in the heart of the wooded habitats.