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Manra Island or Sydney Island, is one of the Phoenix Islands in the Republic of Kiribati. It lies at . longitude, and has an area of 4.4 km2. and an elevation of approximately six meters. Together with the seven other Phoenix Islands, it forms part of the Phoenix Islands Protected Area, the world's largest marine protected area. Charles Darwin visited the island during his five-year voyage (1831-1836), following which in 1842 he published an explanation for the creation of coral atolls in the South Pacific. Though it has been occupied at various times in the past (including as late as 1963), Manra is currently uninhabited. ==Flora and fauna== Manra is approximately triangular in shape, measuring approximately 3.2 km by 2.8 km. It completely surrounds a hyper-saline lagoon without outlet to the sea, containing depths of five to six meters. The island is covered with coconut palms, scrub forest, herbs and grasses, including the species ''Tournefortia, Pisonia, Morinda, Cordia, Guettarda,'' and ''Scaevola''.〔 Manra was formerly a functioning copra plantation, though it is no longer.〔 Bird life is similar to the other Phoenix Islands, but has been described as "less abundant".〔 Hermit crabs and rats are plentiful on the island, which also supports colonies of feral dogs, pigs and cats. According to E.H. Bryan, "insects are abundant, including a blue and white butterfly, several kinds of moths, dragonflies, ants, flies, leafhoppers, bugs, beetles, wasps, and spiders".〔 Mosquitoes arrived in the late 19th century, on a ship from Tahiti. The lagoon is too salty to support marine life, but fish are abundant around the fringing reef and offshore waters. H.E. Maude, in his 1937 report: ''Colonization of the Phoenix Islands'', indicated that visitors to the island refused to eat any fish caught there because of ciguatera poisoning. Bryan, on the other hand, insisted that the reef contains other fish species that made "excellent eating".〔 A color photo of Manra can be seen at http://www.phoenixislands.org under "The MPA", subheading "The Islands". 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Manra Island」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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