Editing Wake Island (section)

===Ecology===
[[File:Air Force partners for environmental conservation on Wake Atoll.jpg|thumb|left|Ecologists on Wake Atoll spraying herbicide into the bark of an invasive ironwood tree, 2017.]]

Wake Island is home to the Wake Atoll National Wildlife Refuge<ref>{{cite web |title=Wake Atoll National Wildlife Refuge |url=https://www.fws.gov/refuge/wake-atoll |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221125032911/https://www.fws.gov/refuge/wake-atoll |archive-date=November 25, 2022 |access-date=November 24, 2022 |publisher=U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service}}</ref> and is a unit of the [[Pacific Islands Heritage Marine National Monument]].
[[File:Brisinga panopla - USNM 1424229.jpg|thumb|''Brisinga panopla'' in the waters near Wake Island]]
[[File:Carcharhinus amblyrhynchos wake.jpg|thumb|A Grey Reef shark in the waters near Wake]]
Native vegetation communities of Wake Island include scrub, grass, and wetlands. ''[[Tournefortia argentia]]'' (heliotrope tree) dominated scrublands exist in association with ''[[Scaevola taccada]]'' (beach cabbage), ''[[Cordia subcordata]]'' (sea trumpet), and ''[[Pisonia grandis]]''. Grassland species include ''[[Dactyloctenium aegyptium]]'' and ''[[Tribulus cistoides]]''. Wetlands are dominated by ''[[Sesuvium portulacastrum]]'', and ''[[Pemphis acidula]]'' is found near intertidal lagoons.<ref name="rat">{{cite journal |last1=Griffiths |first1=Richard |last2=Wegmann |first2=Alex |last3=Hanson |first3=Chad |last4=Keitt |first4=Brad |last5=Howald |first5=Gregg |last6=Brown |first6=Derek |last7=Tershy |first7=Bernie |last8=Pitt |first8=William |last9=Moran |first9=Matthew |last10=Rex |first10=Kristen |last11=White |first11=Susan |last12=Flint |first12=Beth |last13=Torr |first13=Nick |date=2014 |title=The Wake Island Rodent Eradicaation – Part Success, Part Failure, but Wholly Instructive |journal=Proceedings of the Vertebrate Pest Conference |volume=26 |doi=10.5070/V426110487 |s2cid=86982575 |doi-access=free}}</ref> (see also [[List of birds of Wake Island]])

The atoll, with its surrounding marine waters, has been recognized as an [[Important Bird Area]] (IBA) by [[BirdLife International]] for its [[sooty tern]] [[bird colony|colony]], with some 200,000 individual birds estimated in 1999.<ref name="bli">{{cite web |author=<!--Not stated--> |date=2021 |title=Wake Island |url=http://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/wake-island-iba-united-states-minor-outlying-islands-(to-usa) |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210118072550/http://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/wake-island-iba-united-states-minor-outlying-islands-(to-usa) |archive-date=January 18, 2021 |access-date=January 23, 2021 |website=BirdLife Data Zone |publisher=BirdLife International}}</ref> 56 bird species have been sighted on the atoll.<ref name="rat" /> Wilkes Island is largely designated as a bird refuge and includes a field mowed annually to attract sooty terns and other birds that might otherwise seek to nest on the mowed apron of the airfield runway.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Rauzon |first1=Mark J. |last2=Boyle |first2=David |last3=Everett |first3=William T. |last4=Gilardi |first4=John |date=2008 |title=The Status of the Birds of Wake Atoll |url=https://repository.si.edu/bitstream/handle/10088/6793/561_Rauzon_BirdsofWakeAtoll.pdf |url-status=live |journal=Atoll Research Bulletin |volume=561 |page=25 |doi=10.5479/si.00775630.561.1 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231026172036/https://repository.si.edu/bitstream/handle/10088/6793/561_Rauzon_BirdsofWakeAtoll.pdf |archive-date=October 26, 2023 |access-date=October 26, 2023}}</ref>

Due to human use, several [[invasive species]] have become established on the atoll. Feral cats were introduced in the 1960s as pets and for pest control. Eradication efforts began in earnest in 1996 and were deemed successful in 2008.<ref name="Rauzon-2008">{{cite journal |last1=Rauzon |first1=Mark J. |last2=Everett |first2=Wlliam T. |last3=Boyle |first3=David |last4=Bell |first4=Louise |last5=Gilardi |first5=John |date=2008 |title=Eradication of feral cats at Wake Atoll |journal=Atoll Research Bulletin |volume=560 |pages=1–22 |doi=10.5479/si.00775630.560.1}}</ref> Two species of rat, ''[[Rattus exulans]]'' (Polynesian rat) and ''[[Rattus tanezumi]]'' (Asian house rat), have colonized the island. ''R. tanezumi'' populations were successfully eradicated by 2014, however, ''R. exulans'' persists.<ref name="rat" /> ''[[Casuarina equisetifolia]]'' (ironwood or coastal she-oak) was allegedly planted on Wake Island by Boy Scouts in the 1960s for use as a windbreak. It formed large mono-cultural forests that choked out native vegetation. Concerted efforts to kill the population began in 2017.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Schmidt |first1=Anastasia |date=April 26, 2017 |title=Air Force partners for environmental conservation on Wake Atoll |url=https://www.jber.jb.mil/News/News-Articles/Article/1163481/air-force-partners-for-environmental-conservation-on-wake-atoll/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210914193858/https://www.jber.jb.mil/News/News-Articles/Article/1163481/air-force-partners-for-environmental-conservation-on-wake-atoll/ |archive-date=September 14, 2021 |access-date=September 14, 2021 |work=Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson}}</ref> Other introduced plant species include ''[[Cynodon dactylon]]'' (Bermuda grass) and ''[[Leucaena leucocephala]]'' (miracle tree). Non-native species of [[ant]]s are also found on the atoll.<ref name="rat" /> Overall, the island is a mixture of tropical scrub brush and grass with trees; some of the trees are over 25 feet tall (over 7 meters).<ref name="Wake Atoll" />

[[File:Corl0258 (27497553484).jpg|thumb|left|Wake's waters are home to one of the largest known populations of Bumphead Parrotfish]]
The lagoon, surrounding reef, and the ocean are noted for their diverse collection of marine life. Wake waters have the largest known population of [[bumphead parrotfish]] (''Bolbometopon muricatum)''.<ref>{{Cite web |last=US Department of Commerce |first=National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration |title=Deepwater Wonders of Wake: Wake Island and Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument Management: NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration and Research |url=https://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/okeanos/explorations/ex1606/background/monument-mgmt/welcome.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231007221306/https://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/okeanos/explorations/ex1606/background/monument-mgmt/welcome.html |archive-date=October 7, 2023 |access-date=November 2, 2023 |website=oceanexplorer.noaa.gov |language=EN-US}}</ref> The coral reef that surrounds the island is home to at least 100 species of coral and over 320 species of fish.<ref name="www.fws.gov">{{Cite web |title=Wake Atoll National Wildlife Refuge {{!}} U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service |url=https://www.fws.gov/refuge/wake-atoll |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231201192418/https://www.fws.gov/refuge/wake-atoll |archive-date=December 1, 2023 |access-date=November 2, 2023 |website=fws.gov |language=en-us}}</ref> In the coral reef, there is a diverse collection of shark species, including [[Grey reef shark|grey reef]], [[Blacktip reef shark|blacktip]], and [[dusky shark]]s.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Welcome to Shark Island: Wake Atoll |url=https://www.discovery.com/nature/welcome-to-shark-island--wake-atoll |access-date=November 3, 2023 |website=Discovery |language=en}}</ref> The atoll is home to multiple species of land crabs, with ''[[Coenobita perlatus]]'' being especially abundant.<ref name="rat" />