Editing Spratly Islands (section)

== Ecology ==
In some cays in the Spratly Islands, the sand and pebble sediments form the beaches and spits around the island. Under the influence of the dominant wind direction, which changes seasonally, these sediments move around the island to change the shape and size of the island. For example, Spratly Island is larger during the northeast monsoon (about {{convert|700|×|300|m|ft}}), and smaller during the southwest monsoon (approximately {{convert|650|×|320|m|ft}}).<ref>{{cite web |author=Tran Duc Thanh |date=May 1994 |title=Động lực bồi tụ, xói lở bờ và sự thay đổi hình dạng đảo san hô Trường Sa |trans-title=Deposition and erosion dynamics and shape change of the Spratly coral island |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/258736867 |access-date=28 July 2014}}</ref>

Some islands may contain fresh groundwater fed by rain. Groundwater levels fluctuate during the day with the rhythm of the tides.<ref>{{cite web |author=Tran Duc Thanh |date=May 1994 |title=Kết quả khảo sát bước đầu nước ngầm đảo san hô Trường Sa |trans-title=Results of preliminary survey for groundwater in Spratly coral Island |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/258736839 |access-date=28 July 2014}}</ref>

Phosphates from bird faeces ([[guano]]) are mainly concentrated in the beach rocks by the way of exchange-[[endosmosis]]. The principal minerals bearing phosphate are podolite, lewistonite and dehonite.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/258627956 |title=Một số đặc điểm địa chất đảo san hô Trường Sa – Some geological features of Spratly coral Island |date=21 May 2014 |access-date=28 July 2014}}</ref>

=== Coral reefs ===
[[Coral reefs]] are the predominant structures of these islands; the Spratly group contains over 600 coral reefs in total.<ref name="ECO">{{WWF ecoregion|id=im0148|name=South China Sea Islands}}</ref> In April 2015 ''The New York Times'' reported that China were using "scores of dredgers" to convert Fiery Cross Reef and several other reefs into military facilities.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/17/world/asia/china-building-airstrip-in-disputed-spratly-islands-satellite-images-show.html|title=China Building Aircraft Runway in Disputed Spratly Islands|date=17 April 2015|newspaper=The New York Times|last1=Perlez|first1=Jane|access-date=28 February 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170515220758/https://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/17/world/asia/china-building-airstrip-in-disputed-spratly-islands-satellite-images-show.html|archive-date=15 May 2017|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2015/07/30/world/asia/what-china-has-been-building-in-the-south-china-sea.html|title=What China Has Been Building in the South China Sea|date=30 July 2015|newspaper=The New York Times|last1=Watkins|first1=Derek|access-date=28 February 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170223070750/https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2015/07/30/world/asia/what-china-has-been-building-in-the-south-china-sea.html|archive-date=23 February 2017|url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Vegetation ===
Little vegetation grows on these islands, which are subject to intense [[monsoons]]. Larger islands are capable of supporting [[tropical forest]], [[scrub forest]], [[coastal scrub]] and grasses. It is difficult to determine which species have been introduced or cultivated by humans. [[Taiping Island]] (Itu Aba) was reportedly covered with [[shrubs]], [[coconut]], and [[mangroves]] in 1938; [[pineapple]] was also cultivated there when it was profitable. Other accounts mention [[papaya]], [[banana]], [[Palm tree|palm]], and even [[white peach]] trees growing on one island. A few islands that have been developed as small tourist resorts had soil and trees brought in and planted where there was none.<ref name="ECO" />

=== Wildlife ===
A total of 2,927 marine species have been recorded in the Spratly Sea, including 776 [[benthic zone|benthic]] species, 382 species of hard coral, 524 species of marine fish, 262 species of algae and sea grass, 35 species of seabirds, and 20 species of marine mammals and sea turtles.<ref name="researchgate1">{{Cite book |author1=Trần Đức Thạnh |author2=Lê Đức An |author3=Nguyễn Hữu Cử |author4=Lan Tran Dinh |author5=Tạ Hoà Phương |author6=Nguyen Quan Van |title=Vietnamese sea and islands – position, resources and typical geological and ecological wonders |date=2012 |publisher=Khoa học Tự nhiên và Công nghệ. Hà Nội |doi=10.13140/RG.2.1.3586.8403 |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/258698786}}</ref> Terrestrial vegetation in the islands includes 103 species of vascular plants of magnolia branches ([[Magnoliophyta]]) of 39 families and 79 genera.<ref name="researchgate1" /> The islands that do have vegetation provide important habitats for many seabirds and sea turtles.<ref name="ECO" /> Both the [[green turtle]] (''Chelonia mydas'', [[endangered species|endangered]]) and the [[hawksbill turtle]] (''Eretmochelys imbricata'', [[critically endangered]]) formerly occurred in numbers sufficient to support commercial exploitation. These species reportedly continue to nest even on islands inhabited by military personnel (such as [[Pratas]]) to some extent, though it is believed that their numbers have declined.<ref name="ECO" />

Seabirds use the islands as resting, breeding, and [[wintering]] sites. Species found here include [[streaked shearwater]] (''Calonectris leucomelas''), [[brown booby]] (''Sula leucogaster''), [[red-footed booby]] (''S. sula''), [[great crested tern]] (''Sterna bergii''), and [[white tern]] (''Gygis alba''). Little information is available regarding the current status of the islands' seabird populations, though it is likely that birds may divert nesting sites to smaller, less disturbed islands. Bird eggs cover the majority of [[Southwest Cay]], a small island in the eastern Danger Zone.<ref name="ECO" /> A variety of [[cetacean]]s such as [[dolphin]]s,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nyhuaren.net/2013/china_0513/10949_4.html|title=中国海南赴南沙捕捞船队遇海豚领航 – 中国新闻 – 纽约华人网|access-date=5 February 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160205173148/http://www.nyhuaren.net/2013/china_0513/10949_4.html|archive-date=5 February 2016}}</ref> [[orca]]s, [[pilot whale]]s, and [[sperm whale]]s are also present around the islands.<ref>{{cite book|author=Hoyt E.|year=2012|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QiEK_7D0e08C&pg=PA307 |title=Marine Protected Areas for Whales, Dolphins and Porpoises: A World Handbook for Cetacean Habitat Conservation and Planning |page=307 |publisher=[[Routledge]] |isbn=978-1-136-53830-8 |access-date=6 April 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|author=Ponnampalam S.L.|url=http://lkcnhm.nus.edu.sg/rbz/biblio/60/60rbz221-231.pdf|title=Opportunistic observations on the distribution of cetaceans in the Malaysian South China, Sulu and Sulawesi Seas and an updated checklist of marine mammals in Malaysia|pages=221–231|journal=Raffles Bulletin of Zoology|year=2012|volume=60|issue=1|access-date=6 April 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160814020857/http://lkcnhm.nus.edu.sg/rbz/biblio/60/60rbz221-231.pdf|archive-date=14 August 2016}}</ref><ref>opheliaH. 2017. [http://www.mafengwo.cn/i/7432397.html 2017、5月南沙最新航拍更新】出海偶遇鲸鱼&海警船和我们的船相伴航行全记录游记来蚂蜂窝,更多南沙群岛旅游攻略最新游记] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170923194333/http://www.mafengwo.cn/i/7432397.html |date=23 September 2017}}. Retrieved on September 25, 2017</ref>

This [[ecoregion]] is still largely a mystery. Scientists have focused their research on the marine environment, while the ecology of the terrestrial environment remains relatively unknown.<ref name="ECO" />

=== Ecological hazards ===
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{{Spratly Islands OSM}}
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Political instability, tourism, and the increasing industrialisation of neighbouring countries has led to serious disruption of native flora and fauna, [[over-exploitation]] of natural resources, and [[environmental pollution]]. Disruption of nesting areas by human activity and/or by introduced animals, such as dogs, has reduced the number of turtles nesting on the islands. Sea turtles are also slaughtered for food on a significant scale. The sea turtle is a symbol of longevity in Chinese culture and at times the military personnel are given orders to protect the turtles.<ref name="ECO" />

Heavy commercial fishing in the region incurs other problems. Although it has been outlawed, fishing methods continue to include the use of [[bottom trawling|bottom trawlers]] fitted with chain rollers. In 1994, a routine patrol by Taiwan's marine navy confiscated more than {{cvt|200|kg|lb|sigfig=1}} of [[potassium cyanide]] solution from fishermen who had been using it for [[cyanide fishing]]. These activities have a devastating impact on local marine organisms and coral reefs.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Cheng|first1=I-Jiunn|title=Sea Turtles at Dungsha Tao, South China Sea|journal=Marine Turtle Newsletter|date=July 1995|volume=70|pages=13–14|url=http://www.seaturtle.org/mtn/archives/mtn70/mtn70p13.shtml|access-date=17 December 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161221015942/http://www.seaturtle.org/mtn/archives/mtn70/mtn70p13.shtml|archive-date=21 December 2016|url-status=live}}</ref>

Some interest has been taken in regard to conservation of these island ecosystems. J.W. McManus, professor of marine biology and ecology at the [[University of Miami]]'s [[Rosenstiel School of Marine, Atmospheric, and Earth Science School]], has explored the possibilities of designating portions of the Spratly Islands as a [[marine park]]. One region of the Spratly Archipelago, named Truong Sa, was proposed by Vietnam's Ministry of Science, Technology, and the Environment (MOSTE) as a future protected area. The site, with an area of {{convert|160|km2|0|abbr=on}}, is currently managed by the [[Khánh Hòa Province|Khánh Hòa]] Provincial People's Committee of Vietnam.<ref name="ECO" />

Military groups in the Spratly Islands have engaged in environmentally damaging activities such as shooting turtles and seabirds, raiding nests and fishing with explosives. The collection of rare medicinal plants, collecting of wood, and hunting for the wildlife trade are common threats to the biodiversity of the entire region, including these islands. Coral habitats are threatened by pollution, over-exploitation of fish and invertebrates, and the use of explosives and poisons as fishing techniques.<ref name="ECO" />

A 2014 [[United Nations Environment Programme]] (UNEP) report said: "Sand is rarer than one thinks".<ref name="UNEP201403">{{cite web |url=http://www.unep.org/pdf/UNEP_GEAS_March_2014.pdf |title=Sand, rarer than one thinks |page=41 |date=1 March 2014 |access-date=13 May 2016 |archive-url=http://webarchive.loc.gov/all/20160322024059/http%3A//www.unep.org/pdf/UNEP_GEAS_March_2014.pdf |archive-date=22 March 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref>

The average price of sand imported by Singapore was [[United States dollar|US$]]3 per [[tonne]] from 1995 to 2001, but the price increased to US$190 per tonne from 2003 to 2005.<ref name="UNEP201403" /> Although the Philippines and China had both ratified the UNCLOS III, in the case of and [[Johnson South Reef]], [[Hughes Reef]], [[Mischief Reef]], the PRC dredged sand for free in the EEZ the Philippines<ref name="philstarDiola2014" /> had claimed from 1978<ref name="PD1599">{{cite web|url=http://www.chanrobles.com/presidentialdecrees/presidentialdecreeno1599.html|title=PRESIDENTIAL DECREE No. 1599 ESTABLISHING AN EXCLUSIVE ECONOMIC ZONE AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES|date=11 June 1978|publisher=Chan Robles Law Library|access-date=13 May 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120517035648/http://www.chanrobles.com/presidentialdecrees/presidentialdecreeno1599.html|archive-date=17 May 2012|url-status=live}}</ref> arguing this is the "waters of China's Nansha Islands".

Although the consequences of substrate mining are hidden, they are tremendous.<ref name="UNEP201403" /> Aggregate particles that are too fine to be used are rejected by dredging boats, releasing vast dust plumes and changing water turbidity.<ref name="UNEP201403" />

John McManus, a professor of marine biology and ecology at the [[University of Miami]]'s Rosenstiel School of Marine, Atmospheric, and Earth Science, said, "The worst thing anyone can do to a coral reef is to bury it under tons of sand and gravel&nbsp;... There are global security concerns associated with the damage. It is likely broad enough to reduce fish stocks in the world's most fish-dependent region." He explained that the reason the world has heard little about the damage inflicted by the People's Republic of China to the reefs is that the experts can't get to them and noted "I have colleagues from the Philippines, Taiwan, PRC, Vietnam and Malaysia who have worked in the Spratly area. Most would not be able to get near the [[artificial island]]s except possibly some from PRC, and those would not be able to release their findings."<ref name="Breakingdefense 2015-11-18">{{Cite web |title='Absolute Nightmare' As Chinese Destroy South China Reefs; Fish Stocks at Risk |url=http://breakingdefense.com/2015/11/absolute-nightmare-as-chinese-destroy-south-china-reefs-asian-fish-stocks-at-risk/ |website=breakingdefense.com |first=Colin |last=Clark |date=18 November 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160515154057/http://breakingdefense.com/2015/11/absolute-nightmare-as-chinese-destroy-south-china-reefs-asian-fish-stocks-at-risk/ |archive-date=15 May 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref>