Maracá-Jipioca Ecological Station (Portuguese: Estação ecológica de Maracá-Jipioca) is an ecological station covering two islands about 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) offshore from Amapá, a municipality in Amapá state, Brazil. It protects an area of coastal mangroves and tropical rainforest.
Location
The ecological station is located on the adjacent islands Ilha de Maracá do Norte and Ilha de Maracá do Sul off the coast of Amapá, with an area of about 602 square kilometres (232 sq mi).
The reserve was created by decree of 2 June 1981 with the objective of preserving significant samples of the original coastal marine environment influenced by the Amazon river.
It is part of the Amazon biosphere.
It is managed by the Chico Mendes Institute for Biodiversity Conservation.[1]
The reserve is in the Amapá municipality of Amapá state.[2]
It is part of the Amapá Biodiversity Corridor, created in 2003.[3]
Environment
The terrain is extremely flat, with maximum elevation of 3 metres (9.8 ft).
Average annual rainfall is 5,000 millimetres (200 in)
Temperatures range from 20 to 33 °C (68 to 91 °F) with an average of 26 °C (79 °F). The climate is a tropical monsoon climate (Am) with moderate to little rainfall from August to November and heavy to extremely heavy rainfall in the remaining months.
Climate data for Macará-Jipioca Ecological Station
The shoreline and stream banks are dominated by mangroves, with typical floodplain species of trees in the more elevated areas.[2]
The coastal vegetation is in the Amapá mangroves ecoregion.
The Ecological Station is a "strict nature reserve" under IUCN protected area category Ia.
The purpose is to conserve significant samples of pioneer formations in the coastal marine environment influenced by the Amazon River.[2]
The conservation unit is supported by the Amazon Region Protected Areas Program.[4]
