Daikoku Island (Akkeshi)
 | |
| Geography | |
|---|---|
| Location | Pacific coast of eastern Hokkaidō |
| Coordinates | 42°57′01″N 144°52′09″E / 42.950324°N 144.86913°E |
| Administration | |
Japan | |
| Demographics | |
| Population | uninhabited |
Daikoku Island (大黒島, Daikoku-jima) is an uninhabited island in Akkeshi, Hokkaidō, Japan. Together with the smaller island of Kojima (小島) to the north, it forms a natural breakwater at the entrance to Akkeshi Bay (厚岸湾).[3] The island forms part of Akkeshi Prefectural Natural Park and its entire area of 107 hectares is a Special Wildlife Protection Area.[1][4] It provides an important breeding ground for seabirds, in particular several hundred thousand Leach's storm petrel,[2] as well as the tufted puffin, Japanese cormorant, pelagic cormorant, spectacled guillemot, slaty-backed gull, and rhinoceros auklet.[2][5][3] Twelve hectares of the breeding grounds have been designated a Natural Monument.[5]
Also found on the island are the grey-sided vole and harbour seal.[2][6] Trees include the green alder, painted maple, and Erman's birch; other plants, Sakhalin knotweed and Parasenecio hastatus.[2] At the southwest tip of the island at an elevation of approximately 105 metres is Akkeshi Lighthouse (厚岸灯台), which began operations on 25 November 1890.[3][7] Of the island's 107 hectares, 64 are owned by the state, 42 by the municipality, and 1 is in private hands.[2]
References
- ^ a b 国指定鳥獣保護区一覧 (PDF) (in Japanese). Ministry of the Environment. Retrieved 22 October 2016.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|trans_title=ignored (|trans-title=suggested) (help) - ^ a b c d e f g h i 国指定大黒島鳥獣保護区 (PDF) (in Japanese). Ministry of the Environment. Retrieved 22 October 2016.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|trans_title=ignored (|trans-title=suggested) (help) - ^ a b c 大黒島海鳥繁殖地 (in Japanese). Akkeshi Town. Retrieved 22 October 2016.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|trans_title=ignored (|trans-title=suggested) (help) - ^ 厚岸道立自然公園 (in Japanese). Hokkaidō Prefecture. 9 January 2014. Retrieved 22 October 2016.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|trans_title=ignored (|trans-title=suggested) (help) - ^ a b 大黒島海鳥繁殖地 (in Japanese). Agency for Cultural Affairs. Retrieved 22 October 2016.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|trans_title=ignored (|trans-title=suggested) (help) - ^ de Guia, Anna Pauline; Saitō Takashi; Ishibashi Yasuyuki; Abe Hisashi (2007). "Taxonomic status of the vole in Daikoku Island, Hokkaido, Japan: examination based on morphology and genetics". Mammal Study. 32 (1). The Mammalogical Society of Japan: 33–44. Retrieved 22 October 2016.
- ^ 灯台周辺案内 (in Japanese). Japan Coast Guard. Retrieved 22 October 2016.
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See also
