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90-655: The Pacific Forest of Ecuador is considered among the most threatened tropical forests in the world. It occupies the geographic center of the Tumbes-Chocó-Magdalena biodiversity hotspot. As much as 98% of coastal tropical forest have already been lost in Ecuador, which primarily occurred over the last three generations. The Pacific Equatorial Forest, in particular, represents the greatest concentration of unprotected forest in coastal Ecuador and has been designated by several international conservation organizations as

180-648: A central lagoon . Important human migrations occurred in the Pacific in prehistoric times. Modern humans first reached the western Pacific in the Paleolithic , at around 60,000 to 70,000 years ago. Originating from a southern coastal human migration out of Africa, they reached East Asia , Mainland Southeast Asia , the Philippines, New Guinea , and then Australia by making the sea crossing of at least 80 kilometres (50 mi) between Sundaland and Sahul . It

270-571: A global conservation priority. The Pacific Equatorial Forests is bound by the shores of the Pacific Ocean to the west and the peaks of the long and narrow Jama-Coaque Coastal Mountain Range, which stretches along the coast at an average distance of 10 km inland. The Pacific Equatorial Forest extends as far south as Cabo Posado, at 0 degrees and 22 minutes south of the equator, and as far north as Pedernales, at 0 degrees and 3 minutes north of

360-496: Is pneumatized , one of the few cases of postcranial pneumaticity outside the Saurischia . The volume of the hyoid of male howler monkeys is negatively correlated with the dimensions of their testes, and with the number of males per group. Larger hyoids decrease space between formant , and offers impression of larger body size. They have a flat cranial shape due to a folivorous diet and an advanced vocal system. Their brain growth

450-542: Is 4,280 m (14,040 ft; 2,340 fathoms), putting the total water volume at roughly 710,000,000 km (170,000,000 cu mi). Due to the effects of plate tectonics , the Pacific Ocean is currently shrinking by roughly 2.5 cm (1 in) per year on three sides, roughly averaging 0.52 km (0.20 sq mi) a year. By contrast, the Atlantic Ocean is increasing in size. Along

540-553: Is 98%. The Pacific Equatorial Forest, which has suffered an estimated loss of 75% of its native forest, has thus fared somewhat better than the rest of the region owing to its limited access and more challenging topography. However, the construction of a new coastal highway through the region threatens to facilitate the deforestation of the last remnants of Pacific Equatorial Forest. In 2001, the Centro de Investigación de Bosques Tropicales (Tropical Forest Research Center) reported: "Due to

630-421: Is done through the ground, with sitting and resting being their most frequent postures. Most howler species live in groups of six to 15 animals, with one to three adult males and multiple females. Mantled howler monkeys are an exception, commonly living in groups of 15 to 20 individuals with more than three adult males. The number of males in a given group is inversely correlated with the size of their hyoids and

720-491: Is not known with any certainty what level of maritime technology was used by these groups – the presumption is that they used large bamboo rafts which may have been equipped with some sort of sail. The reduction in favourable winds for a crossing to Sahul after 58,000 B.P. fits with the dating of the settlement of Australia, with no later migrations in the prehistoric period. The seafaring abilities of pre-Austronesian residents of Island South-east Asia are confirmed by

810-741: Is positively correlated with testes size. This results in two distinct groups, wherein one male with a larger hyoid and smaller testes copulates exclusively with a group of females, suggesting precopulatory vocal competition. The other group has more males, which have smaller hyoids, and larger testes. The larger the number of males, the smaller the hyoid, and the larger the testes. Female howler monkeys breed with multiple males within their group, with males in neighboring groups, and with solitary males. Central males tie up fellowship with cycling females. Unlike most New World monkeys, in which one sex remains in natal groups, juveniles of both sexes emigrate from their natal groups, such that howler monkeys could spend

900-472: Is posterior rather than superior or inferior as in other platyrrhines. Howler monkeys generally move quadrupedally on the tops of branches, usually grasping a branch with at least two hands or one hand and the tail at all times. Their strong prehensile tails are able to support their entire body weight. Fully grown adult howler monkeys do not often rely on their tails for full-body support, but juveniles do so more frequently. A significant amount of their travel

990-697: The Americas , although evidence for this remains inconclusive. The first contact of European navigators with the western edge of the Pacific Ocean was made by the Portuguese expeditions of António de Abreu and Francisco Serrão , via the Lesser Sunda Islands , to the Maluku Islands , in 1512, and with Jorge Álvares 's expedition to southern China in 1513, both ordered by Afonso de Albuquerque from Malacca . The eastern side of

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1080-424: The Americas , more than 25,000 islands, large and small, rise above the surface of the Pacific Ocean. Multiple islands were the shells of former active volcanoes that have lain dormant for thousands of years. Close to the equator, without vast areas of blue ocean, are a dot of atolls that have over intervals of time been formed by seamounts as a result of tiny coral islands strung in a ring within surroundings of

1170-639: The Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica ) in the south, and is bounded by the continents of Asia and Australia in the west and the Americas in the east. At 165,250,000 square kilometers (63,800,000 square miles) in area (as defined with a southern Antarctic border), this largest division of the World Ocean and the hydrosphere covers about 46% of Earth's water surface and about 32% of

1260-520: The Bering Sea in the Arctic to the northern extent of the circumpolar Southern Ocean at 60°S (older definitions extend it to Antarctica 's Ross Sea ), the Pacific reaches its greatest east–west width at about 5°N latitude , where it stretches approximately 19,800 km (12,300 mi) from Indonesia to the coast of Colombia  – halfway around the world, and more than five times

1350-976: The North Pacific Ocean and the South Pacific Ocean (or more loosely the South Seas ). The Pacific Ocean can also be informally divided by the International Date Line into the East Pacific and the West Pacific , which allows it to be further divided into four quadrants, namely the Northeast Pacific off the coasts of North America , the Southeast Pacific off South America , Northwest Pacific off Far Eastern / Pacific Asia , and

1440-601: The Pacific War ; however, by the end of that war, Japan was defeated and the U.S. Pacific Fleet was the virtual master of the ocean. The Japanese-ruled Northern Mariana Islands came under the control of the United States. Since the end of World War II, many former colonies in the Pacific have become independent states . The Pacific separates Asia and Australia from the Americas. It may be further subdivided by

1530-738: The Sirena Deep , is also located in the Mariana Trench. The western Pacific has many major marginal seas , including the Philippine Sea , South China Sea , East China Sea , Sea of Japan , Sea of Okhotsk , Bering Sea , Gulf of Alaska , Gulf of California , Mar de Grau , Tasman Sea , and the Coral Sea . In the early 16th century , Spanish explorer Vasco Núñez de Balboa crossed the Isthmus of Panama in 1513 and sighted

1620-725: The Southern Hemisphere . The North Equatorial Current , driven westward along latitude 15°N by the trade winds , turns north near the Philippines to become the warm Japan or Kuroshio Current . Turning eastward at about 45°N , the Kuroshio forks and some water moves northward as the Aleutian Current , while the rest turns southward to rejoin the North Equatorial Current. The Aleutian Current branches as it approaches North America and forms

1710-710: The Southwest Pacific around Oceania . The Pacific Ocean's mean depth is 4,000 meters (13,000 feet). Challenger Deep in the Mariana Trench , located in the northwestern Pacific, is the deepest known point in the world, reaching a depth of 10,928 meters (35,853 feet). The Pacific also contains the deepest point in the Southern Hemisphere , the Horizon Deep in the Tonga Trench , at 10,823 meters (35,509 feet). The third deepest point on Earth,

1800-685: The Strait of Magellan to the Philippines , the explorer indeed found the ocean peaceful; however, the Pacific is not always peaceful. Many tropical storms batter the islands of the Pacific. The lands around the Pacific Rim are full of volcanoes and often affected by earthquakes . Tsunamis , caused by underwater earthquakes, have devastated many islands and in some cases destroyed entire towns. The Martin Waldseemüller map of 1507

1890-818: The Western Hemisphere . The Southern Pacific Ocean harbors the Southeast Indian Ridge crossing from south of Australia turning into the Pacific-Antarctic Ridge (north of the South Pole ) and merges with another ridge (south of South America) to form the East Pacific Rise which also connects with another ridge (south of North America) which overlooks the Juan de Fuca Ridge . For most of Magellan's voyage from

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1980-530: The black howler monkey ( Alouatta caraya ) is a relatively common pet in contemporary Argentina due to its gentle nature (in comparison to the capuchin monkey 's aggressive tendencies), in spite of its lesser intelligence, as well as the liabilities of the size of its droppings and the male monkey’s loud vocalizations. John Lloyd Stephens described the howler monkeys at the Maya ruins of Copán as "grave and solemn, almost emotionally wounded, as if officiating as

2070-583: The crab claw sail ) – it is likely that the progressive development of these technologies were related to the later steps of settlement into Near and Remote Oceania. Starting at around 2200 BCE, Austronesians sailed southwards to settle the Philippines . From, probably, the Bismarck Archipelago they crossed the western Pacific to reach the Marianas Islands by 1500 BCE, as well as Palau and Yap by 1000 BCE. They were

2160-562: The family Cebidae , they are now placed in the family Atelidae . They are primarily folivores but also significant frugivores , acting as seed dispersal agents through their digestive system and their locomotion . Threats include human predation, habitat destruction , illegal wildlife trade , and capture for pets or zoo animals. Howler monkeys have short snouts and wide-set, round nostrils. Their noses are very keen, and they can smell out food (primarily fruit and nuts) up to 2 km away. Their noses are usually roundish snout-type, and

2250-618: The (mantled howler monkey and white-fronted capuchin monkey )and six endangered species of felines, the ( jaguar , puma , ocelot , oncilla , margay and jaguarundi ). Other endangered mammals include the tayra , the three-toed sloth , the western agouti , and the spotted paca . Endemic and/or rare species of birds include the Red-Masked Parakeet, Pale-browed Tinamou, Pacific Pygmy Owl, Esmeralda Woodstar hummingbird, Gray-backed Hawk, Guayaquil Woodpecker, Pacific Royal-Flycatcher, Plumbeous Kite, Rufous-headed Chachalaca, and

2340-908: The Atlantic, the Strait of Magellan was at times patrolled by fleets sent to prevent the entrance of non-Spanish ships. On the western side of the Pacific Ocean the Dutch threatened the Spanish Philippines . The 18th century marked the beginning of major exploration by the Russians in Alaska and the Aleutian Islands , such as the First Kamchatka expedition and the Great Northern Expedition , led by

2430-533: The Atlantic. The andesite line is the most significant regional distinction in the Pacific. A petrologic boundary, it separates the deeper, mafic igneous rock of the Central Pacific Basin from the partially submerged continental areas of felsic igneous rock on its margins. The andesite line follows the western edge of the islands off California and passes south of the Aleutian arc , along

2520-735: The Chilean coast, the South Equatorial Current divides; one branch flows around Cape Horn and the other turns north to form the Peru or Humboldt Current . The climate patterns of the Northern and Southern Hemispheres generally mirror each other. The trade winds in the southern and eastern Pacific are remarkably steady while conditions in the North Pacific are far more varied with, for example, cold winter temperatures on

2610-568: The Chocó Toucan. In 2009, herpetologist Paul S. Hamilton discovered thirty new species of frog and one new species of snake in three remnants of Pacific Equatorial Forest (Lalo Loor Dry Forest Reserve, Jama-Coaque Ecological Reserve, and Cerro Pata de Pajaro). The primary cause of deforestation in the region is the conversion of native forest into cattle pasture , a process which is aided by illegal logging and slash-and-burn agriculture. The deforestation figure in all of coastal Ecuador

2700-844: The Danish-born Russian navy officer Vitus Bering . Spain also sent expeditions to the Pacific Northwest , reaching Vancouver Island in southern Canada, and Alaska. The French explored and colonized Polynesia , and the British made three voyages with James Cook to the South Pacific and Australia, Hawaii , and the North American Pacific Northwest . In 1768, Pierre-Antoine Véron , a young astronomer accompanying Louis Antoine de Bougainville on his voyage of exploration, established

2790-602: The Ecuadorian Ministry of the Environment launched its Socio Bosque (Forest Partners) program, which provides forest owners with an annual conservation subsidy of $ 30 per hectare ($ 12/acre). The program gained some traction in the region but the long-term efficacy is still uncertain. Pacific Ocean Main five oceans division: Further subdivision: The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions . It extends from

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2880-679: The Moluccas, between 1525 and 1527, Portuguese expeditions encountered the Caroline Islands , the Aru Islands , and Papua New Guinea . In 1542–43 the Portuguese also reached Japan. In 1564, five Spanish ships carrying 379 soldiers crossed the ocean from Mexico led by Miguel López de Legazpi , and colonized the Philippines and Mariana Islands . For the remainder of the 16th century, Spain maintained military and mercantile control, with ships sailing from Mexico and Peru across

2970-711: The Pacific Ring of Fire is the world's foremost belt of explosive volcanism . The Ring of Fire is named after the several hundred active volcanoes that sit above the various subduction zones. The Pacific Ocean is the only ocean which is mostly bounded by subduction zones. Only the central part of the North American coast and the Antarctic and Australian coasts have no nearby subduction zones. Howler monkey See text Howler monkeys ( genus Alouatta , monotypic in subfamily Alouattinae ) are

3060-672: The Pacific Equatorial Forest: Cerro Pata de Pajaro (Fundación Tercer Mundo), the Lalo Loor Dry Forest Reserve (Lalo Loor and family), and the Jama-Coaque Ecological Reserve (Third Millennium Alliance), which protect 1,000 acres, 500 acres, and 1,500 acres respectively. The Three Forest Trail, established in 2010, is a 25-km-long trail that connects the dry forest of the Lalo Loor Dry Forest Reserve with

3150-802: The Pacific Ocean to the Philippines via Guam , and establishing the Spanish East Indies . The Manila galleons operated for two and a half centuries, linking Manila and Acapulco , in one of the longest trade routes in history. Spanish expeditions also arrived at Tuvalu , the Marquesas , the Cook Islands , the Solomon Islands , Vanuatu , the Marshalls and the Admiralty Islands in the South Pacific. Later, in

3240-518: The Pacific Ocean's irregular western margins lie many seas, the largest of which are the Celebes Sea , Coral Sea , East China Sea (East Sea), Philippine Sea , Sea of Japan , South China Sea (South Sea), Sulu Sea , Tasman Sea , and Yellow Sea (West Sea of Korea). The Indonesian Seaway (including the Strait of Malacca and Torres Strait ) joins the Pacific and the Indian Ocean to

3330-512: The Pacific in recorded history. They were part of a Spanish expedition to the Spice Islands that would eventually result in the first world circumnavigation . Magellan called the ocean Pacífico (or "Pacific" meaning, "peaceful") because, after sailing through the stormy seas off Cape Horn , the expedition found calm waters. The ocean was often called the Sea of Magellan in his honor until

3420-540: The Philippines already in 7000 BCE. Additional earlier migrations into Insular Southeast Asia, associated with Austroasiatic-speakers from Mainland Southeast Asia, are estimated to have taken place already in 15000 BCE. At around 1300 to 1200 BCE, a branch of the Austronesian migrations known as the Lapita culture reached the Bismarck Archipelago , the Solomon Islands , Vanuatu , Fiji , and New Caledonia . From there, they settled Tonga and Samoa by 900 to 800 BCE. Some also back-migrated northwards in 200 BCE to settle

3510-528: The United States. Significant contributions to oceanographic knowledge were made by the voyages of HMS Beagle in the 1830s, with Charles Darwin aboard; HMS Challenger during the 1870s; the USS Tuscarora (1873–76); and the German Gazelle (1874–76). In Oceania, France obtained a leading position as imperial power after making Tahiti and New Caledonia protectorates in 1842 and 1853, respectively. After navy visits to Easter Island in 1875 and 1887, Chilean navy officer Policarpo Toro negotiated

3600-600: The abundance of flowers are found to be an important factor that influenced behavior. Neighbors are more likely to move towards these calls when resource are scarce, and the reverse is true. These large and slow-moving monkeys are the only folivores of the New World monkeys. Howlers eat mainly top canopy leaves , together with fruit , buds, flowers , and nuts . They need to be careful not to eat too many leaves of certain species in one sitting, as some contain toxins that can poison them. Howler monkeys are also known to occasionally raid birds' nests, chicken coops, and consume

3690-416: The andesite line and include New Guinea, the islands of New Zealand, and the Philippines. Some of these islands are structurally associated with nearby continents. High islands are of volcanic origin, and many contain active volcanoes. Among these are Bougainville , Hawaii, and the Solomon Islands. The coral reefs of the South Pacific are low-lying structures that have built up on basaltic lava flows under

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3780-408: The andesite line. Within the closed loop of the andesite line are most of the deep troughs, submerged volcanic mountains, and oceanic volcanic islands that characterize the Pacific basin. Here basaltic lavas gently flow out of rifts to build huge dome-shaped volcanic mountains whose eroded summits form island arcs, chains, and clusters. Outside the andesite line, volcanism is of the explosive type, and

3870-409: The arctic, icing from October to May can present a hazard for shipping while persistent fog occurs from June to December. A climatological low in the Gulf of Alaska keeps the southern coast wet and mild during the winter months. The Westerlies and associated jet stream within the Mid-Latitudes can be particularly strong, especially in the Southern Hemisphere, due to the temperature difference between

3960-421: The base of a counter-clockwise circulation in the Bering Sea . Its southern arm becomes the chilled slow, south-flowing California Current . The South Equatorial Current , flowing west along the equator, swings southward east of New Guinea , turns east at about 50°S , and joins the main westerly circulation of the South Pacific, which includes the Earth-circling Antarctic Circumpolar Current . As it approaches

4050-514: The changeover from the cold and dry Humboldt ocean current from southern Chile and the warm El Niño ocean current (also known as the Equatorial Counter Current ) from Panama. The cold water and air temperatures associated with the Humboldt Current inhibit rainfall in southern coastal Ecuador and Peru , creating dry to arid conditions, whereas the warm temperaturas associated with the El Nino current create humid conditions with high rainfall in northern Ecuador and coastal Colombia. For its location at

4140-497: The confluence of these two ocean currents, the Pacific Equatorial Forest is a transition zone between the wettest forests (the Chocó in Colombia) and the driest desert (the Atacama in Peru) recorded on earth. This complex climatological effect is multiplied by the Jama-Coaque Coastal Mountain Range, whose sharp changes in altitude so close to the ocean account for wide variations in precipitation in very small expanses of land. The mountains rise to 845 metres (2,772 feet) above sea level at

4230-701: The day. Their main vocals consist of loud, deep, guttural growls or "howls". Howler monkeys are widely considered to be the loudest land animals. According to Guinness Book of World Records , their vocalizations can be heard clearly for 3 mi (4.8 km). The function of howling is thought to relate to intergroup spacing and territory protection, as well as possibly to mate-guarding. Howlers call usually when they are in areas with major feeding sites, which in some sort lead to advertise major feeding sites and their willingness to defend locally available fruit trees. Black howler monkeys incorporate information on resource availability along with neighbors’ current location. And

4320-408: The diameter of the Moon. Its geographic center is in eastern Kiribati south of Kiritimati , just west from Starbuck Island at 4°58′S 158°45′W  /  4.97°S 158.75°W  / -4.97; -158.75 . The lowest known point on Earth – the Mariana Trench  – lies 10,911 m (35,797  ft ; 5,966 fathoms ) below sea level. Its average depth

4410-402: The difference between temperatures aloft and sea surface temperatures is the greatest; however, each particular basin has its own seasonal patterns. On a worldwide scale, May is the least active month, while September is the most active month. November is the only month in which all the tropical cyclone basins are active. The Pacific hosts the two most active tropical cyclone basins , which are

4500-439: The dry season. Throughout the entire coast of Ecuador, annual precipitation varies widely according to latitude, with as much as 8,000 mm of rain in the extreme north, close to the Colombian border, to as little as 300 mm in the extreme south, close to the Peruvian border. In the Pacific Equatorial Forest, which is located in between these two extremes, precipitation primarily varies according to elevation and proximity to

4590-434: The east and the islands of Kiribati in the southeast. Melanesia, to the southwest, includes New Guinea , the world's second largest island after Greenland and by far the largest of the Pacific islands. The other main Melanesian groups from north to south are the Bismarck Archipelago , the Solomon Islands , Santa Cruz , Vanuatu , Fiji and New Caledonia . The largest area, Polynesia , stretching from Hawaii in

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4680-423: The east coast of Russia contrasting with the milder weather off British Columbia during the winter months due to the preferred flow of ocean currents . In the tropical and subtropical Pacific, the El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) affects weather conditions. To determine the phase of ENSO, the most recent three-month sea surface temperature average for the area approximately 3,000 km (1,900 mi) to

4770-403: The eastern edge of the Kamchatka Peninsula , the Kuril Islands , Japan, the Mariana Islands , the Solomon Islands , and New Zealand's North Island . The dissimilarity continues northeastward along the western edge of the Andes Cordillera along South America to Mexico, returning then to the islands off California. Indonesia, the Philippines, Japan, New Guinea, and New Zealand lie outside

4860-425: The eggs. When in smaller groups (up to twelve individuals) and low rainfall (up to 2,200 mm (87 in)), they are more frugivorous. In larger groups and increased rainfall, frugivory decreases as a result of competition and fast food depletion. As they digest fruit, more than 90% of the fruits' seeds are excreted without damage, which results in seed dispersal and distribution in tropical forests. Howlers use

4950-410: The eighteenth century. Magellan stopped at one uninhabited Pacific island before stopping at Guam in March 1521. Although Magellan himself died in the Philippines in 1521, Spanish navigator Juan Sebastián Elcano led the remains of the expedition back to Spain across the Indian Ocean and round the Cape of Good Hope , completing the first world circumnavigation in 1522. Sailing around and east of

5040-487: The equator into northern (North Pacific) and southern (South Pacific) portions. It extends from the Antarctic region in the South to the Arctic in the north. The Pacific Ocean encompasses approximately one-third of the Earth's surface, having an area of 165,200,000 km (63,800,000 sq mi) – larger than Earth's entire landmass combined, 150,000,000 km (58,000,000 sq mi). Extending approximately 15,500 km (9,600 mi) from

5130-469: The equator, which can have a salinity as low as 34 parts per thousand, is less salty than that found in the mid-latitudes because of abundant equatorial precipitation throughout the year. The lowest counts of less than 32 parts per thousand are found in the far north as less evaporation of seawater takes place in these frigid areas. The motion of Pacific waters is generally clockwise in the Northern Hemisphere (the North Pacific gyre ) and counter-clockwise in

5220-419: The equator. However, patches of the ecosystem can be found as far north as Punta Tortuga and Galera at 0 degrees and 46 minutes north of the equator. The core area of the Pacific Equatorial Forest covers two counties, Jama and Pedernales, in the northwest of the province of Manabí in Ecuador. The Jama-Coaque mountains (pronounced "Hama Ko-Ah-Kay") takes its name from the ancient civilization that thrived in

5310-420: The first completely documented European landing in Australia (1606), in Cape York Peninsula , and Abel Janszoon Tasman circumnavigated and landed on parts of the Australian continental coast and arrived at Tasmania and New Zealand in 1642. In the 16th and 17th centuries, Spain considered the Pacific Ocean a mare clausum  – a sea closed to other naval powers. As the only known entrance from

5400-420: The first humans to reach Remote Oceania , and the first to cross vast distances of open water. They also continued spreading southwards and settling the rest of Maritime Southeast Asia , reaching Indonesia and Malaysia by 1500 BCE, and further west to Madagascar and the Comoros in the Indian Ocean by around 500 CE. More recently, it is suggested that Austronesians expanded already earlier, arriving in

5490-423: The great "Southern Sea" which he named Mar del Sur (in Spanish). Afterwards, the ocean's current name was coined by Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan during the Spanish circumnavigation of the world in 1521, as he encountered favorable winds on reaching the ocean. He called it Mar Pacífico , which in Portuguese means 'peaceful sea'. Top large seas: Across the continents of Asia, Australia and

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5580-417: The guardians of consecrated ground". To the Mayas of the Classic period, they were the divine patrons of the artisans, especially scribes and sculptors. They were seen as gods in some tribes, and the long, sleek tail was worshipped for its beauty. Copán, in particular, is famous for its representations of howler monkey gods . Two howler monkey brothers play a role in the myth of the Maya Hero Twins included in

5670-435: The high rate of endemism, the mass elimination of forest habitat in the Coastal region over the last half-century represents one of the greatest species extinction events in history." The human consequences of regional deforestation have likewise been significant. The dramatic loss of forest cover over the last 50 years has altered the rain cycle and caused a sharp decline in regional precipitation. Whereas three generations ago

5760-577: The highest peak, although the rest of the mountain range is a series of peaks that average 500–650 metres (1,640–2,130 ft) of altitude, which are shrouded in fog most of the year. Starting in late December, a change in atmospheric pressure shifts ocean currents so that warm waters come closer to shore and displace the cold waters. During this time, air and water temperatures, tides, sea levels and wave heights, and relative humidity all rise. These conditions produce heavy rainfall that used to last through August, but now usually only lasts into May. Rain during

5850-439: The incorporation of the island into Chile with native Rapanui in 1888. By occupying Easter Island, Chile joined the imperial nations. By 1900 nearly all Pacific islands were in control of Britain, France, United States, Germany, Japan, and Chile. Although the United States gained control of Guam and the Philippines from Spain in 1898, Japan controlled most of the western Pacific by 1914 and occupied many other islands during

5940-417: The islands in the world. There are about 25,000 islands in the Pacific Ocean. The islands entirely within the Pacific Ocean can be divided into three main groups known as Micronesia , Melanesia and Polynesia . Micronesia, which lies north of the equator and west of the International Date Line , includes the Mariana Islands in the northwest, the Caroline Islands in the center, the Marshall Islands to

6030-519: The islands of eastern Micronesia (including the Carolines , the Marshall Islands , and Kiribati ), mixing with earlier Austronesian migrations in the region. This remained the furthest extent of the Austronesian expansion into Polynesia until around 700 CE when there was another surge of island exploration. They reached the Cook Islands , Tahiti , and the Marquesas by 700 CE; Hawaiʻi by 900 CE; Rapa Nui by 1000 CE; and finally New Zealand by 1200 CE. Austronesians may have also reached as far as

6120-713: The majority of their adult lives in association with unrelated monkeys. Physical fighting among group members is infrequent and generally of short duration, but serious injuries can result. Both males and females rarely fight with each other, but physical aggression is even more rare between sexes. Group size varies by species and by location, with an approximate ratio of one male to four females. As their name suggests, vocal communication forms an important part of their social behavior . They each have an enlarged basihyal or hyoid bone , which helps them make their loud vocalizations. Group males generally call at dawn and dusk, as well as interspersed times throughout

6210-446: The most widespread primate genus in the Neotropics and are among the largest of the platyrrhines along with the muriquis ( Brachyteles ), the spider monkeys ( Ateles ) and woolly monkeys ( Lagotrix ). The monkeys are native to South and Central American forests. They are famous for their loud howls , which can be heard up to three miles away through dense rain forest. Fifteen species are recognized. Previously classified in

6300-468: The north to New Zealand in the south, also encompasses Tuvalu , Tokelau , Samoa , Tonga and the Kermadec Islands to the west, the Cook Islands , Society Islands and Austral Islands in the center, and the Marquesas Islands , Tuamotu , Mangareva Islands , and Easter Island to the east. Islands in the Pacific Ocean are of four basic types: continental islands, high islands, coral reefs and uplifted coral platforms. Continental islands lie outside

6390-485: The northern Philippines , but also earlier groups associated with Austroasiatic-speakers , resulting in the modern peoples of Island Southeast Asia and Oceania. A later seaborne migration is the Neolithic Austronesian expansion of the Austronesian peoples . Austronesians originated from the island of Taiwan c.  3000 –1500 BCE. They are associated with distinctive maritime sailing technologies (notably outrigger boats , catamarans , lashed-lug boats, and

6480-575: The northwestern Pacific and the eastern Pacific. Pacific hurricanes form south of Mexico, sometimes striking the western Mexican coast and occasionally the Southwestern United States between June and October, while typhoons forming in the northwestern Pacific moving into southeast and east Asia from May to December. Tropical cyclones also form in the South Pacific basin , where they occasionally impact island nations. In

6570-1002: The nostrils have many sensory hairs growing from the interior. They range in size from 56 to 92 cm (22 to 36 in), excluding their tails, which can be equally long; in fact in some cases the tail has been found to be almost five times the body length. This is a prime characteristic. Like many New World monkeys, they have prehensile tails , which they use while picking fruit and nuts from trees. Unlike other New World monkeys , both male and female howler monkeys have trichromatic color vision. This has evolved independently from other New World monkeys due to gene duplication . They have lifespans of 15 to 20 years. Howler species are dimorphic and can also be dichromatic (i.e. Alouatta caraya ). Males are typically 1.5 to 2.0 kg heavier than females. Males experience an evolutionary trade off between investments in precopulatory traits, larger hyoids but smaller testes , or post-copulatory traits, larger testes and smaller hyoids.The hyoid of Alouatta

6660-451: The ocean was encountered by Spanish explorer Vasco Núñez de Balboa in 1513 after his expedition crossed the Isthmus of Panama and reached a new ocean. He named it Mar del Sur ("Sea of the South" or "South Sea" ) because the ocean was to the south of the coast of the isthmus where he first observed the Pacific. In 1520, navigator Ferdinand Magellan and his crew were the first to cross

6750-562: The ocean's surface. One of the most dramatic is the Great Barrier Reef off northeastern Australia with chains of reef patches. A second island type formed of coral is the uplifted coral platform, which is usually slightly larger than the low coral islands. Examples include Banaba (formerly Ocean Island) and Makatea in the Tuamotu group of French Polynesia . The volume of the Pacific Ocean, representing about 50.1 percent of

6840-610: The ocean. In the premontane cloud forest along the peaks of the coastal mountains, which strip wáter from the nearly constant cloud cover, annual precipitation is 2,000-3,000 mm, and the vegetation is green and lush year-round. Along the shoreline, annual rainfall can be as little as 800 mm, and in these much drier conditions the majority of trees shed their leaves during the dry season, creating tropical deciduous forest (also known as tropical dry forest). The Pacific Equatorial Forest provides habitat for serves as habitat and key migratory channel for two endangered species of primates;

6930-530: The planet's total surface area, larger than its entire land area (148,000,000 km (57,000,000 sq mi)). The centers of both the Water Hemisphere and the Western Hemisphere , as well as the oceanic pole of inaccessibility , are in the Pacific Ocean. Ocean circulation (caused by the Coriolis effect ) subdivides it into two largely independent volumes of water that meet at the equator ,

7020-581: The quest for Terra Australis ("the [great] Southern Land"), Spanish explorations in the 17th century, such as the expedition led by the Portuguese navigator Pedro Fernandes de Queirós , arrived at the Pitcairn and Vanuatu archipelagos, and sailed the Torres Strait between Australia and New Guinea, named after navigator Luís Vaz de Torres . Dutch explorers, sailing around southern Africa, also engaged in exploration and trade; Willem Janszoon , made

7110-479: The rainforest of the Jama-Coaque Ecological Reserve via the cloud-forested mountain ridges. The trail is meant to function as an incentive for conservation, as all forest owners along the trail receive a percentage of the trail fees. However, the vast majority of the Pacific Equatorial Forest remains unprotected and continued to be logged and cleared for agriculture and cattle ranching. In 2009

7200-550: The rainy season is punctuated by sunny weather. The dry season, which now begins in June or July and lasts sometimes into mid January, is characterized by cooler temperatures and more overcast skies. The Bamboo House research station in the Jama-Coaque Ecological Reserve has recorded an average daily temperature range of 24–31 °C (75–88 °F) in the rainy season, and 19–29 °C (66–84 °F) in

7290-543: The rainy season lasted eight months per year and the dry season four, that ratio has inverted, and now the rainy season barely lasts four months, followed by eight months of drought. Rivers that used to be viable year-round now run dry half of the year, crops fail, and droughts result in high death rates of livestock, an effect which is particularly acute during periods of the La Nina ocean-atmosphere phenomenon. There are three private ecological reserves that protect remnants of

7380-427: The region from 355 B.C. to 1532 A.D; whose territory is believed to have been limited to this specific ecosystem and the adjacent coastline. The Pacific Equatorial Forest covers 650 square kilometres, or 65,000 hectares of land, of which approximately 19,000 hectares are still forested. The Pacific Equatorial Forest is subject to what is known as a tropical monsoon climate . The ecosystem is located directly adjacent to

7470-505: The settlement of Buka by 32,000 B.P. and Manus by 25,000 B.P. Journeys of 180 kilometres (110 mi) and 230 kilometres (140 mi) are involved, respectively. The descendants of these migrations today are the Negritos , Melanesians , and Indigenous Australians . Their populations in maritime Southeast Asia , coastal New Guinea , and Island Melanesia later intermarried with the incoming Austronesian settlers from Taiwan and

7560-504: The southeast of Hawaii is computed, and if the region is more than 0.5 °C (0.9 °F) above or below normal for that period, then an El Niño or La Niña is considered in progress. In the tropical western Pacific, the monsoon and the related wet season during the summer months contrast with dry winds in the winter which blow over the ocean from the Asian landmass. Worldwide, tropical cyclone activity peaks in late summer, when

7650-804: The tropics and Antarctica, which records the coldest temperature readings on the planet. In the Southern hemisphere, because of the stormy and cloudy conditions associated with extratropical cyclones riding the jet stream, it is usual to refer to the Westerlies as the Roaring Forties, Furious Fifties and Shrieking Sixties according to the varying degrees of latitude. The ocean was first mapped by Abraham Ortelius ; he called it Maris Pacifici following Ferdinand Magellan 's description of it as "a pacific sea" during his circumnavigation from 1519 to 1522. To Magellan, it seemed much more calm (pacific) than

7740-418: The upper-middle part of their sleeping tree and use large branches on the 70% of nights that potentially allow for grouped sleeping or resistance to weather conditions and risk of branch breaking. Their sleeping sites are usually close to morning feeding sites. While they are not usually aggressive, brown howler monkeys do not take well to captivity and are of bad-tempered and unfriendly disposition. However,

7830-586: The west, and Drake Passage and the Strait of Magellan link the Pacific with the Atlantic Ocean on the east. To the north, the Bering Strait connects the Pacific with the Arctic Ocean . As the Pacific straddles the 180th meridian , the West Pacific (or western Pacific , near Asia) is in the Eastern Hemisphere , while the East Pacific (or eastern Pacific , near the Americas) is in

7920-534: The width of the Pacific with precision for the first time in history. One of the earliest voyages of scientific exploration was organized by Spain in the Malaspina Expedition of 1789–1794. It sailed vast areas of the Pacific, from Cape Horn to Alaska, Guam and the Philippines, New Zealand, Australia, and the South Pacific. Growing imperialism during the 19th century resulted in the occupation of much of Oceania by European powers, and later Japan and

8010-434: The world's oceanic water, has been estimated at some 714 million cubic kilometers (171 million cubic miles). Surface water temperatures in the Pacific can vary from −1.4 °C (29.5 °F), the freezing point of seawater, in the poleward areas to about 30 °C (86 °F) near the equator. Salinity also varies latitudinally, reaching a maximum of 37 parts per thousand in the southeastern area. The water near

8100-583: Was the first to show the Americas separating two distinct oceans. Later, the Diogo Ribeiro map of 1529 was the first to show the Pacific at about its proper size. (Inhabited dependent territories are denoted by the asterisk (*), with names of the corresponding sovereign states in round brackets. Associated states in the Realm of New Zealand are denoted by the hash sign (#).) Territories with no permanent civilian population. The Pacific Ocean has most of

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