Alboran Island is a small island in the Alboran Sea, located on the westernmost factor of the western Mediterranean. It lies about 50 kilometers north of the Moroccan coast and ninety kilometers south of Spain's Almería province. The island is a flat platform with an elevation of approximately 15 meters and covers an area of approximately 71,200 square meters. About 100 meters northeast of the island is La Nube Islet, which translates to "Cloud Island."
Alboran Island has been identified using BirdLife International as an Important Bird Area (IBA). This designation is because the island is domestic to a breeding population of Audouin's gulls and several species of migratory passerine birds. The species Diplotaxis siettiana, typically recognised in Spanish as Alboran Dandelion, represents the best-known wild population on the island.
| Name | Alboran Island (Spanish: Isla de Alborán) |
| Country | Spain |
| Province | Almería |
| Coordinates | 35°56′22″N 03°02′07″W |
| Area | 0.07 km2 (0.027 sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC +1 |
| Population | military staff only |
| Heliport | Alboran Island heliport |
History of Alboran Island
The Alboran Island has become a stronghold for the Tunisian pirate Al Borani, from whom it derives its call. After the Battle of Alboran on October 1, 1540, it came under Spanish control. Alboran is mistakenly known as "Albusama." During the early tiers of World War II, the island's flat terrain and solitary construction led British bomber crews to mistakenly pick out it as a submarine at nightfall, resulting in the island being bombed.
In the mid-sixties, Soviet fishing vessels made numerous tries to set up an agreement on Alboran. This prompted the Spanish Army to create an everlasting marine detachment from the Spanish Navy to steady and guard the island. Today, it hosts a small Spanish Navy garrison and an automatic lighthouse.
Tourist Attractions on Alboran Island
Due to its geographical region, Alboran Island is one of the maximum numerous areas in the Mediterranean. It serves as an essential migratory direction for huge cetaceans.
The island, of volcanic starting place, is domestic to the principal Andalusian nesting site of Audouin's gulls and one of the maximum important nesting facilities for yellow-legged gulls. Additionally, it affords a significant habitat and feeding region for numerous migratory birds. Visit the Andalusian Tourism Board's official site for greater records.
In historical instances, Muslims cited the island as the "Navel of the Mediterranean." According to the ebook History Between Africa and Europe, "The landmass of the island itself famous precise geological capabilities on a planetary scale, believed to be a one of a kind sort of rock, which various professionals have referred to as Alboranite."
Flora of Alboran Island
Alborán Island hosts 20 distinctive species of terrestrial vascular flowers, among which Diplotaxis siettiana is a deadly disease species precise to the island. The most massive plant on the island is thyme (Frankenia corymbosa), which, along with bluegrass (Mesembryanthemum nodiflorum), forms the dominant flowers. Another noteworthy plant on Alborán is the Mauritanian mallow (Malva durieui).
Diplotaxis siettiana Maire
These species became defined in 1933 via the famed French botanist René Charles Maire (1878-1949), whose essential work is La Flore de l'Afrique du Nord. The genus Diplotaxis became hooked up by using De Candolle in 1821, referring to the feature double row of seeds in each locule of the siliques of maximum species. The specific epithet honors the naturalist Sietti, who located the plant and authored publications consisting of Nouvelle contribution à l'histoire naturelle de l'île d'Alboran (1933).
Diplotaxis siettiana was once considered extinct inside the wild; however, it's been reintroduced, and recuperation plans are presently in location. Its habitat has passed through enormous changes, and the modern population occupies a very constrained vicinity. The species is included at each nearby and European stage.
Commonly referred to as "Alboran Dandelion," it's far listed as "Critically Endangered" in the Spanish Red Book of Threatened Vascular Flora and is included in both the Spanish and Andalusian Red Lists of Vascular Flora. According to the Flora Ibérica, around a hundred and forty specimens were determined on Alborán Island in 1974. Subsequent expeditions between 1984 and 1990 failed to locate any specimens. Recently, plants grown from seeds accumulated in 1974 have been reintroduced.
Anacyclus alboranensis Esteve & Varo
The Flora Ibérica shows that this species is synonymous with A. Valentinus, as it lacks distinct morphological capabilities (which include the diploma of leaf division, the size of the achenes, and the shape of the achene wings) that might allow differentiation among Alboran and different species.
According to the Atlas y Libro Rojo de la Flora Vascular Amenazada de España, the real region occupied is much less than 0.05 square kilometers. The unmarried populace of this species consists of fewer than 2,500 individuals, as its habitat is extraordinarily fragile and exceptionally liable to intense disturbance from human hobby. It is covered at the regional stage.
This is an especially endangered species because Alborán Island is a fragile environment where any alteration should lead to its extinction. Uncontrolled admission, human presence, creation, and the growing number of seagulls are the maximum vast threat factors.
Senecio leucanthemifolius Poir.
It prospers in rocky soils, nitrophilous sands, walls, and near coastal regions. It is distributed throughout the Mediterranean region and the Canary Islands, with populations discovered within the Balearic Islands, Alborán Island, and a few remote cities on the Iberian Peninsula. In Almería, it's far placed on Alborán Island and Cabo de Gata.
The plant on Alborán Island, defined as Senecio alboranicus Maire, is indexed as "Critically Endangered" inside the Spanish Red Book of Threatened Vascular Flora and is likewise blanketed within the Spanish and Andalusian Red Lists of Vascular Flora.
Malva durieui Spach
It grows in crevices of coastal rocks and sands among calcareous rocks. It is found in diverse regions of Spain (Alicante, Almería, Cádiz, Castellón) and southwestern Portugal. Occasionally, it's far cultivated in botanical gardens, where it can grow spontaneously.
It isn't always considered threatened.
Frankenia corymbosa Desf.
This plant inhabits salt marshes, rocky outcrops, saline depressions, and coastal sandbars. It is distributed in northwestern Africa and southeastern Spain (Alicante, Almería, Granada, Murcia). In Almería, it's far not unusual, mainly within the Tabernas Desert and coastal regions.
The genus name honors the Swedish physician and botanist Johan Frankenius (1590-1661).
