The Malpelo Island Xeric Scrub is a single-island ecoregion covering tiny, isolated Malpelo Island in the eastern Pacific Ocean, a volcanic outcrop several hundred kilometres west of mainland Colombia, which governs it. Vegetation is extremely sparse: algae, mosses, and lichens cling to the near-vertical rock faces, while patches of grass, scrub, and a few ferns take hold only where thin, guano-enriched soil collects in sheltered pockets. The climate is oceanic and wet tropical, marked by high humidity and abundant rainfall, with temperatures averaging around 28 degrees Celsius and no permanent freshwater on the island. Despite its barren appearance, Malpelo supports vertebrate species found nowhere else, including three endemic reptiles, and hosts vast seabird colonies, notably one of the world's largest masked (Nazca) booby populations. The island is protected as the Malpelo Fauna and Flora Sanctuary, gazetted in 1995, and was later inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Marker placed inside the RESOLVE 2017 polygon at 4.0°N, 81.6°W.
Climate snapshot for this ecoregion
°C
°F
Current zone range (2011–2040)
13b
Plotwright
CHELSA-derived typical winter month at this ecoregion's bbox grid.
Projected (2041–2070)
13b
Plotwright
Where the CHELSA models say the typical winter month is heading.
Average warming this ecoregion is on track for: +2.9°F by mid-century. SSP3-7.0 (current trajectory) · CHELSA v2.1 bio06 sampled across 10 of 10 points within this ecoregion's bounding box.
At a glance
Dominant biome
Deserts & Xeric Shrublands
Realm
Neotropic
Approximate area
3 sq mi
Conservation tier
Nature Imperiled (Dinerstein NNH 4)
About the deserts & xeric shrublands biome
Arid and semi-arid lands where low, erratic rainfall and high evaporation limit vegetation to drought-adapted shrubs, succulents, and sparse grasses. Day-to-night temperature swings are large, and life is finely tuned to water scarcity.
Catalog plants suited to this ecoregion
No catalog plants intersect this ecoregion's zone range. As the catalog grows to cover this region's climate band, suggestions will surface here.
Collections for this ecoregion
No curated collection's plants all fit this ecoregion's zone range. We surface a collection only when every member would grow here — partial fits get filtered out rather than mislead. As the catalog and the curated set both grow, this section will fill in.
Related ecoregions
Other deserts & xeric shrublands ecoregions to explore: