Knowra Kingman Reef Kingman Reef Kingman Reef is a largely submerged coral reef in the northern Line Islands of the Pacific Ocean. The United States administers it as an unincorporated territory and national wildlife refuge.
Coral reef : A marine ecosystem built by corals and other organisms that secrete calcium carbonate. Kingman Reef is a coral formation whose living community grows on its submerged structure.
Atoll : A ring-shaped coral reef, island, or chain of islets surrounding a lagoon. Kingman is not a typical island-bearing atoll, but its reef structure invites comparison.
Kingman Reef National Wildlife Refuge : A U.S. national wildlife refuge encompassing Kingman Reef and its surrounding waters. This refuge designation is the principal framework for protecting the reef and its wildlife.
Baker Island : An uninhabited U.S. island in the central Pacific, designated a national wildlife refuge. Unlike Kingman’s mostly submerged reef, Baker Island has exposed land.
Line Islands : An island chain spanning the central Pacific, divided among Kiribati, the United States, and other jurisdictions. Kingman Reef lies at the northern end of this Pacific island chain.
Coral bleaching : The whitening of corals after they lose or expel the symbiotic algae that supply much of their energy. Warming and other stressors can threaten the reef’s coral communities through bleaching.
Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument : A U.S. marine national monument protecting a group of remote Pacific islands and waters. Kingman Reef is included in this monument’s protected seascape.
Howland Island : An uninhabited U.S. island near the equator in the central Pacific. Howland is a dry island, whereas Kingman is chiefly a submerged coral reef.
United States Minor Outlying Islands : A collective designation for nine United States island territories and atolls, most in the Pacific. Kingman Reef is grouped with these remote U.S. possessions.
Oceanic dispersal : The movement of organisms between separated habitats by currents, wind, or mobile animals. Currents connect Kingman’s isolated reef to other Pacific marine populations.
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