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BIODIVERSITY AND HERITAGE OF PEMBROKE
Pembroke Local Council
WELCOME Welcome to the Pembroke Heritage Trail – a site offering eco tourism, the beauty of the Mediterranean biodiversity and a unique walk in history that gives this site its name. Admire the colours of nature that change by months, enjoy the rich coastal marine ecology and appreciate part of the Military history these Islands have been through over the ages. The Natura 2000 site in Pembroke is surrounded by highly urbanised areas cut off from the rest of the remaining natural habitats on the island, but a walk on site easily reveals its rich floral diversity. The presence of this vegetative biosphere is surely also one of the keys to the colonisation of fauna. Project Co-Ordinator: Francelle Azzopardi - Malta Tourism Authority, Product Development Directorate Educational Material: Vincent Attard and Jeffrey Sciberras (Nature Trust Malta & Ekoskola Malta) Photo Credits: Vincent Attard, Leslie Vella, Alan Deidun, Glorianne Borg Axisa, Denis Cachia, Chris Cachia Zammit, David P. Cilia, Pamela Mason, Luca Pisani, Arnold Sciberras, Jeffrey Sciberras, Joe Sultana, Mark Sultana, Julie Tabone, Aaron Tanti, Matthew Borg Cardona Acknowledgements: Nature Trust Malta, Malta Environment and Planning Authority, Armed Forces of Malta, Pembroke Local Council, Lands Department, Fondazzjoni Wirt Artna
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Copyright Š Malta Tourism Authority and Nature Trust Malta, 2013 Malta Tourism Authority,
www.mta.com.mt
Nature Trust Malta, www.naturetrustmalta.org
of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher. ISBN: 978-99932-18-11-1
Buƒbieƒ | Fennel | Foeniculum vulgare
GEOLOGY & FLORA The natural landscape of Pembroke is covered by a great expanse of karst made from the island’s hardest rock, lower coralline limestone. This limestone erodes very slowly, but over millennia, the karst topography has become pocketed with small depressions, which have gradually filled with terrarossa soil, which in turn provides a habitat for communities of garigue and phrygana. Garigue is a habitat based on exposed karst land, colonised by low aromatic and spiny shrubs, accompanied by geophytes (bulbous plants). Limonju Kbir | Large-leaved Sea-Lavender | Limonium serotinum 2
Kappara | Caper | Capparis orientalis 3
The Mediterranean thyme and the seaside squill are typical garigue plants at Pembroke. Phrygana, which is similar to a garigue, hosts larger shrubs and thus less exposed karst and soil. The Maltese shrubby kidney vetch, evergreen honeysuckle and shrubby wild olives are examples of phrygana species in this park. Pembroke also has a coastal community of plants since the karst stretches right up to the sea. On the other hand, abandoned agricultural land and areas with degraded garigues have become colonised by a steppe community. There are usually no shrubs in the steppe, just grasses and non-grass annual flowers. The majority of wild plants in Pembroke are typically common species found everywhere in Malta and in the Mediterranean, but the area is a haven for a good number of species of orchids and a refuge for two very rare species of shrubs (thorny burnet and the large-leaved sea-lavender) found nowhere in the Maltese islands. Dubbiena Ka˙la | Mirror Orchid | Ophrys speculum
Xag˙ri Viçin il-Kosta | Garigue Coastal Habitat
the area is a haven for a good number of species of orchids and a refuge for two very rare species of shrubs 4
Beﾆ槌置l il-Baqra | Blue Stonecrop | Sedum caeruleum 5
TERRESTRIAL FAUNA Pembroke’s garigue may look desolate from the lack of faunal activity, but this is far from being the case.
Kamaleojont | Chameleon | Chameleon chameleon
Bugeddum Ûg˙ir | Etruscan Shrew | Suncus etruscus
The wild animals that one may encounter are not larger than a rabbit, but with an array of creatures of all shapes and sizes, the Natura 2000 site is unmistakeably ecologically active. Arthropods (insects, arachnids, crustaceans, molluscs, etc) make up the majority of animals on site. Most are too small to notice immediately, but when looking under rocks and vegetation, you can see them clearly, especially in the summer months. 6
Farfett taz-Ziju | Cleopatra Butterfly | Genopteryx cleopatra 7
Furthermore, nocturnal creatures can be spotted trying to avoid the heat and sunlight, typically spiders, scorpions, ants, centipedes, millipedes, woodlice etc. In Summer, some species of snails climb and congregate in large numbers on top of the tallest fennel stems to get away from heat of the earth, and to feel the light breeze. Along the footpaths, one may disturb the tiny, but colourfully-winged grasshoppers that would normally be camouflaged on rocks or dry vegetation. A butterfly may cross one’s path when walking near wild flowers. Larger animals are harder to spot, but easier to hear when they brush through the vegetation, especially reptiles, such as the ocellated skink. If you’re lucky, you can spot a chameleon slowly moving on a branch, or a black western whip snake rushing under the shrubs. At night, ‘life goes on’, as hedgehogs and shrews come out to feast on the nocturnal invertebrates. A small bat, like the pippistrelle, might fly low to catch mosquitoes. In all, over 200 species of fauna have been recorded to date at the Pembroke Natura 2000 site.
Along the footpaths, one may disturb the tiny, but colourfully-winged grasshoppers that would normally be camouflaged on rocks or dry vegetation 8
Teleskopu | Cat Snake | Telescopus fallax
Farfett il-lejl tan-Nala Ûg˙ir | Lesser Horseshoe Bat | Rhinolophus hipposideros
Qanfud | Vagrant Hedgehog | Ericanus algirus 9
Ă“anex tal-Fjuri | Fan Worm | Spirographis spallanzani
MARINE SHORE LIFE Life beneath the waves is not quiet, especially along the coast where it may be more chaotic than terrestrial life nearby. Snorkelling around the coast of Pembroke can be a way of how to explore this underwater world. The coralline limestone has abundant crevices and these provide the perfect habitat for small prey and illusive predators. Abundant shallow-water fish, which are coastal grazers, include several species of blennies (buĆ’ullieq) and wrasses. Blennies are extremely slimy in order to escape predators. 10
Posidonja | Posidonia | Posidoniaoceanica
Granรง tax-Xatt | Mediterranean Shore Crab | Pachygrapsus marmoratus 11
Wrasses, which are generally larger and more colourful, are able to change sex for the benefit of their small colonies. A moray eel, a large predatory fish, may be lurking to hunt these types of fish. However, fish are not the only animals to be found in this habitat; there are many slow moving or sessile creatures, such as echinoderms (starfish, urchins and sea-cucumbers), slow-moving creatures that like to hang on to the rocks or the sandy floor nearby. These are quiet creatures, spending their lives filter feeding or smothering their prey very slowly. Sponges and anemones stay in one place for their entire lives; sponges are the most primitive animals on earth, consisting of a large bunch of cells that have to live together. Anemones are non-moving cousins of the jellyfish, with many tentacles waving to catch prey. More complex invertebrates occur along the shores, with a large array of molluscs and crustaceans. Several species of crabs and small shrimps reside in crevices or swim in open water nearby, accompanied by the slow marine snails, slugs and muscles. The docile species are always on the lookout for the predatory and very intelligent cephalopods, highly evolved molluscs like the octopi, squids and cuttlefish. Larger marine wildlife and many other species, especially of fish, reside further out along the sandy bottoms or Neptune grass meadows.
Qarnieta | Octopus | Octopus vulgaris
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Rizza | Rock Urchin | Paracentrotus lividus
Stilla Óamra Lixxa | Red starfish | Hacelia attenuata
Çippullazza | Red scorpionfish | Scorpaena scrofa 13
Pitirross | Robin | Erithacus rubecula
AVIFAUNA AT PEMBROKE Being an open area and close to the sea, Pembroke is also a good place for birdwatching The garigue expanses might not be ideal for large birds like birds of prey or large water birds to land, since they often need the cover of trees or large bodies of inland water for a sense of security or for food. However, such birds can occasionally be seen by in small groups. 14
ﾃ経jjin | Linnet | Carduelis cannabina
Bag˙dan A˙mar | Marsh Harrier | Circus aeruginosus
Agrett abjad | Little Egret | Egretta grazett
Sturnell | Starling | Sturnus vulgaris 15
Herons are frequent passers-by and often fly low. Birds of prey, such as the kestrel, fly higher, unless hovering for rodents. On the other hand, small birds enjoy the open garigue and steppe expanses because they can easily blend in along the grasses, shrubs and even on the rocky terrain. Many small birds are insect eaters, thus finding the open expanses a haven since it is bountiful with some types of insects. Some of these birds also readily accept and prefer this type of habitat as a breeding ground. Species which prefer these open spaces include thrushes, wheatears, wagtails, pipits, larks, starlings, swallows and particularly sparrows.
Pespus | Meadow Pipit | Anthus pratensis
Isfar | Yellow Wagtail | Motacilla flava
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Buรงaqq tax-xitwa | Stonechat | Saxicola torquata
Many small birds are insect eaters, thus finding the open expanses a haven since it is bountiful with some types of insects
Ûippu | Fan tailed warbler | Cisticola juncidis
Kudirross Iswed | Black Redstart | Phoenicurus ochruros
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Torri tal-Madliena | Madliena Tower
HISTORY AT PEMBROKE Mog˙dijiet Militari | Military tracks
The history of Pembroke goes back to the time of the Knights of St John when the first watch tower was built by Grand Master De Redin in the 1600s. Today this is known as the Madliena tower. In the 1840’s the site started being used as a musketry camp for British Armed Forces in Malta. In fact, the locality was named by the British as they used this area as a training ground for their Forces. 18
Kamra militari tal-era Vittorjana | British Victorian Military room
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The site offers a variety of structures all related to the Victorian military era, from the ranges, to the military shelter rooms and marker rooms in the ranges themselves. Another feature is the military trail, which allowed the Victorian troops to move along the ranges; today this has been restored into the site’s heritage trail. Pembroke is surrounded by buildings from the 1800s and 1900s, which can also be followed beyond the heritage trail. These include clock towers, barracks, cemetery, batteries etc.
Ranges
Fugass | Fougasse
The site offers a variety of structures all related to that Victorian military era, from the ranges, to the military shelter rooms and marker rooms in the ranges themselves 20
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