Only few animals and plants have been able to adapt in extreme environmental conditions that prevail in the islands of the archipelago. Trade winds that blow continually in a Northeast-Southwest direction, rarely allow rain on the archipelago; This characteristic and the 27.8º centigrade temperature average, plus the 84% of humidity that hardly varies during the year, result in a deficit in the metabolism of ecosystem, in front of 271mm of precipitations that fall fundamentally in the last months of the year and the 1841mm of annual evaporation are had.

In the Great Roque elevations the typical vegetation is the dry and warm tropical areas prevails as for example: Opuntias, Cactus circles and Cactus chandelier; Of the thirty species of superiors plants that grows in the archipelago, many have adapted to the life on the saline floors in near areas to the sea, among them we find:

The Grass of Glass, a cringing plant that covers wide areas of the beach with their thick leaves that store the water.

Fisherman's Tabaquillo, whose hallucinogenic effects were probably already known among the columbus residents of the archipelago.

The Saladillo, plant that it sticks in the sands with the help of its long roots.

The Gramineous, plant that play an important paper in the consolidation of the island.

The Stupid Cadillo, this grass that spreads for small seeds covered with thorns that take root deeply in the floor and this way it contributes to fix the sand.

The only animal species that have made of these arid islands a permanent habit, are six species of small lizards and iguanas that adapt to the heat,a kind of bat, as well as some insects and spiders. Except for the Fisherman Bat, mammals neither snakes don't exist in these isolated islands.

Birds:

The shortage of species of terrestrial fauna in the Great Roque, contrasts with the great variety of birds fauna. More than 80 species of birds that belong to 28 families and 10 orders that have been observed in the archipelago. The diversity of natural atmospheres, the relative isolation of the archipelago, as well as the great fishing wealth of the waters explains the abundance of species. For their geographical situation to the north of south america and approximately three quarter distance between the biggest antilles islands and mainland, the archipelago is a favorite place of scale in the annual trip of the migratory birds. There are some species that only look for the earth to nest and rest, others that only move away from the islands for a few days, and a third group that shows a form of definitively terrestrial life.

side the first group, we can observed in the Great Roque the Sea Swallows, that look for in archipelago in their route toward the south; The Hijackers that are characteristic of the arctic regions and come to the area of the caribbean to pass the winter period, and also the Petreles that are typical representatives of the bird fauna of the antilles. These species feed fundamentally of shoal of fish that swim near the surface,some squids, small crustaceans and especially the sea swallow,some times they also feed of remains of fish and waste that fall of the fisherman boats. The populations of birds preferably nest in the Great Roque, but also in the other islands in the same area like Selesquí, Bequevé and Espenquí.

The birds remains most of the time in the near areas to the coast, but day can pass also several days in open sea, in this group belong the Bobas, Frigates and the Gulls. The most common in the archipelago of the Great Roque is the brown Bobas that builds a very simple nests directly on the floor with some few branches. Bobas name came from the fact that the human can come closer to them without difficulty and even to play when this nesting. The Boba of white tail that is easily recognized by its red paws, owes its name to the fact that the species during its development goes by three colors: white, gray and brown, always conserving their white line, this is the only a Boba that nests in hoist and bushes and also finds ideal conditions in the swamps of the south-oriental area of the archipelago.

The Frigate or earwig is counted among the species of better known birds of the tropical atlantic; This opportunist birds, feeds mainly of the flare from the preys to other species, preferably to the Bobas of white tail; It attacks it in the air hitting their pick, the wing or the tail, it shakes it during several seconds before allowing it to go unhurt with the purpose of forcing them to loose their prey. very frequently we find the Frigate feeding of the waste of fishing ships. The Scabby Gull that is mainly in near areas to the coast nests in the Great Roque, building her big nests in the branches of the mangroves.

In the group of the coast and beach birds that live permanently in the coastal areas, we find the Pelican that is the principal bird of the Great Roque. The pelican nests in colonies, in a large part of the archipelago; They appears gracefully during the take off, it is very agile flying and also a great fisherman. We find a very interesting relationship between the Pelican and the Guanaguanare, that sometimes is able to snatch the prey of the pick of the big Pelicans. The Guanaguanare that is omnivorous, nests in big numbers in many islands of the archipelago; The species known as Tirra in Venezuela, are found from the south-artico to the tropics, in the Great Roque they nest preferably in sandy islands in the occident of the archipelago, where they always place directly their eggs on the sand or some times in the salines without building any nest. They fish diving the surface of the water. The Red Flamenco is an impressive bird that arrives in flocks from the Island of Bonaire or the lagoon of the Olive trees in the West of Venezuela, to make a station in the Great Roque during some weeks or months of the year. They generally stops in the islands The Canquises located in the north of the archipelago.

Same as the flamenco, are different species of Blues, That feeds of microorganisms in the shallow waters, in beaches, lagoons and salines. The Ashy Garzón and the Brown Heron, both of blued gray color are numerous in the archipelago, these shy and solitary birds that reach sizes of up to 120 cm of height, nest in Esparqui and Long Island. Other habitants of the coast are the Caracoleros, that as their name indicates feed of mollusks, and some others like the Playeros that are in their majority migratory birds that pass the winter of their natural zones in the caribe or that sometimes stop in their route toward the south, both families of birds belong to the order charadriiformes, represented in the Great Roque by 25 other different species.