The high, long, and rocky islands of the group are barren of topsoil, and the only wildlife consists of about sixteen species of birds, including eight species of seabirds, and a scarce population of feral goats, rabbits, and rodents, brought from Portugal by the mariners who first reached the rocky shores.

The Deserta Grande wolf spider and Madeiran wall lizard also exist in the fragile and arid ecosystem.

This water is murky and scarce, and historic attempts to colonise the island failed due to the impracticability of agriculture.

A tiny colony of Mediterranean monk seals inhabits the beaches, and since 1990 the islands have been constituted as a nature reserve for their protection.

The Desertas archipelago has been recognised as an Important Bird Area (IBA) by BirdLife International because of its seabird colonies.