Aran Islands (parts) (583)
Ireland, Europe
Site overview
KBA status: confirmed
Year of last assessment: 2024
National site name: Aran Islands (parts)
Central coordinates: Latitude: 53.1167, Longitude: -9.7000
System: terrestrial, marine
Elevation (m): 0 to 79
Area of KBA (km2): 21.50667
Protected area coverage (%): 86.63
KBA classification: Regional
Legacy site: Yes
Site details
Site description: Inishmaan is the middle of the three Aran Islands situated approximately 15km off the west coast of County Clare. The island is an extension of the karstic Carboniferous limestone region of the Burren. It consists of dry calcareous grassland, coastal dune and machair habitats. Inishmore, and a group of small islands (Brannock Islands, including Rock Island) lying to its west have been added to this site since Grimmett and Jones (1989). Low-intensity farming methods have maintained the species-richness and diversity of the flora.
Rationale for qualifying as KBA: <br>
Manageability of the site: Site identified based on BirdLife International's Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas, under which manageability is strongly recommended but not explicitly documented
Habitats
| IUCN Habitat | Coverage % | Habitat detail |
|---|---|---|
| Grassland | 45 |
Threats
Summary of threats to biodiversity at KBA: Agricultural intensification would have a significant negative effect upon this site. Tourism is an important industry on the Aran Islands, especially Inishmore, and needs to be controlled to minimize the impact to the environment. Terns <I>Sterna</I> on Inishmaan are vulnerable to disturbance. Two proposed candidate Special Areas for Conservation (Inishmaan, 928 ha; Inishmore, 20 ha) lie within the IBA.</P>
Additional information
References: Auchincloss & Handley, 2024. Ireland: Important Bird and Biodiversity Area identification for seabirds (Report).<br><br>Beal, Martin, Steffen Oppel, Jonathan Handley, Elizabeth J. Pearmain, Virginia Morera-Pujol, Ana P. B. Carneiro, Tammy E. Davies, et al. ‘track2KBA: An R Package for Identifying Important Sites for Biodiversity from Tracking Data’. Methods in Ecology and Evolution 12, no. 12 (December 2021): 2372–78. https://doi.org/10.1111/2041-210X.13713.<br><br>Critchley, Emma Jane, W. James Grecian, Adam Kane, Mark J. Jessopp, and John L. Quinn. ‘Marine Protected Areas Show Low Overlap with Projected Distributions of Seabird Populations in Britain and Ireland’. Biological Conservation 224 (August 2018): 309–17. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2018.06.007.<br><br>Giralt Paradell, O., Cañadas, A., Bennison, A., Todd, N., Jessopp, M., Rogan, E. (2024). Aerial surveys of cetaceans and seabirds in Irish waters: Occurrence, distribution and abundance in 2021-2023. Department of the Environment, Climate & Communications and Department of Housing, Local Government & Heritage, Ireland. 260pp<br><br>Handley, Jonathan, Marie-Morgane Rouyer, Elizabeth J. Pearmain, Victoria Warwick-Evans, Katharina Teschke, Jefferson T. Hinke, Heather Lynch, et al. ‘Marine Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas for Penguins in Antarctica, Targets for Conservation Action’. Frontiers in Marine Science 7 (20 January 2021): 602972. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2020.602972.
Contributors: Site identified based on Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas by the BirdLife International Partnership