Pearce, Urquhart and Hervey Islands (Sir Edward Pellew Group) (23451)
Australia, Australasia
Site overview
KBA status: confirmed
Global KBA criteria: D1a
Year of last assessment: 2009
National site name: Pearce, Urquhart and Hervey Islands (Sir Edward Pellew Group)
Central coordinates: Latitude: -15.4995, Longitude: 136.9317
System: marine, terrestrial
Elevation (m): 0 to 10
Area of KBA (km2): 0.62384
Protected area coverage (%): 45.91
KBA classification: Global
Legacy site: Yes
Site details
Site description: The IBA includes three adjacent islands, Pearce islet, Urquhart islet and Hervey Rocks, all north-east of North Island in the Edward Pellew Group of the western Gulf of Carpentaria. Pearce is a large, low vegetated islet. Urquhart is a reasonably large, low, circular, vegetated, rock and coral rubble island. Hervey Rocks is a small, low, partially vegetated rock island with a small sand spit (Chatto 2001 island refs S070, S071 and S072). The IBA may be extended to other poorly-known nearby islands if they are surveyed more thoroughly and shown to support large numbers of nesting terns.
Rationale for qualifying as KBA: This site qualifies as a Key Biodiversity Area of international significance that meets the thresholds for at least one criterion described in the Global Standard for the Identification of KBAs.
Additional biodiversity: Chatto (2001) made several counts on each island. Crested Terns were nesting on Urquhart each year when R. Chatto visited March-July, but were reported to have moved to nearby Turtle Islet in 2000. The highest count of breeding Roseate Terns was 7500+ in 1999 when there were also well over 10,000 additional non-breeding birds roosting nearby. 2000 Bridled Terns were counted on Pearce in 1994, when 1000 were counted on Hervey Rocks. Pearce and Urquhart also support small numbers of Black-naped Terns (max 100 and 60, respectively), and up to 280 Roseate Terns were counted nesting on Pearce in 1994. Non-bird biodiversity: Large numbers of marine turtles nest on the islands (Chatto 2001).
Other site values: Wurralibi ALT. Traditionally-owned land.
Habitats
| IUCN Habitat | Coverage % | Habitat detail |
|---|---|---|
| Marine Coastal/Supratidal | 100 |
Threats
Summary of threats to biodiversity at KBA: No known threats. The numbers of nesting seabirds should be monitored.
Additional information
References: Chatto, R. (2001) The distribution and status of colonial breeding seabirds in the NT. Technical Report 70. Parks and Wildlife Commission of the Northern Territory, Palmerston. Harrison, L., McGuire, L., Ward, S. Fisher, A., Pavey, C., Fegan, M. and Lynch, B. (2009) An inventory of sites of international and national significance for biodiversity values in the Northern Territory. Department of Natural Resources, Environment, the Arts & Sport, Darwin, NT. Ward, S. and Harrison, L. (2009) Recognising sites of conservation significance for biodiversity values in the Northern Territory. Department of Natural Resources, Environment, the Arts & Sport, Darwin, NT.