Baker Island (30049)
United States Minor Outlying Islands (to USA), Oceania
Site overview
KBA status: confirmed
Global KBA criteria: D1a
Year of last assessment: 2012
National site name: Baker Island
Central coordinates: Latitude: 0.2167, Longitude: -176.5167
System: marine, terrestrial
Elevation (m): 0 to 8
Area of KBA (km2): 9.66523
Protected area coverage (%): 100.00
KBA classification: Global
Legacy site: Yes
Site details
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.
Supersedes another site: 31016
Delineation rationale: This boundary includes the original colony area with an additional 1km marine foraging buffer. These buffers were redefined and are now more appropriate for the trigger species (Lesser Frigatebird, Red-tailed Tropicbird, Sooty Tern).
Threats
Summary of threats to biodiversity at KBA: Climate change is listed as the third greatest threat to seabirds globally (Croxall et al. 2012). It is predicted to decrease the land area of low-lying Pacific islands and cause complete inundation of some islands (IPCC 1997) leading to substantial population declines (Hatfield et al. 2012). Although no current data or predictions are available specific to this IBA climate change represents a potential threat to this site owing to the risk of future sea level rise leading to inundation, and increased frequency of storms.
Additional information
References: Croxall, J. P., Butchart, S. H. M., Lascelles, B., Stattersfield, A. J., Sullivan, B., Symes, A. and Taylor, P. (2012) Seabird conservation status, threats and priority actions: a global assessment. Bird Conservation International 22: 1-34. IPCC – Intergovernmental Panel On Climate Change (1997) The Regional Impacts of Climate Change. An Assessment of Vulnerability. Geneva. Hatfield, J. S., Reynolds, M. H., Seavy, N. E. and Krause, C. M. (2012) Population dynamics of Hawaiian seabird colonies vulnerable to sea-level rise. Conservation Biology 26: 667-678. Rauzon, M. J., Forsell, D.J. Flint, E.N. and Gove, J.M. (2011) Howland, Baker and Jarvis Islands 25 years after cat eradication: the recovery of seabirds in a biogeographical context. Pgs 345-349 In: Veitch, C.R., Clout, M.N. and Towns, D.R. (eds.). 2011. Island invasives: eradication and management. IUCN, Gland, Switzerland.