Palmyra Atoll (30052)
United States Minor Outlying Islands (to USA), Oceania
Site overview
KBA status: confirmed
Global KBA criteria: A1b, D1a
Year of last assessment: 2012
National site name: Palmyra Atoll
Central coordinates: Latitude: 5.8833, Longitude: -162.0833
System: marine, terrestrial
Elevation (m): 0 to 2
Area of KBA (km2): 3.85158
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.
Delineation rationale: 2012-12-17 (BL Secretariat): original polygon clipped to hi-res coastline following identification in October 2012 of new marine IBA offshore this site; site area consequently updated to 385 ha.
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. A team of scientists are in permanent residence on the atoll and are researching the effects climate change could cause to the wildlife. This will not only give indication for Palmyra but for low-lying atolls globally (http://www.protectpalmyra.org/). In June 2011, personnel and contractors from FWS, TNC, Island Conservation, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and the U.S. Geological Survey, successfully carried out the application of bait to remove destructive black rats from the 25 islets that comprise the atoll, while minimizing threats from the bait to other animals. The operations followed extensive planning outlined in FWS’s May 2011 Environmental Impact Statement and was supported by years of scientific research. Comprehensive monitoring will take place over the next two years to assess the status of the eradication effort and how the atoll responds to rat removal. Several researchers returned to the atoll in August and completed the first phase of monitoring. After deploying hundreds of detection devices throughout the atoll, no signs of rats were found (http://www.nature.org/ourinitiatives/regions/northamerica/unitedstates/hawaii/palmyraatoll/newsroom/palmyra-rat-removal-project.xml). The success of this rat eradication will not be confirmed until 2013, if it has been successful then Palmyra will be invasive mammal free. If the rat eradication has been unsuccessful or if there are future re-invasions then this would pose a serious threat to bird population present (Atkinson 1985, Jones et al. 2008).
Additional information
References: Atkinson, I. A. E. (1985) The spread of commensal species of Rattus to oceanic islands and their effect on island avifaunas. Pages 35-81 in P. J. Moors, editor. Conservation of island birds. International Council for Bird Preservation, Cambridge, United Kingdom. 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. Jones, H. P., Tershy, B. R., Zavaleta, E. S., Croll, D. A., Keitt, B. S., Finkelstein, M. E. and Howald, G. R. (2008) Severity of the effects of invasive rats on seabirds: a global review. Conservation Biology 22: 16-26.