Key Biodiversity Areas

North Otago (31247)
New Zealand, Australasia

Site overview


KBA status: confirmed
Global KBA criteria: A1a
Year of last assessment: 2014
National site name: North Otago
Central coordinates: Latitude: -45.1220, Longitude: 170.9798
System: marine, terrestrial
Elevation (m): 0 to 40
Area of KBA (km2): 2.16833
Protected area coverage (%): 26.70
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.
Additional biodiversity: IBA Trigger species: Yellow-eyed penguin, Stewart Island Shag, Spotted shag (non-breeding)* * Breeding population does not meet threshold. Besides the trigger species the following species are confirmed or likely to be breeding: Little Penguin, Sooty Shearwater, Black Shag, Little Shag, White-faced Heron, Canada Goose, Mallard, Paradise Shelduck, Aus-tralasian Harrier, Variable Oystercatcher, Spur-winged Plover, Southern Black-backed Gull, Red-billed Gull, White-fronted Tern, Rock Pigeon, NZ Kingfisher, Welcome Swallow, NZ Pipit. Skylark, Blackbird, Song Thrush, Yellowhammer, Chaffinch, Greenfinch, Goldfinch, Redpoll, House Sparrow, Starling, Australian Magpie. Other species recorded: South Island Pied Oys-tercatcher, Pied Stilt, Banded Dotterel. The Little Penguin colonies at Oamaru are nationally important sites (>1,000 individuals). However, with the species lumped with the Australian Little Penguin where large populations occur , no New Zealand populations reach 1% of the global population.

Habitats


IUCN HabitatCoverage %Habitat detail
Introduced Vegetation23
Marine Intertidal23
Artificial - Aquatic5
Forest5
Shrubland23
Marine Coastal/Supratidal23

Threats


Summary of threats to biodiversity at KBA: Human disturbance –Yes - Predation by alien species – Yes - Dogs, cats, stoats, rodents, possums, possibly weasels. Habitat loss or degradation – No Contamination – No Natural disaster – No Parasite or pathogen - No Other – No

Additional information


References: DOC (Department of Conservation). 2013. Data extracted from Yellow-eyed Penguin Database Lalas, C. and Perriman, L. 2012. Distribution and abundance of Stewart Island shags (Leucocarbo chalconotus). Unpublished Manuscript