Snares (eastern islands) (31271)
New Zealand, Australasia
Site overview
KBA status: confirmed
Global KBA criteria: A1b, B1, B2, D1a
Year of last assessment: 2014
National site name: Snares (eastern islands)
Central coordinates: Latitude: -48.0302, Longitude: 166.5812
System: marine, terrestrial
Elevation (m): 0 to 130
Area of KBA (km2): 3.43307
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.
Additional biodiversity: IBA Trigger species: Snares Penguin, Buller's Albatross, Sooty shearwater, Mottled Petrel, Common Diving Petrel, NZ (Snares Island) Snipe. Besides the trigger species the following species are confirmed or likely to be breeding: Snares Cape Petrel, Fairy Prion, Broad-billed Prion, Brown Skua, Southern Black-backed Gull, Red-billed Gull, Antarctic Tern, Mallard, (Grey Duck), Snares Island Fernbird, Blackbird, Song Thrush, South Island Fantail, Snares Island Tomtit, Silvereye, Chaffinch, Redpoll, House Sparrow, Starling. Other species recorded: Hoary-headed Grebe, King Penguin, Yellow-eyed Penguin, Gentoo Penguin, Little Penguin, Rock-hopper Penguin, Royal Penguin, Fiordland Penguin, Erect-crested Penguin, Light-mantled Sooty Albatross, Southern Giant Petrel, Northern Giant Petrel, Salvin’s Prion, Blue Petrel, White-faced Storm Petrel, Black-bellied Storm Petrel, Black Shag, Pied Shag, Auckland Island Shag, Spotted Shag, White-faced Heron, White Heron (Great Egret), Cattle Egret, Canada Goose, Chestnut-breasted Shelduck, Australian Wood Duck, Grey Teal, Australasian Shoveler, White-eyed Duck, Australa-sian Harrier, Pied Oystercatcher, Spur-winged Plover, Turnstone, Japanese Snipe, Sharp-tailed Sandpiper, Eastern Bar-tailed Godwit, Tattler sp., Greenshank, Black-billed Gull (EN), Black-fronted Tern (EN), White-fronted Tern, Arctic Tern, Rock Pi-geon, Red-crowned Parakeet, Oriental Cuckoo, Shining Cuckoo, Long-tailed Cuckoo, Morepork, Spine-tailed Swift, Skylark, Welcome Swallow, Australian Tree Martin, Hedge Sparrow, Grey Warbler, Tui, Yellowhammer, Greenfinch, Goldfinch.
Habitats
| IUCN Habitat | Coverage % | Habitat detail |
|---|---|---|
| Shrubland | 25 | |
| Forest | 25 | |
| Marine Coastal/Supratidal | 25 | |
| Grassland | 25 |
Threats
Summary of threats to biodiversity at KBA: The islands are pest and disease-free with access is strictly limited. However, invasion is a threat, particularly from vessels anchored close to the islands and landing parties. Human disturbance – No Predation by alien species – No Habitat loss or degradation – No Contamination – No Natural disaster – No Other – No
Additional information
References: Gales, R. 1998. Albatross populations: status and threats. Pp. 20 45 in Robertson, G.; Gales, R. (Eds): Albatross biology and conservation. Surrey Beatty & Sons, Chipping Norton, New South Wales, Australia. 300 p. Guthrie-Smith, H. 1936. Sorrows and joys of a New Zealand naturalist. Dunedin, Reed. Mattern, T. 2007. Marine ecology of offshore and inshore foraging penguins: The Snares penguin Eudyptes robustus and yellow-eyed penguin Megadyptes antipodes. PhD diss., University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand. Mattern, T., D. M. Houston, C. Lalas, A. N. Setiawan, and L. S. Davis. 2009. Diet composition, continuity in prey availability and marine habitat: Keystones to population stability in the Snares penguin (Eudyptes robustus). Emu 109:204–13. Mattern, T. 2012. Snares Penguin Eudyptes robustus. In: García Borboroglu, P. G. and Boersma P. D. (eds), Biology and Conser-vation of the World’s penguins, University of Washington Press, Seattle U.S.A. Miskelly, C.M., Sagar, P.M., Tennyson, A.J.D., Scofield, R.P. 2001. Birds of the Snares Islands, New Zealand. Notornis 48: 1-40Sagar, EM.; Molloy, J.; Tennyson, A.J.D.; Butler, D. 1994. Numbers of Buller's mollymawks breeding at the Snares Islands. Notornis 41: 85-92 Newman, J., Scott, D., Bragg, C., McKechnie, S., Moller, H. and Fletcher, D. (2009). Estimating regional population size and annual harvest intensity of the sooty shearwater in New Zealand. New Zealand Journal of Zoology 36: 307–323. Sagar, EM.; Molloy, J.; Tennyson, A.J.D.; Butler, D. 1994. Numbers of Buller's mollymawks breeding at the Snares Islands. Notornis 41: 85-92 Sagar, P.M. and Warham, J., 1998. Breeding biology of the Southern Buller's Albatross Diomedea bulleri bulleri at the Snares Islands, New Zealand, in Albatross biology and conservation, G. Robertson and R. Gales (Eds). Surrey Beatty and Sons: Chipping Norton Sagar, P.M.; Stahl, J.-C.; Molloy, J.; Taylor, G.A.; Tennyson, A.J.D. 1999. Population size and trends within the two popula-tions of southern Buller's albatross Diomedea bulleri bulleri. Biological conservation 89: 11-19 Sagar, P.M., Molloy, J., Weimerskirch, H., and Warham, J. 2000. Temporal and age-related changes in survival rates of Southern Buller's Albatrosses (Thalassarche bulleri bulleri) at the Snares, New Zealand, 1948 to 1997. Auk 117: 699-708. Sagar, P.M. and Stahl, J.C. 2005. Increases in the numbers of breeding pairs in two populations of Buller's Albatross (Thalassarche bulleri bulleri). Emu 105: 49-55 Scott, D., Moller, H., Fletcher, D., Newman, J., Aryal, J., Bragg, C. and Charleton, K. (2009). Predictive habitat modelling to estimate petrel breeding colony sizes: sooty shearwaters (Puffinus grieus) and mottled petrels (Pterodorma Zoology 36: 291–306 Waite, E.R. 1909. Vertebrata of the subantarctic islands of New Zealand. pp. 542-600 In: Chilton, C. (ed.) The subantarctic islands of New Zealand, vol. 2. Wellington, Philosophical Institute of Canterbury, New Zealand Government Printer. Warham, J.; Bennington, S.L. 1983. A census of Buller's albatross Diomedea bulleri at the Snares Islands, New Zealand. Emu 83: 112-1 14 Warham, J.; Wilson, GJ. 1982. The size of the sooty shearwater population on the Snares Islands, New Zealand. Notornis 29: 23-30