Îles Habibas (6185)
Algeria, Africa
Site overview
KBA status: confirmed
Year of last assessment: 2016
National site name: Îles Habibas
Central coordinates: Latitude: 35.7257, Longitude: -1.1288
Elevation (m): 0 to 103
Area of KBA (km2): 0.62632
Protected area coverage (%): 100.00
KBA classification: Global/Regional TBD
Legacy site: Yes
Site details
Site description: The site consists of two rocky islands lying 12 km west of the Algerian coastline just below the headland known as ‘Les Andalouses’ (which itself lies 45 km west of Oran). The larger island is called ‘Gharbia’ and reaches 103 m. The smaller and more easterly island is ‘Charguia’ and reaches no more than 25 m in height. Scrub vegetation includes Ephedra fragilis, Wthania frutescens and Frankenia corymbosa.
Rationale for qualifying as KBA: This site qualifies as a Key Biodiversity Area of international significance because it meets one or more previously established criteria and thresholds for identifying sites of biodiversity importance (including Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas, Alliance for Zero Extinction sites, and Key Biodiversity Areas) KBA identified in the CEPF Ecosystem Profile of the Mediterranean Hotspot (2017). Taxonomy, nomenclature and global threat category follow the 2016 IUCN Red List. Irr 1: Brassica spinescens.
Additional biodiversity: See Box for key species. The colony of Larus audouinii on the eastern side of Île Gharbia consisted of 350 individuals (including 130–150 young and at least 100 nests) in July 1989. An earlier record of 200 individuals on the islands in July 1986 was thought to comprise birds that had moved (probably due to human disturbance) from previously known colonies. Two previous colonies on Cap Falcon and l’île Plane, totalling 400 individuals, have now disappeared. Wintering numbers for the whole Algerian coastline were estimated at 824 individuals in 1978, but the key wintering sites have not been identified and it is possible that many Algerian breeding birds winter further east, from Morocco to Mauritania. Other seabirds recorded from the site include breeding Calonectris diomedea (27 nests), Phalacrocorax aristotelis, Pandion haliaetus (seven nests) and Larus cachinnans (a colony of several hundred individuals). This latter species nests on Île Charguia and thus appears not to nest alongside L. audouinii on the Habibas islands. This is the only IBA from which the biome-restricted Falco eleonorae is recorded as breeding, with at least five pairs seen on the Îles Habibas and four further individuals on the coast in July 1989, and four seen along the same section of coast in June 1987. Non-bird biodiversity: None known to BirdLife International.
Delineation rationale: Type 1 marine IBA: suitable for the seaward extension approach.
Threats
Summary of threats to biodiversity at KBA: The site is considered to be relatively undisturbed because of the difficulty of access, although ‘massive’ collection of eggs of all species by local people was reported in 1992. Predation by Larus cachinnans and small mammals may also threaten the L. audouinii colony. The creation of a network of coastal and marine nature reserves, particularly on the Habibas islands, is the recommended conservation action for breeding L. audouinii. Other necessary mechanisms to ensure continued protection of this species include enforcement of national wildlife legislation and control of rodents in the main breeding colonies.
Additional information
References: Boukhalfa (1990, 1992, 1995), Heredia et al. (1996).