Nightingale Island group (6828)
St Helena (to UK), Africa
Site overview
KBA status: confirmed
Global KBA criteria: A1a, A1b, A1c, A1d, A1e, B1, D1a
Year of last assessment: 2018
National site name: Nightingale Island group
Central coordinates: Latitude: -37.4167, Longitude: -12.4833
System: marine, terrestrial
Elevation (m): 0 to 337
Area of KBA (km2): 3.92426
KBA classification: Global
Legacy site: Yes
Site details
Site description: The site comprises the whole of Nightingale Island as well as Middle and Stoltenhoff Islands and the offshore islets and stacks, as described in the ‘General introduction’.
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. Alliance for Zero Extinction (2018): site confirmed as an AZE site during the AZE project (2015-2018). Taxonomy, nomenclature and Red List category follow the IUCN 2016 Red List.
Additional biodiversity: See Box and Table 2 for key species. At least 30 bird taxa are known. Thirteen species of breeding seabird and three of the native landbirds occur. The seabirds comprise Eudyptes chrysocome moseleyi, Diomedea chlororhynchos, Phoebetria fusca, Pterodroma mollis, Pachyptila vittata, Puffinus gravis, P. assimilis, Pelagodroma marina, Fregetta grallaria, Pelecanoides urinatrix (>20,000 pairs), Catharacta antarctica, Sterna vittata and Anous stolidus. The breeding population of P. gravis is the largest known, and at the highest density, in the world, with an estimated one million pairs per km². Pterodroma brevirostris may also breed. The terrestrial species include Nesocichla eremita procax (330–560 pairs, 1974 estimate), Nesospiza acunhae questi (560–1,120 pairs, 1974 estimate) and N. wilkinsi wilkinsi (30 pairs, 1974 estimate).Non-breeding visitors include Diomedea melanophris, Macronectes giganteus, M. halli, Fulmarus glacialoides, Daption capense, Procellaria a. aequinoctialis, P. a. conspicillata and Larus dominicanus. Non-bird biodiversity: The only breeding native mammal is Arctocephalus tropicalis. At least 31 species of native terrestrial invertebrates are known, including five endemic listroderine weevils and seven endemic drosophilid Scaptomyza.
Delineation rationale: Type 1 marine IBA: suitable for the seaward extension approach.
Habitats
Land use: nature conservation and research
Threats
Summary of threats to biodiversity at KBA: The site has been less affected by alien animals than the other sites, and no alien vertebrates have become established. Besides the annual harvest by Tristan islanders of Eudyptes chrysocome moseleyi eggs and Puffinus gravis eggs and chicks, of which the annual toll is not high, the remaining seabirds are little affected. The introduction of mammalian predators and tussock fires are the principal threats, while the recent die-back of trees, possibly caused by an introduced fungal pathogen, is being investigated, but is potentially, serious for Nesospiza wilkinsi.
Additional information
References: Broekhuysen (1948), Cooper et al. (1995), Fraser et al. (1994), Hydrographer of the Navy (1977), Richardson (1984), Rowan (1951, 1952), Ryan et al. (1990), Wace and Holdgate (1976).