Apparsuit (Kap Shackleton) and Kippaku (74)
Greenland (to Denmark), Europe
Site overview
KBA status: confirmed
Global KBA criteria: D1a
Year of last assessment: 2000
National site name: Apparsuit (Kap Shackleton) and Kippaku
Central coordinates: Latitude: 73.7667, Longitude: -56.7500
System: marine, terrestrial
Elevation (m): 0 to 500
Area of KBA (km2): 42.77135
KBA classification: Global
Legacy site: Yes
Site details
Site description: A high rocky island with sea cliffs located mainly on the southern coast. The site also includes Kippaku˜a small rocky island (15 ha) with sea cliffs on the northern and north-western sides, which slopes gradually to the south/south-west. The two islands were treated as separate IBAs in the previous international IBA inventory (Grimmett and Jones 1989): Kippaku (former site GL053) and Apparsuit (former site GL054).
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: Apparsuit supports the largest seabird colony in west Greenland. The IBA also holds 3,430-4,010 breeding pairs of Rissa tridactyla (1994 data).
Habitats
Land use: not utilised (100%)
| IUCN Habitat | Coverage % | Habitat detail |
|---|---|---|
| Marine Coastal/Supratidal | 100 |
Threats
Summary of threats to biodiversity at KBA: With the exception of local disturbance caused by hunting, no serious threats are known at the site. These two colonies have not seen the serious declines in Uria lomvia numbers recorded elsewhere (e.g. IBA 016), which is probably due to their remoteness from human settlement.