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Year of most recent IBA criteria assessment: 2011

Populations of IBA trigger species

Species	Current IUCN Red List Category	Season	Year(s) of estimate	Population estimate	IBA Criteria Triggered
Marbled Teal Marmaronetta angustirostris	VU	breeding	2011	present	B2, C6
Marbled Teal Marmaronetta angustirostris	VU	non-breeding	2011	max 3 individuals	B2, C6
Pied Avocet Recurvirostra avosetta	LC	resident	2008	70-257 breeding pairs	B1i, C2, C6
Black-winged Stilt Himantopus himantopus	LC	breeding	2008	50-150 breeding pairs	C6
Kentish Plover Charadrius alexandrinus	LC	resident	2008	max 273 breeding pairs	B1i, B2, C2
Black-tailed Godwit Limosa limosa	NT	winter	2008	max 150 individuals	A1, C1
Audouin's Gull Larus audouinii	VU	winter	2008	max 500 individuals	A1, C1
Little Tern Sternula albifrons	LC	breeding	2007-2008	165-220 breeding pairs	B1i, B2, C2, C6
Common Gull-billed Tern Gelochelidon nilotica	LC	breeding	2008	max 200 breeding pairs	B1i, B2, C2

Note: This table presents the IBA criteria triggered and the species that triggered then at the time of assessment, the current IUCN Red List category may vary from that which was in place at that time.

For more information about the IBA assessment process and criteria please click here

Threats to the site (pressure)
Threat Level 1	Threat Level 2	Timing	Scope	Severity	Result
Climate change and severe weather	habitat shifting and alteration	likely in short term (within 4 years)	whole area/population (>90%)	slow but significant deterioration	high
Human intrusions and disturbance	recreational activities	happening now	majority/most of area/population (50-90%)	moderate to rapid deterioration	high
Invasive and other problematic species and genes	problematic species/diseases of unknown origin - unspecified species	happening now	majority/most of area/population (50-90%)	no or imperceptible deterioration	low
Pollution	agricultural & forestry effluents - herbicides and pesticides	happening now	majority/most of area/population (50-90%)	moderate to rapid deterioration	high
Pollution	garbage & solid waste	happening now	majority/most of area/population (50-90%)	very rapid to severe deterioration	very high
Residential and commercial development	tourism and recreation areas	happening now	small area/few individuals (<10%)	no or imperceptible deterioration	low

Condition of key/trigger populations (state)
Scientific	Common	TargetPop	ActualPop	Units	Remaining	Result
Recurvirostra avosetta	Pied Avocet	99	53	breeding pairs	54	unfavourable
Charadrius alexandrinus		248	91	breeding pairs	37	very unfavourable
Sternula albifrons	Little Tern	4	1	breeding pairs	25	very unfavourable

Conservation actions taken at site (response)
Conservation Designation	Management Planning	Conservation Action	Result
Whole area of site (>90%) covered by appropriate conservation designation	No management planning has taken place	Some limited conservation initiatives are in place	low

For more information about IBA monitoring please click here

Protected Area	Designation	Area (ha)	Relationship with IBA	Overlap with IBA (ha)
Salinas y Arenales de San Pedro del Pinatar	Special Protection Area (Birds Directive)	829	protected area overlaps with site	623
Salinas y Arenales de San Pedro del Pinatar	Parque Regional	850	protected area overlaps with site	856
Salinas y Arenales de San Pedro del Pinatar	Site of Community Importance (Habitats Directive)	829	protected area overlaps with site	0
Mar Menor y Costa Oriental De La Region De Murcia	Specially Protected Areas of Mediterranean Importance (Barcelona Convention)	27,503	protected area contains site	0
Mar Menor	Special Protection Area (Birds Directive)	14,526	protected area overlaps with site	14,414
Mar Menor	Ramsar Site, Wetland of International Importance	14,933	protected area overlaps with site	14,933
Mar Menor	Site of Community Importance (Habitats Directive)	13,446	protected area contained by site	13,423
Franja Litoral Sumergida de la Región de Murcia	Site of Community Importance (Habitats Directive)	13,468	protected area is adjacent to site	0
Espacios Abiertos e Islas del Mar Menor	Paisaje Protegido	1,230	protected area overlaps with site	900
Espacios Abiertos e Islas del Mar Menor	Site of Community Importance (Habitats Directive)	1,074	protected area overlaps with site	673
Espacio marino de Tabarca-Cabo de Palos	Special Protection Area (Birds Directive)	126,068	protected area is adjacent to site	0
Calblanque; Monte de las Cenizas y Peña del Águila	Site of Community Importance (Habitats Directive)	2,959	protected area is adjacent to site	0
Calblanque, Monte de las Cenizas y Peña del Águila	Parque Regional	2,472	protected area is adjacent to site	50

IUCN Habitat	Habitat detail	Extent (% of site)
Wetlands (inland)	Water fringe vegetation	-
Coastline	Sand dunes & beaches, Salt marshes, Mud flats & sand flats, Lagoons	-

For further information about the habitat classification please click here.

Land-use	Extent (% of site)
fisheries/aquaculture	-
military	-
tourism/recreation	-

For further information about the land use classification please click here.

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2022) Important Bird Areas factsheet: Mar Menor coastal lagoon. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 19/05/2022.