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Site description (2007 baseline):
Site location and context
Bikar is an uninhabited atoll, the secondmost northern atoll in the Marshall Islands. It is low and dry, semi-desert. Five islets form the atoll. The atoll is home to congregations of breeding seabirds and a rare semi-arid atoll ecosystem.
The entire atoll of Bikar, in the Ratik chain, is proposed as an IBA under A4 criteria (Figure 7). While the population may have been only 17,000 in 1964, in 1967 the population was recorded as 37,000 in 1967 (Amerson, 1969), exceeding this threshold. The entire population has ranged from 19,350, just under the A4iii criteria threshold, to 41,750 individuals, exceeding the threshold. The atoll is uninhabited and was formerly protected under the Trust Territory Administration.
Bikar, like Taongi, has a rare semi-arid atoll ecosystem. The atoll is covered with stands of healthy Pisonia forest.
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Bikar Atoll (Marshall Islands). Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/bikar-atoll-iba-marshall-islands on 23/11/2024.
