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The site was identified as internationally important for bird conservation in 2009 because it was regularly supporting significant populations of the species listed below, meeting ('triggering') IBA criteria.

Populations meeting IBA criteria ('trigger species') at the site:

Species	Red List	Season (year/s of estimate)	Size	IBA criteria
Torresian Imperial-pigeon Ducula spilorrhoa	LC	resident (1966–1987)	60,000 birds	A4ii
Lesser Crested Tern Thalasseus bengalensis	LC	resident (1998–2003)	10–1,500 pairs	A4i

Ideally the conservation status of the IBA will have been checked regularly since the site was first identified in 2009. The most recent assessment (2020) is shown below.

State (condition of the trigger species' habitats)
Habitat	Quantity (% remaining)	Quality (% carrying capacity)	Result
Marine Coastal/Supratidal	moderate (70–90%)	moderate (70–90%)	poor
Shrubland	good (>90%)	moderate (70–90%)	moderate

Pressure (threats to the trigger species and/or their habitats)
Threat	Timing	Scope	Severity	Result
Climate change and severe weather	happe­ning now	whole of popul­ation/area (>90%)	moderate decline (10–30% over 3 gener­ations)	very high
Biological resource use	happe­ning now	whole of popul­ation/area (>90%)	no or slight decline (<1% over 3 gener­ations)	low
Human intrusions and disturbance	happe­ning now	some of popul­ation/area (10–49%)	no or slight decline (<1% over 3 gener­ations)	low
Pollution	happe­ning now	few indivi­duals/small area (<10%)	no or slight decline (<1% over 3 gener­ations)	low

Response (conservation actions taken for the trigger species and/or their habitats)
Designation	Planning	Action	Result
Whole area (>90%) covered by appropriate conservation designation	A management plan exists, but it is out of date or not compre­hensive	Some limited conservation initiatives are in place	medium

Year	Protected Area	Designation (management category)	% coverage of IBA
1981	Great Barrier Reef	World Heritage Site (natural or mixed) (UA)	100
2000	Brook Islands	National Park (II)	90
2004	Great Barrier Reef	Marine Park (II)	92
2004	Great Barrier Reef Coast	Marine Park (II)	76
2013	Girringun	Indigenous Protected Area (III)	7

Habitat	% of IBA	Habitat detail
Shrubland	90	Closed shrublands & low closed woodlands
Marine Coastal/Supratidal	minor (<10)
Marine Intertidal	minor (<10)

Land use	% of IBA
nature conservation and research	100

Australian Government with management the responsibility of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority.

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Brook Islands (Australia). Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/brook-islands-iba-australia on 27/12/2024.