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The site was identified as important 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 List1	Season	Year(s)	Size	IBA criteria
Wedge-tailed Shearwater Ardenna pacifica	LC	resident	1985-2002	560,000 nests	A4ii
Brown Booby Sula leucogaster	LC	resident	1983-1990	1,000-4,000 nests	A4ii
Black Noddy Anous minutus	LC	resident	1985-2002	300,000 nests	A4i

1. The current IUCN Red List category. The category at the time of the IBA criteria assessment (2009) may differ.

Ideally the conservation status of the IBA will have been checked regularly since the site was first identified in 2009. The most recent assessment (2008) is shown below.

Pressure (threats to the trigger species and/or their habitats)
Threat	Timing	Scope	Severity	Result
Invasive and other problematic species and genes	happening now	some of area/population (10-49%)	moderate to rapid deterioration	high
Climate change and severe weather	likely in long term (beyond 4 years)	whole area/population (>90%)	moderate to rapid deterioration	high
Human intrusions and disturbance	happening now	some of area/population (10-49%)	no or imperceptible deterioration	low

Response (conservation actions taken for the trigger species and/or their habitats)
Protected areas	Management plan	Other action	Result
Not assessed	Not assessed	Not assessed	not assessed

Year	Protected Area	Designation	% overlap with IBA
1981	Great Barrier Reef	World Heritage Site (natural or mixed)	100
1998	Capricornia Cays	National Park (Scientific)	14
2004	Great Barrier Reef	Marine Park	59
2004	Great Barrier Reef Coast	Marine Park	58
2004	Great Barrier Reef	Marine Park	14
2004	Great Barrier Reef Coast	Marine Park	14
2004	Great Barrier Reef	Marine Park	12
2004	Great Barrier Reef Coast	Marine Park	12
2004	Great Barrier Reef	Marine Park	7
2004	Great Barrier Reef Coast	Marine Park	7
2014	Capricornia Cays	National Park	74
2014	Capricornia Cays	National Park (Scientific)	3

Habitat1	Habitat detail	% of IBA
Forest	Casuarina forests & woodlands	major (>10)
Marine Intertidal		major (>10)

1. IUCN Habitat classification.

Land use	% of IBA
nature conservation and research	major (>10)
tourism/recreation	major (>10)

Australian Federal 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: Capricornia Cays (Australia). Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/capricornia-cays-iba-australia on 23/11/2024.