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• Reference and further resources

The site was identified as important in 2016 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
Emperor Goose Anser canagicus	LC	winter	2004	present	A4i
Common Eider Somateria mollissima	NT	winter	1992-1993	min 1,500 individuals	A4i
Common Eider Somateria mollissima	NT	breeding	1986-1994	min 1,000 individuals	A1
Steller's Eider Polysticta stelleri	VU	winter	2013	min 2,956 individuals	A1, A4i
Harlequin Duck Histrionicus histrionicus	LC	breeding	1986-1994	min 9,000 individuals	A4i
Harlequin Duck Histrionicus histrionicus	LC	winter	1992-1993	18,000-19,000 individuals	A4i
Laysan Albatross Phoebastria immutabilis	NT	non-breeding	2004	200-1,000 individuals	A1
Short-tailed Albatross Phoebastria albatrus	VU	non-breeding	2004	20-100 individuals	A1
Northern Fulmar Fulmarus glacialis	LC	breeding	1992-1994	min 386,200 individuals	A4ii
Short-tailed Shearwater Ardenna tenuirostris	LC	non-breeding	2004	min 1,000,000 individuals	A4ii
Pelagic Cormorant Urile pelagicus	LC	breeding	1993-1994	min 6,200 individuals	A4i
Red-faced Cormorant Urile urile	LC	breeding	1993-1994	min 1,668 individuals	A4i
Red-legged Kittiwake Rissa brevirostris	VU	breeding	1993-1994	min 32,338 individuals	A1, A4i
Glaucous-winged Gull Larus glaucescens	LC	breeding	1993-1994	min 10,240 individuals	A4i
Tufted Puffin Fratercula cirrhata	LC	breeding	1988-1994	min 127,000 individuals	A4ii
Whiskered Auklet Aethia pygmaea	LC	resident	2004	20,000-100,000 individuals	A4ii
Pigeon Guillemot Cepphus columba	LC	breeding	1993-1994	min 3,260 individuals	A4ii
A4iii Species group - seabirds	n/a	breeding	1992-1994	500,000 breeding pairs	A4iii
A4iii Species group - waterbirds	n/a	winter	1992-1994	45,000 individuals	A4iii

1. The current IUCN Red List category. The category at the time of the IBA criteria assessment (2016) may differ.

Year	Protected Area	Designation	% overlap with IBA
1993	Komandorsky / Commander Islands	Zapovednik	100
2002	Commander Islands	UNESCO-MAB Biosphere Reserve	100

Habitat1	Habitat detail	% of IBA
Marine Neritic		95
Grassland	Tundra	minor (<10)
Marine Coastal/Supratidal		minor (<10)

1. IUCN Habitat classification.

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Commander Islands (Russia (Asian)). Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/commander-islands-iba-russia-(asian) on 22/11/2024.