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The site was identified as important in 2021 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
Heermann's Gull Larus heermanni	NT	resident	2013	31 individuals	B1a
Yellow-headed Amazon Amazona oratrix	EN	resident	2015	34 individuals	A1
Mexican Parrotlet Forpus cyanopygius	NT	resident	2015	31 individuals	B1a

1. The current IUCN Red List category. The category at the time of the IBA criteria assessment (2021) may differ.

Ideally the conservation status of the IBA will have been checked regularly since the site was first identified in 2021. The most recent assessment (2022) is shown below.

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

Pressure (threats to the trigger species and/or their habitats)
Threat	Timing	Scope	Severity	Result
Climate change and severe weather	happening now	small area/few individuals (<10%)	slow but significant deterioration	low
Agricultural expansion and intensification	past (and unlikely to return) and no longer limiting	some of area/population (10-49%)	no or imperceptible deterioration	low
Residential and commercial development	happening now	small area/few individuals (<10%)	no or imperceptible deterioration	low
Energy production and mining	happening now	small area/few individuals (<10%)	no or imperceptible deterioration	low
Transportation and service corridors	likely in long term (beyond 4 years)	small area/few individuals (<10%)	no or imperceptible deterioration	low
Biological resource use	past (and unlikely to return) and no longer limiting	some of area/population (10-49%)	no or imperceptible deterioration	low
Human intrusions and disturbance	happening now	small area/few individuals (<10%)	no or imperceptible deterioration	low
Invasive and other problematic species and genes	happening now	majority/most of area/population (50-90%)	no or imperceptible deterioration	low
Pollution	happening now	small area/few individuals (<10%)	no or imperceptible deterioration	low

Response (conservation actions taken for the trigger species and/or their habitats)
Protected areas	Management plan	Other action	Result
Whole area of site (>90%) covered by appropriate conservation designation	A comprehensive and appropriate management plan exists that aims to maintain or improve the populations of qualifying bird species	The conservation measures needed for the site are being comprehensively and effectively implemented	high

Year	Protected Area	Designation	% overlap with IBA
1995	Islas del Golfo de California	UNESCO-MAB Biosphere Reserve	90
2000	Islas del Golfo de California	Área de Protección de Flora y Fauna	90
2000	Islas Marías	Reserva de la Biosfera	64
2005	Islands and Protected Areas of the Gulf of California	World Heritage Site (natural or mixed)	100
2010	Islas Marías	UNESCO-MAB Biosphere Reserve	100

Habitat1	Habitat detail	% of IBA
Forest	Tropical deciduous, Tropical semi-deciduous, Mangrove	88
Marine Neritic		8
Rocky areas (eg. inland cliffs, mountain peaks)	Rocky flats & barrens	1
Marine Coastal/Supratidal		-
Shrubland	Scrub	-

1. IUCN Habitat classification.

Land use	% of IBA
agriculture	3

Tenencia de la tierra: Federal.

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Islas Marías (Mexico). Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/islas-marías-iba-mexico on 23/11/2024.