Johnston Atoll (United States Minor Outlying Islands (to USA))

Johnston Atoll

Current view: Data table and detailed info

IBA Justification

The site was identified as important in 2012 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
Red-tailed Tropicbird Phaethon rubricauda	LC	breeding	1973-2007	6,500 individuals	A4ii
Brown Noddy Anous stolidus	LC	breeding	1973-2007	17,000 individuals	A4i
Sooty Tern Onychoprion fuscatus	LC	breeding	1973-2007	360,000 individuals	A4i
A4iii Species group - waterbirds	n/a	breeding	1973-2007	380,004 individuals	A4iii

1. The current IUCN Red List category. The category at the time of the IBA criteria assessment (2012) may differ.

IBA Conservation

Ideally the conservation status of the IBA will have been checked regularly since the site was first identified in 2012. The most recent assessment (2012) is shown below.

IBA conservation assessment
Year of assessment	State	Pressure	Response
2012	not assessed	medium	low
Whole site assessed?	State assessed by	Accuracy of information
yes	population	medium

State (condition of the trigger species' populations)
Species	Reference	Actual	Units	% remaining	Result
Red-tailed Tropicbird Phaethon rubricauda	6,500	6,500	individuals	100	not assessed
Brown Noddy Anous stolidus	17,000	17,000	individuals	100	not assessed
A4iii Species group - waterbirds	380,004	380,004	individuals	100	not assessed

Pressure (threats to the trigger species and/or their habitats)
Threat	Timing	Scope	Severity	Result
Climate change and severe weather	likely in long term (beyond 4 years)	whole area/population (>90%)	slow but significant deterioration	medium
Pollution	happening now	majority/most of area/population (50-90%)	no or imperceptible deterioration	low
Human intrusions and disturbance	past (and unlikely to return) and no longer limiting	majority/most of area/population (50-90%)	moderate to rapid 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	No management planning has taken place	Very little or no conservation action taking place	low

IBA Protection

Year	Protected Area	Designation	% overlap with IBA
1926	Johnston Atoll	National Wildlife Refuge	16
1926	Johnston Island	National Wildlife Refuge	100
2009	Pacific Remote Islands	Marine National Monument	100

Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Johnston Atoll (United States Minor Outlying Islands (to USA)). Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/johnston-atoll-iba-united-states-minor-outlying-islands-(to-usa) on 23/11/2024.