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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
King Penguin Aptenodytes patagonicus	LC	resident	2000	150,000-170,000 breeding pairs	A4ii
Gentoo Penguin Pygoscelis papua	LC	breeding	1984-2002	3,800-6,800 breeding pairs	A1, A4ii
Royal Penguin Eudyptes schlegeli	LC	resident	1984-1985	850,000 breeding pairs	A1, A4ii
Southern Rockhopper Penguin Eudyptes chrysocome	VU	resident	-	100,000 breeding pairs	A1, A4ii
Snowy Albatross Diomedea exulans	VU	resident	-	10 breeding pairs	A1
Light-mantled Albatross Phoebetria palpebrata	NT	resident	2000-2002	1,500-1,800 breeding pairs	A1, A4ii
Grey-headed Albatross Thalassarche chrysostoma	EN	resident	-	100-120 breeding pairs	A1
Black-browed Albatross Thalassarche melanophris	LC	resident	1993-1999	46-141 breeding pairs	A1
Southern Giant Petrel Macronectes giganteus	LC	resident	2000-2002	2,300 breeding pairs	A4ii
White-headed Petrel Pterodroma lessonii	LC	resident	1984-2006	7,850-9,000 breeding pairs	A4ii
Brown Skua Catharacta antarctica	LC	resident	1974-1984	204-285 breeding pairs	A4ii

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 (2020) is shown below.

Pressure (threats to the trigger species and/or their habitats)
Threat	Timing	Scope	Severity	Result
Human intrusions and disturbance	happening now	some of area/population (10-49%)	no or imperceptible deterioration	low
Invasive and other problematic species and genes	past (and unlikely to return) and no longer limiting	whole area/population (>90%)	very rapid to severe deterioration	low
Residential and commercial development	likely in long term (beyond 4 years)	small area/few individuals (<10%)	slow but significant 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
1997	Macquarie Island	World Heritage Site (natural or mixed)	100
2000	Macquarie Island	Nature Reserve	71
2000	Macquarie Island	Nature Reserve	29
2000	Macquarie Island (Terrestrial component)	Nature Reserve	100

Habitat1	Habitat detail	% of IBA
Grassland	Tundra & subantarctic grasslands, Tussock grasslands	major (>10)
Marine Coastal/Supratidal		-

1. IUCN Habitat classification.

Land use	% of IBA
nature conservation and research	100

Tasmanian Government with management the responsibility of Tasmanian Parks & Wildlife Service.

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Macquarie Island (Australia). Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/macquarie-island-iba-australia on 22/11/2024.