Current view: Text account
Site description (2012 baseline):
Pressure/threats to key biodiversity
Climate change is listed as the third greatest threat to seabirds globally (Croxall et al. 2012). It is predicted to decrease the land area of low-lying Pacific islands and cause complete inundation of some islands (IPCC 1997) leading to substantial population declines (Hatfield et al. 2012). Although no current data or predictions are available specific to this IBA climate change represents a potential threat to this site owing to the risk of future sea level rise leading to inundation, and increased frequency of storms.
Wake Island is administered by the US Air Force and is still operational as a base, including a missile factory. Military activity continues, causing unknown levels of disturbance on the bird populations. Depending on the political situation military activity at Wake Atoll could change quickly and at short notice.
Wake Island has been subject to invasive alien species eradication's to remove feral cats and rats (Rauzon et al. 2008; Hebshi 2011). Cats had been considered successfully removed by 2007 - two individuals remaining were considered the same sex (Rauzon et al. 2008). A large scale rat eradication was planned to take place in the summer 2012 of which no early indication of the results are available (for plans see Hebshi 2011).
Due to the continued use of Wake Island by the US Air Force there is the risk of future re-invasion by invasive mammalian predators, which could pose a serious threat to the bird populations present.
Conservation responses/actions for key biodiversity
Feral cats have been eradicated and a program to remove invasive rats was planned for summer 2012.
The submerged land taken from the mean low water mark surrounding Wake Island is a US National Wildlife Refuge. The dry land mass is administered by the US Air Force with restricted access.
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Wake Island (United States Minor Outlying Islands (to USA)). Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/wake-island-iba-united-states-minor-outlying-islands-(to-usa) on 23/11/2024.
