• Summary
• Text account
• Data table and detailed info
• Distribution map
• Reference and further resources

Taxonomic note
Following Kennedy and Spencer (2014) the genus Phalacrocorax has been divided into six genera, with P. auritus, P. brasilianus and P. harrisi moved into Nannopterum (HBW and BirdLife International 2018).

Taxonomic source(s)
del Hoyo, J., Collar, N.J., Christie, D.A., Elliott, A. and Fishpool, L.D.C. 2014. HBW and BirdLife International Illustrated Checklist of the Birds of the World. Volume 1: Non-passerines. Lynx Edicions BirdLife International, Barcelona, Spain and Cambridge, UK.
Handbook of the Birds of the World and BirdLife International. 2018. Handbook of the Birds of the World and BirdLife International digital checklist of the birds of the world. Version 3. Available at: https://datazone.birdlife.org/userfiles/file/Species/Taxonomy/HBW-BirdLife_Checklist_v3_Nov18.zip.
Kennedy, Martyn & Spencer, Hamish. 2014. Classification of the Cormorants of the World. Molecular phylogenetics and evolution. 79: 249-257.
SACC. 2005 and updates. A classification of the bird species of South America. Available at: https://www.museum.lsu.edu/~Remsen/SACCBaseline.htm.

Red List criteria met

Critically Endangered	Endangered	Vulnerable
-	-	D2

Red List history

Year	Category	Criteria
2018	Vulnerable	D2
2016	Vulnerable	D2
2013	Vulnerable	D2
2012	Vulnerable	D2
2011	Vulnerable	D2
2010	Endangered	B1a+c(iv); B2a+c(iv)
2008	Endangered	B1a+c(iv); B2a+c(iv)
2005	Endangered
2004	Endangered
2000	Endangered
1996	Vulnerable
1994	Vulnerable
1988	Threatened

Migratory status	not a migrant	Forest dependency	does not normally occur in forest
Land-mass type		Average mass	-

	Estimate	Data quality
Extent of Occurrence (breeding/resident)	5,900 km2	medium
Extent of Occurrence (non-breeding)	90 km2	medium
Area of Occupancy (breeding/resident)	50 km2	medium
Number of locations	2	-
Severely fragmented?	no	-

	Estimate	Data quality	Derivation	Year of estimate
Population size	unknown	good	estimated	2013
Population trend	stable	good	estimated	1978-2011
Rate of change over the past 10 years/3 generations (longer of the two periods)	0%	-	-	-
Generation length	11.1 years	-	-	-
Number of subpopulations	1	-	-	-
Percentage of mature individuals in largest subpopulation	100%	-	-	-

Population justification: In 1971-1972, the population was estimated at 800 breeding pairs (Harris 1973). Between 1977 and 1985, it remained stable at around 650 to 850 mature individuals (Harris 1973, Valle 1986, Valle and Coulter 1987). However, during the severe El Niño event in 1983, the population declined drastically to 400 individuals, but recovered within a season (Valle and Coulter 1987). In 1986, the population was estimated at 1,000 mature individuals (Rosenberg et al. 1990). After the El Niño event in 1997-1998, growth in the cormorant population has been higher than ever before in the survey period (1977-2006). In 1999, a total of 900 individuals was counted during the census (H. Vargas and F. Cruz in litt. 2000). In 2006, a total of 1,396 individuals were counted. Still, results as of 2003 show a decrease in the rate of population growth and a low percentage of juveniles (3% in 2006), suggesting that the population is stabilizing at a new high (Jiménez-Uzcátegui and Vargas 2007). In 2013, the population was estimated to be 2,080 individuals (Jiménez-Uzcátegui 2013, Carrera-Játiva et al. 2014).

Trend justification: This species has undergone marked fluctuations since 1977, with the population estimate ranging from 400 individuals after the El Niño in 1983 (Valle and Coulter 1987) to 1,396 individuals in 2006 (Jiménez-Uzcátegui and Vargas 2007). From 2010 on, a different census methodology was used, and in 2013 the population was estimated in 2,080 individuals (Jiménez-Uzcátegui 2013, Carrera-Játiva et al. 2014). Currently, the population is thought to be stabilizing.

Country/Territory	Presence	Origin	Resident	Breeding visitor	Non-breeding visitor	Passage migrant
Ecuador	extant	native		yes

Country/Territory	IBA Name
Ecuador	Áreas costeras de Fernandina y del occidente de Isabela

Habitat (level 1)	Habitat (level 2)	Importance	Occurrence
Marine Intertidal	Rocky Shoreline	major	breeding
Marine Neritic	Macroalgal/Kelp	major	resident
Marine Neritic	Pelagic	suitable	resident
Marine Neritic	Seagrass (Submerged)	major	resident
Marine Neritic	Subtidal Loose Rock/pebble/gravel	major	resident
Marine Neritic	Subtidal Rock and Rocky Reefs	major	resident
Marine Neritic	Subtidal Sandy	major	resident
Marine Neritic	Subtidal Sandy-Mud	major	resident
Altitude		Occasional altitudinal limits

Threat (level 1)	Threat (level 2)	Impact and Stresses
Biological resource use	Fishing & harvesting aquatic resources - Unintentional effects: (large scale) [harvest]	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Whole (>90%)		Negligible declines		Medium Impact: 6
		Stresses Indirect ecosystem effects
Climate change & severe weather	Temperature extremes	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Whole (>90%)		Causing/Could cause fluctuations		Medium Impact: 7
		Stresses Indirect ecosystem effects, Ecosystem degradation, Reduced reproductive success
Geological events	Volcanoes	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Future		Unknown		Unknown		Unknown
		Stresses Indirect ecosystem effects, Species disturbance, Ecosystem degradation, Ecosystem conversion, Reduced reproductive success, Species mortality
Human intrusions & disturbance	Recreational activities	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Future		Whole (>90%)		Negligible declines		Low Impact: 4
		Stresses Species disturbance
Invasive and other problematic species, genes & diseases	Invasive non-native/alien species/diseases - Canis familiaris	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Past, Likely to Return		Minority (<50%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Past Impact
		Stresses Species mortality
Invasive and other problematic species, genes & diseases	Invasive non-native/alien species/diseases - Felis catus	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Rapid Declines		Medium Impact: 6
		Stresses Reduced reproductive success, Species mortality
Invasive and other problematic species, genes & diseases	Invasive non-native/alien species/diseases - Named species	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Rapid Declines		Medium Impact: 6
		Stresses Reduced reproductive success
Invasive and other problematic species, genes & diseases	Invasive non-native/alien species/diseases - Toxoplasma gondii	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Majority (50-90%)		No decline		Low Impact: 5
		Stresses Species disturbance, Species mortality
Invasive and other problematic species, genes & diseases	Viral/prion-induced diseases - Unspecified species	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Future		Majority (50-90%)		Unknown		Unknown
		Stresses Species mortality
Pollution	Industrial & military effluents - Oil spills	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Future		Majority (50-90%)		Rapid Declines		Low Impact: 5
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation, Reduced reproductive success, Species mortality

Purpose	Scale
Pets/display animals, horticulture	international

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Species factsheet: Flightless Cormorant Nannopterum harrisi. Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/flightless-cormorant-nannopterum-harrisi on 23/11/2024.
Recommended citation for factsheets for more than one species: BirdLife International (2024) IUCN Red List for birds. Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/search on 23/11/2024.