Fogo Volcanic Important Bird Area

Satellite view of the IBA

The Fogo Volcanic Important Bird Area lies on the island of Fogo in the Cape Verde archipelago off the coast of north-west Africa in the Atlantic Ocean. Complementing the terrestrial Important Bird Area (IBA) is an associated marine IBA that provides feeding habitat for its breeding seabirds.

Description

The 5000 ha site comprises the highest parts of the volcanic island of Fogo, including the caldera, outer rim and cone of Pico Novo. The floor of the caldera lies at a minimum altitude of 1625 m above sea level, the rim is at 2700 m, and the cone reaches an elevation of 2829 m. The volcano is active, last erupting in April 1995. The caldera supports some subsistence agriculture, while grapes are grown on the inner slopes of the rim. The endemic plants Erysimum caboverdeanum and Echium vulcanorum are only found on the rim. The two villages in the caldera were evacuated during the last eruption. The landscape has many old and new lava-flows and is of geological, botanical and zoological interest. The site has been identified as an IBA by BirdLife International because it supports populations of Fea's petrels (with about 80 breeding pairs), and Alexander's swifts.[1]

The marine IBA lies 22 km away from the nearest coastline and covers an area of 2473 km2, with a maximum depth of 3568 m. The mean annual sea surface temperature is between 21.95°C and 25.34°C, with mean annual chlorophyll-a concentrations between 0.24 and 0.43 mg/m3. It provides feeding habitat during the breeding season for about 240 Fea's petrels.[2]

References

  1. ↑ "Volcano area, Ilha do Fogo". Important Bird Areas factsheet. BirdLife International. 2013. Retrieved 2013-08-09.
  2. ↑ "Volcano area, Ilha do Fogo - Marine". Important Bird Areas factsheet. BirdLife International. 2013. Retrieved 2013-08-09.

Coordinates: 14°57′N 24°23′W / 14.950°N 24.383°W