a clear example of a bottleneck for seabirds, with migrants being constrained from
both sides into a narrow front of 14.4 km at the nearest point between the European
and African coasts. It concentrates the majority of seabird populations entering and
leaving the Mediterranean Sea, being especially remarkable the cases of three
Mediterranean endemic species, the Balearic and Scopoli’s shearwaters and
Audouin’s gull, as well as the Mediterranean gull and the northern gannet. Tarifa
Table 25.2 Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas (IBA) in the Alboran Sea and adjacent areas
IBA name
Code
Country
Area
(km
2
)
IBA
type
Main species of interest
Strait of
Gibraltar
ES404
Spain
2572.85 MH
Balearic shearwater, Audouin’s
gull, Cory’s shearwater, Sandwich
tern, northern gannet and great
skua
Bay of
Málaga—Cerro
Gordo
ES405
Spain
712.22
HIU
Mediterranean gull and Balearic
shearwater
Bay of Almería
ES406
Spain
1338.77 HIU,
SEBC
Balearic shearwater, Audouin’s
gull, slender-billed gull and little
tern
Tabarca—Cabo
de Palos
ES407
Spain
1495.15 HIU,
SEBC
Audouin’s gull, European storm
petrel, slender-billed gull, Balearic
shearwater, common tern and little
tern
Littoral islets of
Murcia and
Almería
ES170
Spain
134
SEBC Scopoli’s and Cory’s shearwaters
and European storm petrel
Chafarinas
Islands
ES220
Spain
271.1
SEBC Scopoli’s and Cory’s shearwaters
and Audouin’s gull
Alboran Island
ES221
Spain
662.2
SEBC Audouin’s gull
Mountain range
and saltpans at
Cabo de Gata
ES216
Spain
461
ICI
White-headed duck, Audouin’s
gull, greater flamingo, little tern
Wetlands of
western Almería
ES219
Spain
30
ICI
White-headed duck, marbled teal,
slender-billed gull, Audouin’s gull
and Kentish plover
Habibas Islands DZ030 Algeria
0.4
SEBC Audouin’s gull and Eleonora’s
falcon
Rachgoune
Island
DZ031 Algeria
0.27
SEBC Audouin’s gull
Sebkha Bou
Areg
MA006 Morocco 180
ICI
Audouin’s gull, greater flamingo,
Kentish plover
Embouchure
Oued Moulouya
MA007 Morocco 27
ICI
Audouin’s gull and marbled teal
Jbel Moussa
MA001 Morocco 40
ICI
Soaring migratory birds (raptors
and storks)
IBA types: Migration hotspots (MH), high-intensity use at sea (HIU), seaward extensions of
breeding colonies (SEBC), inshore-coastal IBA (ICI)
830
Á. Mateo-Ramírez et al.
both sides into a narrow front of 14.4 km at the nearest point between the European
and African coasts. It concentrates the majority of seabird populations entering and
leaving the Mediterranean Sea, being especially remarkable the cases of three
Mediterranean endemic species, the Balearic and Scopoli’s shearwaters and
Audouin’s gull, as well as the Mediterranean gull and the northern gannet. Tarifa
Table 25.2 Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas (IBA) in the Alboran Sea and adjacent areas
IBA name
Code
Country
Area
(km
2
)
IBA
type
Main species of interest
Strait of
Gibraltar
ES404
Spain
2572.85 MH
Balearic shearwater, Audouin’s
gull, Cory’s shearwater, Sandwich
tern, northern gannet and great
skua
Bay of
Málaga—Cerro
Gordo
ES405
Spain
712.22
HIU
Mediterranean gull and Balearic
shearwater
Bay of Almería
ES406
Spain
1338.77 HIU,
SEBC
Balearic shearwater, Audouin’s
gull, slender-billed gull and little
tern
Tabarca—Cabo
de Palos
ES407
Spain
1495.15 HIU,
SEBC
Audouin’s gull, European storm
petrel, slender-billed gull, Balearic
shearwater, common tern and little
tern
Littoral islets of
Murcia and
Almería
ES170
Spain
134
SEBC Scopoli’s and Cory’s shearwaters
and European storm petrel
Chafarinas
Islands
ES220
Spain
271.1
SEBC Scopoli’s and Cory’s shearwaters
and Audouin’s gull
Alboran Island
ES221
Spain
662.2
SEBC Audouin’s gull
Mountain range
and saltpans at
Cabo de Gata
ES216
Spain
461
ICI
White-headed duck, Audouin’s
gull, greater flamingo, little tern
Wetlands of
western Almería
ES219
Spain
30
ICI
White-headed duck, marbled teal,
slender-billed gull, Audouin’s gull
and Kentish plover
Habibas Islands DZ030 Algeria
0.4
SEBC Audouin’s gull and Eleonora’s
falcon
Rachgoune
Island
DZ031 Algeria
0.27
SEBC Audouin’s gull
Sebkha Bou
Areg
MA006 Morocco 180
ICI
Audouin’s gull, greater flamingo,
Kentish plover
Embouchure
Oued Moulouya
MA007 Morocco 27
ICI
Audouin’s gull and marbled teal
Jbel Moussa
MA001 Morocco 40
ICI
Soaring migratory birds (raptors
and storks)
IBA types: Migration hotspots (MH), high-intensity use at sea (HIU), seaward extensions of
breeding colonies (SEBC), inshore-coastal IBA (ICI)
830
Á. Mateo-Ramírez et al.