Coastal MPA
Isla Monte León
Provincial Reserve

Cover Photo © Darío Podesta

Description

The Monte León Island Provincial Reserve was created in 1996. The coast of the island has cliffs alternating with rocky beaches and ravines. The vegetation is shrubby. There are numerous coastal caves and subtidal forests of cachiyuyo or brown seaweed. The rocky cormorant nests on its high cliff walls, and in its flat upper sector nest the kittiwake, the southern gull and the imperial cormorant. The presence of the black-necked swan stands out. It is also a breeding area for the fur seal. The imperial cormorant colony is exploited for guano extraction.

Geographic Location

Province

Santa Cruz

Coordinates:

-50.34° Latitude S

-68.88° Longitude W

Size and Limits

Total Area:

0

Marine Area:

0

Continental Area:

0

NOTES ON SURFACE ESTIMATION
Area estimated based on the calculation of the area of the polygon represented on the map (ArcGIS PRO) with an Albers Equivalent Conic projection to preserve area calculations.

Legal Aspects

Jurisdiction

Provincial

Year of Creation

1996

Creation Legislation

Law 2445

Eco-regions represented

Marine

Land

Patagonian Steppe Ecoregion

Conservation Objectives

The reserve conserves nesting sites for several species of coastal and marine birds, such as the Magellanic penguin, the imperial cormorant, the black-necked cormorant, the gray cormorant, the kelp gull, the southern gull, and the South American tern. The presence of the black-necked swan stands out.

Colonies and stopover sites

The following table presents the colonies or stopover sites of some emblematic species of birds and marine mammals present within the MPA boundaries.

Management

Management effectiveness and evaluation year

33 % – Evaluación METT (2014)

Sources of information consulted:
Biodiversity Information System (https://sib.gob.ar/portada).
Padin (2007)

Bird and marine mammal colonies: See Bibliography