| IBA |
Le Pilier de Pierre
Montmagny, Québec |
| Site Summary |
| QC098 |
Latitude
Longitude |
47.205° N
70.363° W |
Elevation
Size |
0 - 10 m
1.44 km² |
Habitats:
inlets/coastal features (marine)
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Land Use:
Other
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Potential or ongoing Threats:
Disturbance, Egg-collecting, Oil slicks
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| IBA Criteria: Nationally Significant: Congregatory Species, Colonial Waterbird/Seabird Concentrations |
| Conservation status: |
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Site Description
Le Pilier de Pierre is a small rocky island, part of the Montmagny archipelago, 5.5 kilometres off the St. Lawrence south shore, near the village of St-Jean-Port-Joli, Québec. This island of only six hectares has very sparse vegetation and is uninhabited. The tidal area is mostly made of rocky outcrops.
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Birds
Six colonial waterbird species have at some point nested on Le Pilier de Pierre: Herring, Great Black-backed and Ring-billed gulls, Common Tern, Double-crested Cormorant, and Common Eider. However the Ring-billed Gull dominates here: the average for the last six surveys (1979-2000) was 6,371 pairs. The numbers have been increasing since 1971, with the highest count occurring in 2000, when 9,239 pairs were recorded. This colony is one of the most important for this species in the St. Lawrence seaway. Double-crested Cormorants are the next most common species. In 1999, 440 nests were counted by aerial survey. An average of 31 Herring Gull nests were recorded over the last four surveys (1979-1997). Great Black-backed Gull, Common Tern, and Common Eider have disappeared as breeders, perhaps because of human disturbance. However these species, nested in very low numbers when they were present.
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IBA Criteria |
| Species↓ T | A | I |
Links |
Date |
Season |
Number |
G |
C |
N |
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Note: species shown in bold indicate that the maximum number exceeds at least one of the IBA thresholds (sub-regional, regional or global). The site may still not qualify for that level of IBA if the maximum number reflects an exceptional or historical occurrence.
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Conservation Issues
The entire region of Charlevoix was designated as a World Biosphere Reserve. Part of the bay has been designated an Aquatic Birds Concentration Area, which aims at preventing any habitat modifying activity. The area of La Malbaie will eventually be included in a Priority Intervention Area and designated as a Periodically Flooded Area.
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Fish Habitat
The bulrush marsh is the typical coastal habitat in the region. While the water has in this region a low salinity, tides are still present and reshape continuously the river landscape. Several species, such as the rainbow smelt (population of south shore of the St. Lawrence middle estuary) and Atlantic tomcod exploit the shallow waters of the area. Many migratory species (anadromous and catadromous) are also found in the area. In addition to the two species mentioned above, we found also the American shad, the Atlantic sturgeon and the American eel, all three species being prized for their tasteful flesh.
However, several sources of pressures are threatening both the quality and the availability of aquatic habitats. The expansion of agriculture, the residential development, the creation of new resorts and artificialization of the shoreline represent significant habitat losses. The presence of major obstacles may impede the movement of fish toward their breeding site. Finally, the maintenance of the Seaway for commercial navigation (dredging and the discharge of sediments) reduces the water quality and may cause the destruction of spawning sites. The decrease of the Atlantic sturgeon population of in the St. Lawrence can be assign to this aspect. Because of habitat alteration, high exploitation of commercial and recreational fisheries and non-compliance, the population of striped bass in the estuary of the St. Lawrence disappeared around 1968. In 2002, Quebec government has established an important reintroduction program to rehabilitate the specie. Between 2002 and 2007, more than 6 300 striped bass and 6,5 millions larvae were introduced into the St. Lawrence river. A network monitoring incidental captures has been implemented in 2004, allowing to document the evolution of the population.
30,000 fry and more than a thousand individual larger than 35 cm were introduced into the St. Lawrence. In early summer 2006, over one million . From 2008, up to 50 000 fry are introduced annually over a period of 10 years. The objective of this program is to rehabilitate the striped bass population of the St. Lawrence.
Major species present:
Alewife
American eel
American shad
Atlantic sturgeon
Atlantic tomcod
Lake sturgeon
Rainbow smelt (population of south shore of the St. Lawrence middle estuary)
Sauger
Striped bass
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Plants
Rocky islands are composed of schist and quartzite. Despite the unfavorable conditions for settlement, some plant species are able to grow there. On the windward side, we find mainly mosses and low-lying plants such as juniper and cranberries. Areas more sheltered allow spruce to built small woodlands. In the portion swept by the tides, algae colonize the bedrock.
The geographical barrier created by the St. Lawrence River provides the IBA a kind of natural protection, a protection often enhanced by legal protection. However, water pollution and the risks of oil spills remain a source of concern for the protection of the flora and fauna of this area.
Major species present :
Cranberries
Creeping juniper
Spruces
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