There were more than 10,000 Caspian terns (Sterna caspia) in the reserve during the 1980s, and there are also many royal terns (Thalasseus maximus) and great white pelicans (Pelecanus onocrotalus).
Several sea turtle species are quite populous, including loggerheads (Caretta caretta) and green turtles (Chelonia mydas).
The common dolphin (Delphinus delphis) and the African manatee (Trichechus senegalensis) are also observed in the area.
In 2022, the IPCC Sixth Assessment Report included Kalissaye Avifaunal Reserve in the list of African natural heritage sites which would be threatened by flooding and coastal erosion by the end of the century, but only if climate change followed RCP 8.5, which is the scenario of high and continually increasing greenhouse gas emissions associated with the warming of over 4°C.,[2] and is no longer considered very likely.[3][4] The other, more plausible scenarios result in lower warming levels and consequently lower sea level rise: yet, sea levels would continue to increase for about 10,000 years under all of them.[5] Even if the warming is limited to 1.5°C, global sea level rise is still expected to exceed 2–3 m (7–10 ft) after 2000 years (and higher warming levels will see larger increases by then), consequently exceeding 2100 levels of sea level rise under RCP 8.5 (~0.75 m (2 ft) with a range of 0.5–1 m (2–3 ft)) well before the year 4000.[6]
^"Kalissaye". Ramsar Sites Information Service. Retrieved 25 April 2018.
^Trisos, C.H., I.O. Adelekan, E. Totin, A. Ayanlade, J. Efitre, A. Gemeda, K. Kalaba, C. Lennard, C. Masao, Y. Mgaya, G. Ngaruiya, D. Olago, N.P. Simpson, and S. Zakieldeen 2022: Chapter 9: Africa. In Climate Change 2022: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability [H.-O. Pörtner, D.C. Roberts, M. Tignor, E.S. Poloczanska, K. Mintenbeck, A. Alegría, M. Craig, S. Langsdorf, S. Löschke,V. Möller, A. Okem, B. Rama (eds.)]. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, United Kingdom and New York, NY, USA, pp. 2043–2121
