Eastern Litwin Bay, King George Island (29440)
Antarctica, Antarctica
Site overview
KBA status: confirmed
Year of last assessment: 2015
National site name: Eastern Litwin Bay, King George Island
Central coordinates: Latitude: -61.9845, Longitude: -58.5575
System: marine, terrestrial
Elevation (m): 0 to 250
Area of KBA (km2): 4.68278
KBA classification: Regional
Legacy site: Yes
Site details
Site description: Litwin Bay is situated between Davey Point and Stigant Point on the northern coast of King George Island. The IBA qualifies on the basis of the concentration of seabirds present (in particular Chinstrap Penguin (Pygoscelis antarctica)) and comprises the islets in Litwin Bay, the adjacent coastline of King George Island and the intervening marine area. The nearest permanent scientific station is Comandante Ferraz (Brazil) which operates year-round on the northern shoreline of Admiralty Bay, located ~14 km to south, and which accommodates a maximum of ~40 people in the summer (COMNAP, Antarctic Facilities, accessed 24/08/2010).
Rationale for qualifying as KBA: This site qualifies as a Key Biodiversity Area of international significance that was identified using previously established criteria and thresholds for the identification of Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas (IBAs) and for which available data indicate that it does not meet global KBA criteria and thresholds set out in the Global Standard.
Additional biodiversity: The site at Litwin Bay originally encompassed the ice free ground at Davey Point (Harris et al. 2011). However, it has since been determined that only ~560 breeding pairs of Chinstrap Penguin were present at Davey Point in 1980/81, while 8500 pairs were present at a small peninsula southwest of Davey Point and a further 12 630 pairs were present on a number of islets situated in eastern Litwin Bay (Jablonski 1984). The IBA boundary has therefore been adjusted to cover the area of Litwin Bay where the penguins are concentrated, rather than the ice free ground at Davey Point where relatively few penguins are known to breed. Shuford & Spear (1988b) reported an estimated 12 500 breeding pairs in the Davey Point area, however it is not clear over which area this count was aggregated. Information on other bird species in the area is not available. Non-bird biodiversity: None known.
Delineation rationale: 1.26 km radius around point.
Threats
Summary of threats to biodiversity at KBA: None known.
Additional information
References: Harris, C.M., Carr, R., Lorenz, K. & Jones, S. 2011. Important Bird Areas in Antarctica: Antarctic Peninsula, South Shetland Islands, South Orkney Islands. Final Report for BirdLife International and UK Foreign & Commonwealth Office. Environmental Research & Assessment, Cambridge. Jablonski, B. 1984. Distribution and numbers of penguins in the region of King George Island (South Shetland Islands) in the breeding season 1980/81. Polish Polar Research 5: 17-30 Shuford, W.D. & Spear, L.B. 1988b. Surveys of breeding Chinstrap Penguins in the South Shetland Islands, Antarctica. British Antarctic Survey Bulletin 81: 19-30.