Point Martin, Laurie Island (29450)
Antarctica, Antarctica
Site overview
KBA status: confirmed
Year of last assessment: 2015
National site name: Point Martin, Laurie Island
Central coordinates: Latitude: -60.7666, Longitude: -44.6869
System: marine, terrestrial
Elevation (m): 0 to 250
Area of KBA (km2): 3.10009
KBA classification: Regional
Legacy site: Yes
Site details
Site description: Point Martin is located on the southern coast of Laurie Island, on a peninsula extending between Scotia Bay and Wilton Bay. The IBA qualifies on the basis the high concentration of seabirds present (in particular Adélie Penguin (Pygoscelis adeliae) and Chinstrap Penguin (P. antarctica)). The IBA comprises the ice-free area from Point Martin to Cape Hartree in the southwest. The nearest research station is Orcadas (ARG), located several km from the limit of the IBA. Orcadas operates year-round with around 45 personnel present in summer and 14 in winter (COMNAP, Antarctic Facilities, accessed 01/09/2010).
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: Coria et al. (2011) reported 26 450 breeding pairs of Adélie Penguin at Point Martin in 2004/05, which compares to 25 880 breeding pairs recorded in 1993/94. A total of 13 394 breeding pairs of Chinstrap Penguin were recorded at Point Martin in 1994 (unpublished data N. Coria, compiled by E. Woehler pers. comm. 2004)). Ardley (1936) reported a colony of ~180 breeding pairs of Imperial Shag (Phalacrocorax [atriceps] bransfieldensis) present on a small islet in western Wilton Bay in Jan 1933, although it is unknown whether the colony still exists. It seems possible that this colony may be the same as that identified as IBA ANT013 on the islet southwest of Cape Davidson. Non-bird biodiversity: None known.
Delineation rationale: If ice-free area is ≤ 5 km2 then ice-free area is used as boundary.
Threats
Summary of threats to biodiversity at KBA: Orcadas Station (ARG), with associated operational and support activities, is located in close proximity to the IBA.
Additional information
References: Ardley, R.A.B. 1936. The birds of the South Orkney Islands. Discovery Reports 12: 349-76. Coria, N.R., Montalti, D., Rombola, E.F., Santos, M.M., Garcia Betoño, M.I. & Juares, M.A. 2011. Birds at Laurie Island, South Orkney Islands, Antarctica: breeding species and their distribution. Marine Ornithology 39: 207-13.