Ginger Islands (29473)
Antarctica, Antarctica
Site overview
KBA status: confirmed
Year of last assessment: 2015
National site name: Ginger Islands
Central coordinates: Latitude: -67.7489, Longitude: -68.6850
System: marine, terrestrial
Elevation (m): 0 to 250
Area of KBA (km2): 0.05662
KBA classification: Regional
Legacy site: Yes
Site details
Site description: Ginger Islands are located in Marguerite Bay, approximately 0.5 km southeast of Adelaide Island, on the western side of the Antarctic Peninsula. The IBA qualifies on the basis of the Imperial Shag (Phalacrocorax [atriceps] bransfieldensis) colony present and comprises the island group and the intervening marine area. Detailed information on the environment of the Ginger Islands is not available, and meteorological records do not exist for the site. However, at Teniente Luis Carvajal Station (CHL), located ~10 km to the southwest, the mean daily maximum temperature was 3°C in February for the period 1962-74, whilst the mean daily minimum temperature was –8°C in August for the same period. Most snowfall occurs between August and October, with light precipitation occurring through the austral summer.
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: Approximately 275 breeding pairs of Imperial Shag along with 2790 pairs of Adélie Penguin (Pygoscelis adeliae) were estimated to breed on Ginger Islands in 1983 (unpublished data S. Poncet pers. comm. 2005; Poncet & Poncet 1987). More recently, Casanovas et al. (in press) reported 504 pairs of Imperial Shag and 3334 pairs of Adélie Penguin in 2012. Information on other bird species breeding at the site is not available. Non-bird biodiversity: None known.
Delineation rationale: Shortest perimeter around island groups and/or ice-free areas ≤ 5 km2, including marine areas as appropriate.
Threats
Summary of threats to biodiversity at KBA: There is no known record of recent visits to the Ginger Islands. The nearest stations to Ginger Islands are Teniente Luis Carvajal Station (CHL) and Rothera Station (GBR), although access to the islands is difficult and few visits are made.
Additional information
References: Casanovas, P., Naveen, R., Forrest, S., Poncet, J. & Lynch, H.J. in press. A comprehensive coastal seabird survey maps out the front lines of ecological change on the western Antarctic Peninsula. Polar Biology. Poncet, S. & Poncet, J. 1987. Censuses of penguin populations of the Antarctic Peninsula, 1983-87. British Antarctic Survey Bulletin 77: 109-29.