Tupinier Islands (29484)
Antarctica, Antarctica
Site overview
KBA status: confirmed
Year of last assessment: 2015
National site name: Tupinier Islands
Central coordinates: Latitude: -63.3656, Longitude: -58.2710
System: marine, terrestrial
Elevation (m): 0 to 250
Area of KBA (km2): 4.94541
KBA classification: Regional
Legacy site: Yes
Site details
Site description: Tupinier Islands lie ~4 km northwest of Cape Ducorps on Cockerell Peninsula, Trinity Peninsula, on the Antarctic Peninsula. This ice-free archipelago was first charted in 1837-40 by the French Antarctic Expedition led by Dumont D'Urville. The IBA qualifies on the basis of the large concentration of seabirds present (in particular Chinstrap Penguin (Pygoscelis antarctica)) and comprises all of the Tupinier Islands and the intervening marine area. The nearest permanent scientific station is Bernardo O'Higgins (CHL), which has capacity for ~44 people and operates year-round ~20 km to the northeast at Cape Legoupil (COMNAP, Antarctic Facilities, accessed 20/08/2010).
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: A large Chinstrap Penguin colony, estimated at 14 930 pairs in 1990 (S. & J. Poncet pers. comm. cited in Woehler 1993), is distributed across the island group in five main groups ranging from 800 to 5200 pairs. A small number of Imperial Shags ( Phalacrocorax [ atriceps ] bransfieldensis ) breed on three small islets within the island group, with 68 breeding pairs recorded in 1990 (unpublished data S. Poncet pers. comm. 2005). Non-bird biodiversity: None known.
Delineation rationale: Shortest perimeter around islands and/or ice-free areas >5km2.
Threats
Summary of threats to biodiversity at KBA: None known.
Additional information
References: Woehler, E.J. (ed.) 1993. The distribution and abundance of Antarctic and sub-Antarctic penguins. Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research. Cambridge, UK.