Cotter Cliffs (30113)
Antarctica, Antarctica
Site overview
KBA status: confirmed
Global KBA criteria: D1a
Year of last assessment: 2015
National site name: Cotter Cliffs
Central coordinates: Latitude: -72.4085, Longitude: 170.2929
System: marine, terrestrial
Elevation (m): 0 to 1300
Area of KBA (km2): 2.95625
KBA classification: Global
Legacy site: Yes
Site details
Site description: Cotter Cliffs form the eastern coast of Hallett Peninsula, located on the Borchgrevink Coast, northern Victoria Land. The IBA qualifies on the basis of the large Adélie Penguin (Pygoscelis adeliae) colony that breeds on ice-free slopes immediately south of Cotter Cliffs and below Quarterdeck Ridge on Hallett Peninsula. The nearest permanent stations are Mario Zucchelli (ITA) and Jang Bogo (KOR), ~320 km to the southwest in Terra Nova Bay.
Rationale for qualifying as KBA: This site qualifies as a Key Biodiversity Area of international significance that meets the thresholds for at least one criterion described in the Global Standard for the Identification of KBAs.
Additional biodiversity: A mean of 38 252 breeding pairs of Adélie Penguin was reported over 8 seasons sampled between 1981 and 2012 (Lyver et al. 2014). Information on other bird species at the site is not available. Non-bird biodiversity: None known.
Delineation rationale: 1.26 km radius around point, truncated at coastline and permanent ice.
Threats
Summary of threats to biodiversity at KBA: None known.
Additional information
References: Lyver, P.O'B., Barron, M., Barton, K.J., Ainley, D.G., Pollard, A., Gordon, S., McNeill, S., Ballard, G. & Wilson P.R. 2014. Trends in the breeding population of Adélie Penguins in the Ross Sea, 1981–2012: a coincidence of climate and resource extraction effects. PLoS ONE 9(3): e91188. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0091188