Cape Roget (30117)
Antarctica, Antarctica
Site overview
KBA status: confirmed
Global KBA criteria: D1a
Year of last assessment: 2015
National site name: Cape Roget
Central coordinates: Latitude: -71.9883, Longitude: 170.6012
System: marine, terrestrial
Area of KBA (km2): 3.70801
KBA classification: Global
Legacy site: Yes
Site details
Site description: Cape Roget is situated at the southern extremity of the Adare Peninsula, on the Borchgrevink Coast, northern Victoria Land. An Emperor Penguin (Aptenodytes forsteri) colony breeds on sea ice that forms at the northern entrance to Moubray Bay, several km south of Cape Roget. The IBA qualifies on the basis of the Emperor Penguin colony present and is entirely marine. The nearest permanent stations are Mario Zucchelli (ITA) and Jang Bogo (KOR), ~360 km to the south 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: The Emperor Penguin population at Cape Roget ranged from ~3700 – ~7300 breeding pairs between 1983 and 1996 (Barber-Meyer et al. 2007, 2008). Analysis of a satellite image acquired 16 Oct 2009 (Fretwell et al. 2012) indicated that approximately 9505 Emperor Penguins were present at the colony, although image quality was rated Fair and the authors considered the result may be an overestimate. Non-bird biodiversity: None known
Delineation rationale: 1.26 km radius around point, truncated at coastline.
Threats
Summary of threats to biodiversity at KBA: None known
Additional information
References: Barber-Meyer, S.M., Kooyman, G.L. & Ponganis, P.J. 2007. Estimating the relative abundance of Emperor Penguins at inaccessible colonies using satellite imagery. Polar Biology 30: 1565-1570. Barber-Meyer, S.M., Kooyman, G.L. & Ponganis, P.J. 2008. Trends in western Ross Sea Emperor Penguin chick abundances and their relationships to climate. Antarctic Science 20 (1): 3-11. doi:10.1017/S0954102007000673 Fretwell, P.T., LaRue, M.A., Morin P., Kooyman, G.L., Wienecke, B., Ratcliffe, N., Fox, A.J., Fleming, A.H., Porter, C. & Trathan, P.N. 2012. An Emperor Penguin population estimate: the first global, synoptic survey of a species from space. PLoS ONE 7(4): e33751. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0033751