Possession Island (30146)
Antarctica, Antarctica
Site overview
KBA status: confirmed
Global KBA criteria: D1a
Year of last assessment: 2015
National site name: Possession Island
Central coordinates: Latitude: -71.8868, Longitude: 171.1882
System: marine, terrestrial
Elevation (m): 0 to 100
Area of KBA (km2): 2.7553
KBA classification: Global
Legacy site: Yes
Site details
Site description: Possession Island is the largest and most northerly of the Possession Islands, which lie 17 km east of Cape Roget, at the southern extremity of Adare Peninsula, Borchgrevink Coast, northern Victoria Land. The IBA qualifies on the basis of the Adélie Penguin (Pygoscelis adeliae) and South Polar Skua (Catharacta maccormicki) colonies present and comprises the entire island. The nearest permanent stations are Mario Zucchelli (ITA) and Jang Bogo (KOR), ~380 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 Adélie Penguin colony at Possession Island had a mean of 111 306 breeding pairs over 3 seasons sampled from 1981 – 2012 (Lyver et al. 2014). South Polar Skuas are also present on the island, with 474 breeding pairs recorded from a ground count made in 1982 (Ainley et al. 1986), making it the second largest South Polar Skua colony recorded in the Ross Sea region after Cape Crozier. No recent information is available on the skua colony, and information on other birds breeding in the area is not available. Non-bird biodiversity: None known.
Delineation rationale: Island coastline where island is ≤ 5 km2.
Threats
Summary of threats to biodiversity at KBA: Possession Island is visited regularly by tourist ships, although not every year. From 2004–2014 visits were conducted on 6 seasons with an average of 86 visitors per season, of whom the majority landed. The number of visitors fluctuates, with four visitors in 2011/12 and 211 visitors in 2013/14 (IAATO Tourism Statistics, accessed: 02/02/2015).
Additional information
References: Ainley, D.G., Morrell, S.H. & Wood, R.C. 1986. South Polar Skua breeding colonies in the Ross Sea region. Notornis 33: 155-63. 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