Riiser-Larsen Peninsula (30148)
Antarctica, Antarctica
Site overview
KBA status: confirmed
Year of last assessment: 2015
National site name: Riiser-Larsen Peninsula
Central coordinates: Latitude: -68.7741, Longitude: 34.3967
System: marine, terrestrial
Area of KBA (km2): 4.54321
KBA classification: Regional
Legacy site: Yes
Site details
Site description: The Riiser-Larsen Peninsula lies on the Prince Harald Coast, Dronning Maud Land, immediately west of Lützow-Holm Bay. An Emperor Penguin (Aptenodytes forsteri) colony breeds on fast ice that forms in northwestern Lützow-Holm Bay, and is typically located within a few km of the Riiser-Larsen Peninsula. The ice shelf formerly adjacent to the breeding site has partially broken up in recent years and has retreated ~5-7 km southward. The colony was discovered in 1975 when it was referred to as ‘Riiser-Larsen Peninsula' (Hoshiai & Chujo 1976); this is the same colony that more recently has been referred to as ‘Gunnerus' by Fretwell et al. (2012). The IBA qualifies on the basis of the Emperor Penguin colony present and is entirely marine. There are no research stations nearby. The closest permanent station is Syowa (JPN), ~210 km to the east on the Prince Olav Coast, Enderby Land.
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: Hoshiai & Chujo (1976) estimated from aerial photographs that 7200 individuals were present at the Riiser-Larsen Peninsula colony on 24 Oct 1975, including chicks. Kato et al. (2004) estimated that between 4000 – 9000 breeding pairs attend this colony based on counts of adults from ground and aerial photographs acquired between 31 August – 25 September over six seasons from 1984–2000. More recently, Fretwell et al. (2012) estimated from a satellite image acquired 31 Oct 2009 that approximately 4652 Emperor Penguins were present at the time, although because image quality was ‘Fair' and the image originates late in the breeding season, the count may be a poor indicator of the number of breeding pairs present in that season. No other birds are known to breed in the area. 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: 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 Hoshiai, T. & Chujo, K. 1976. A new emperor penguin rookery of Riiser-Larsen Peninsula, East Antarctica. Antarctic Record of the Japanese Antarctic Research Expeditions 57: 73-79. Kato, A., Watanabe, K. & Naito, Y. 2004. Population changes of Adélie and emperor penguins along the Prince Olaf Coast and on the Riiser-Larsen Peninsula. Polar Bioscience 17: 117-22.