Andersen Island (45185)
Antarctica, Antarctica
Site overview
KBA status: confirmed
Year of last assessment: 2015
National site name: Andersen Island
Central coordinates: Latitude: -67.4402, Longitude: 63.3504
System: marine, terrestrial
Area of KBA (km2): 1.10638
KBA classification: Regional
Legacy site: Yes
Site details
Site description: Andersen Island is part of the Robinson Island group, and is situated ~20 km west of Cape Daly and ~8 km north of the Mawson Coast, Mac.Robertson Land. The IBA qualifies on the basis of Adélie Penguin (Pygoscelis adeliae) colonies on Anderson Island and an unnamed island 1 km to the south west of Andersen Island. The nearest permanent station is Mawson (AUS) ~30 km to the west in Holme Bay, on the Mawson coast
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: The presence of breeding Adélie Penguins at Andersen Island and the nearby unnamed island was first reported in Low et al. (2007). Subsequently, a survey of the Adélie Penguin breeding population was undertaken in the entire Robinson Group in 2006/07 (Southwell et al. 2014). Data from this survey estimate an Adélie Penguin population in the Andersen IBA of 12 839 (95% CI: 8865, 17 251) pairs (C. Southwell pers. comm. 2015). The confidence interval for this IBA estimate is wider than for the Robinson regional estimate in Southwell et al. (2014) because the regional survey was designed to provide a single estimate for the entire Robinson population with a specific precision from sample counts rather than estimate populations at individual islands with specific precision. Non-bird biodiversity: None known
Delineation rationale: Shortest perimeter around island groups and/or ice-free areas ≤ 5 km2, including marine areas as appropriate.
Threats
Summary of threats to biodiversity at KBA: None known
Additional information
References: Low, M., Meyer, L. & Southwell, C. 2007. Number and distribution of Adélie penguin (Pygoscelis adeliae) breeding sites in the Robinson Group of islands, Mac.Robertson Land coast, East Antarctica. Polar Record 43: 225-29. Southwell, C., Low, M., Newbery, K. & Emmerson, L. 2014. First comprehensive abundance survey of a newly discovered Adélie penguin breeding metapopulation in the Robinson Group of islands, Mac.Robertson Land, east Antarctica. Antarctic Science 26: 265-66.