Unnamed island at Donskiye Islands (45191)
Antarctica, Antarctica
Site overview
KBA status: confirmed
Year of last assessment: 2015
National site name: Unnamed island at Donskiye Islands
Central coordinates: Latitude: -68.6161, Longitude: 77.8698
System: marine, terrestrial
Elevation (m): 0 to 20
Area of KBA (km2): 0.19509
KBA classification: Regional
Legacy site: Yes
Site details
Site description: The unnamed island is situated ~0.5 km west of Redfearn Island in the Donskiye Island group, in the southern part of the Vestfold Hills, and ~1 km north of ASPA No. 167 Hawker Island, Princess Elizabeth Land. The unnamed island is ice free, ~ 0.8 km long and up to 0.35 km wide, and rises to ~52 m. The IBA qualifies on the basis of the Adélie Penguin (Pygoscelis adeliae) colony present at the site. The IBA comprises the entire unnamed island. The nearest permanent station is Davis (AUS), ~6 km to the northeast on Broad Peninsula, Vestfold Hills.
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: Approximately 21 358 pairs of Adélie Penguin were estimated as breeding at the unnamed island using satellite imagery from February 2012 (unpublished data H. Lynch & M. LaRue pers. comm. 2014: CI not available). In 1981/82 the colony size was estimated with 10 522 breeding pairs (Whitehead & Johnstone 1990). The breeding colony is situated on the northern part of the island on both the east and west coast. Lynch & LaRue (2014) grouped records of Adélie Penguins present on the unnamed island in Donskiye Islands IBA with Warriner Island IBA, Lugg, Magnetic and Turner Islands IBA, and Gardner Island IBA and referred to these as ‘Vestfold South'. No other birds are known to breed in the area. Non-bird biodiversity: None known.
Delineation rationale: Island coastline where island is ≤ 5 km2.
Threats
Summary of threats to biodiversity at KBA: Donskiye Islands lie close to Davis Station and local operational activities could pose potential concerns for conservation of wildlife. In particular, oil spills and aircraft operations represent potential risks to local breeding birdlife. Davis Station has comprehensive procedures in place to manage and minimise these risks (see e.g. Australian Antarctic Data Centre 2012), and station management are cognisant of locally sensitive wildlife, so risks are considered low.
Additional information
References: Australian Antarctic Data Centre. 2012. Vestfold Hills Map 4 of 5, Scale 1: 50000. Edition 6. Catalogue ID 13982. Lynch, H.J. & LaRue, M.A. 2014. First global census of the Adélie Penguin. The Auk 131(4): 457-66. doi:10.1642/AUK-14-31.1 Whitehead, M.D. & Johnstone, G.W. 1990. The distribution and estimated abundance of Adélie Penguins breeding in Prydz Bay, Antarctica. NIPR Symposium on Polar Biology: 91-98.