Cape Jules (45206)
Antarctica, Antarctica
Site overview
KBA status: confirmed
Global KBA criteria: D1a
Year of last assessment: 2015
National site name: Cape Jules
Central coordinates: Latitude: -66.7475, Longitude: 140.9105
System: marine, terrestrial
Area of KBA (km2): 1.12271
KBA classification: Global
Legacy site: Yes
Site details
Site description: Cape Jules is a rocky peninsula of ~1 km in length and across, indented by a prominent cove on its northern coast. It is situated ~8 km west of the Zélée Glacier Tongue and ~18 km east of Cape Bienvenue in Terre Adélie. The IBA qualifies on the basis of the Adélie Penguin (Pygoscelis adeliae) colony present and comprises all of the ice free area at Cape Jules. The nearest permanent station is Dumont d'Urville (FRA), ~40 km to the west at Pointe Géologie.
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: Barbraud et al. (1999) counted 41 559 breeding pairs of Adélie Penguin at Cape Jules in 1997/98. This compares to approximately 56 399 breeding pairs (95% CI: 34 446, 92 123) of Adélie Penguin at Cape Jules as estimated from February 2011 satellite imagery (Lynch & LaRue 2014). The Barbraud et al. (1999) survey also recorded 93 pairs of Snow Petrel (Pagodroma nivea), two pairs of Cape Petrel (Daption capense), 46 pairs of South Polar Skua (Catharacta maccormicki) and confirmed Wilson's Storm-petrels (Oceanites oceanicus) as breeding. Non-bird biodiversity: None known.
Delineation rationale: If ice-free area is ≤ 5 km2 then ice-free area is used as boundary.
Threats
Summary of threats to biodiversity at KBA: None known.
Additional information
References: Barbraud, C., Delord, K.C., Micol, T. & Jouventin, P. 1999. First census of breeding seabirds between Cap Bienvenue (Terre Adélie) and Moyes Islands (King George V Land), Antarctica: new records for Antarctic seabird populations. Polar Biology 21: 146-50. 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