Cape Hunter (45209)
Antarctica, Antarctica
Site overview
KBA status: confirmed
Year of last assessment: 2015
National site name: Cape Hunter
Central coordinates: Latitude: -66.9629, Longitude: 142.3432
System: marine, terrestrial
Area of KBA (km2): 0.10543
KBA classification: Regional
Legacy site: Yes
Site details
Site description: Cape Hunter is a rocky promontory of approximately 1 km in length and ~250 m wide on the western shore of Commonwealth Bay, George V Land, located ~13 km northwest of Cape Denison. The IBA qualifies on the basis of the concentration of seabirds present (in particular Adélie Penguin (Pygoscelis adeliae) and Antarctic Petrel (Thalassoica antarctica)) and comprises the rocky promontory, the smaller offshore islands and the intervening marine area. There are no research stations nearby. The closest permanent station is Dumont d'Urville (FRA), ~110 km to the west in Terre Adélie.
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: Barbraud et al. (1999) counted 15 997 breeding pairs of Adélie Penguin in 1997/98. During the same visit 3807 pairs of Antarctic Petrel, 53 pairs of Snow Petrel (Pagodroma nivea) and six pairs of South Polar Skuas (Catharacta maccormicki) were counted. Wilson's Storm-petrels (Oceanites oceanicus) were also confirmed to breed at the site (Barbraud et al. 1999). Large numbers of Antarctic Petrels were evident in photographs taken by Frank Hurley at Cape Hunter on the Australasian Antarctic Expedition 1911-14 (Hurley 1911-14). More recently, approximately 7709 breeding pairs (95% CI 4552, 12 841) of Adélie Penguin were present at Cape Hunter as estimated from March 2010 satellite imagery (Lynch & LaRue 2014). It is not clear whether this more recent count demonstrates change as a result of inter-seasonal fluctuations, methodological differences, or represents a real reduction in the local Adélie Penguin population. Potentially, imagery from later in the season may have yielded a lower estimate of numbers than otherwise might have been expected. 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. Hurley, F. 1911-14. Unpublished photographs of Cape Hunter. From Photographs of the Australasian Antarctic Expedition 1911-14. Collections of the State Library of New South Wales, Australia. URL http://www.acmssearch.sl.nsw.gov.au/s/search.html?collection=slnsw 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