Cape Pigeon Rocks (45212)
Antarctica, Antarctica
Site overview
KBA status: confirmed
Year of last assessment: 2015
National site name: Cape Pigeon Rocks
Central coordinates: Latitude: -66.9791, Longitude: 143.8827
System: marine, terrestrial
Area of KBA (km2): 1.27267
KBA classification: Regional
Legacy site: Yes
Site details
Site description: Cape Pigeon Rocks are twin ice free promontories of ~1.6 km in length situated on the western shoreline of Watt Bay, ~5 km south of Garnet Point, George V Land. The site was named by Sir Douglas Mawson in 1912 after the colony of Cape Petrels (Daption capense) observed at the site, which persists today. The geology appears to be of igneous origin, with widespread gneiss and basic rocks evident in dykes (Laseron 1912). The IBA qualifies on the basis of the concentration of seabirds present (in particular Adélie Penguin (Pygoscelis adeliae)) and comprises the ice free ground of Cape Pigeon Rocks, a small ice free island to the east and the intervening marine area. The closest permanent station is Dumont d'Urville (FRA), ~180 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: Approximately 10 335 breeding pairs of Adélie Penguin were present at Cape Pigeon Rocks as estimated from January 2011 satellite imagery (unpublished data H. Lynch & M. LaRue pers. comm. 2014: CI not available). Small numbers of flying birds also breed in the region (Table 159.1). Several of the photographs by Laseron (1912) show penguins, skuas, Cape Petrels and Southern Fulmars ( Fulmarus glacialoides ) present at the site at the time of Mawson's visit. 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. Laseron, C.F. 1912. Unpublished photographs of Cape Pigeon Rocks. From Photographs of the Australasian Antarctic Expedition 1911-14. Collections of the State Library of New South Wales, Australia. URL http://acmssearch.sl.nsw.gov.au/s/search.html?collection=slnsw&meta_e=548 accessed 14/01/2015. 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