Kartografov Island / Mount Archer (45214)
Antarctica, Antarctica
Site overview
KBA status: confirmed
Year of last assessment: 2015
National site name: Kartografov Island / Mount Archer
Central coordinates: Latitude: -69.1974, Longitude: 157.6741
System: marine, terrestrial
Area of KBA (km2): 2.04029
KBA classification: Regional
Legacy site: Yes
Site details
Site description: Kartografov Island (Cartographers Island) and Mount Archer are situated about half-way between Williamson Head and the Matusevich Glacier Tongue, which lie about 18 km apart on the coast of Oates Land. Kartografov Island is around 500 m across, and serves with Williamson Head in the east to enclose Harald Bay. Mount Archer is around 3 km across and its height is not known. The IBA qualifies on the basis of the concentration of seabirds present (in particular Adélie Penguin (Pygoscelis adeliae)) and comprises the lower eastern extremity of Mount Archer and all of Kartografov Island, including the intervening marine area. There are no research stations nearby. The closest permanent stations are Mario Zucchelli (ITA) and Jang Bogo (KOR), ~650 km to the southeast in Terra Nova Bay, Ross Sea.
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 21 033 breeding pairs (95% CI 12 559, 34 257) of Adélie Penguin were present on the lower eastern slopes of Mount Archer and on Kartografov Island as estimated from February 2012 satellite imagery (Lynch & LaRue 2014). These authors refer to this site as ‘Harald Bay'. The majority of penguins appear to breed at the eastern extremity of Mount Archer, with smaller groups occupying Kartografov Island. No other birds are known to breed in the area. Non-bird biodiversity: None known.
Delineation rationale: 1.26 km radius around point, truncated at coastline.
Threats
Summary of threats to biodiversity at KBA: None known.
Additional information
References: 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