Mandible Cirque (45218)
Antarctica, Antarctica
Site overview
KBA status: confirmed
Year of last assessment: 2015
National site name: Mandible Cirque
Central coordinates: Latitude: -73.1046, Longitude: 169.4133
System: marine, terrestrial
Elevation (m): 0 to 800
Area of KBA (km2): 1.20996
KBA classification: Regional
Legacy site: Yes
Site details
Site description: Mandible Cirque is situated on the southern coast of Daniell Peninsula, on the Borchgrevink Coast of northern Victoria Land, ~ 8 km southwest of Cape Phillips. The IBA qualifies on the basis of the large Adélie Penguin (Pygoscelis adeliae) colony breeding on ice-free ground adjacent to Mandible Cirque. The nearest permanent stations are Mario Zucchelli (ITA) and Jang Bogo (KOR), ~240 km to the southwest in Terra Nova Bay.
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: A mean of 16 837 breeding pairs of Adélie Penguin was reported over 3 seasons sampled between 1981 and 2012 (Lyver et al. 2014). Information on other bird species at the site is not available. Non-bird biodiversity: None known.
Delineation rationale: 1.26 km radius around point, truncated at coastline and permanent ice.
Threats
Summary of threats to biodiversity at KBA: None known.
Additional information
References: Lyver, P.O'B., Barron, M., Barton, K.J., Ainley, D.G., Pollard, A., Gordon, S., McNeill, S., Ballard, G. & Wilson P.R. 2014. Trends in the breeding population of Adélie Penguins in the Ross Sea, 1981–2012: a coincidence of climate and resource extraction effects. PLoS ONE 9(3): e91188. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0091188