Cape Main, Coulman Island (45220)
Antarctica, Antarctica
Site overview
KBA status: confirmed
Year of last assessment: 2015
National site name: Cape Main, Coulman Island
Central coordinates: Latitude: -73.5169, Longitude: 169.8713
System: marine, terrestrial
Elevation (m): 0 to 1000
Area of KBA (km2): 5.05588
KBA classification: Regional
Legacy site: Yes
Site details
Site description: Coulman Island lies along the Borchgrevink Coast of northern Victoria Land, ~18 km east of the Borchgrevink Glacier Tongue. The island is an elongated basaltic dome covered by a permanent ice cap. Cape Main is an ice free outcrop and moraine that lies on the eastern coast of Coulman Island. The IBA qualifies on the basis of the concentration of seabirds present (in particular Adélie Penguin (Pygoscelis adeliae)) and comprises ice free ground and a strip of moraine that lies on the eastern coast of the island, ~3 km north of Cape Main. The nearest permanent stations are Mario Zucchelli (ITA) and Jang Bogo (KOR), ~220 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 large colony of Adélie Penguins is recorded breeding on ice-free ground adjacent to the ice shelf north of Cape Main, with on average 17 991 breeding pairs present from 1981 – 2012 (Lyver et al. 2014). The main nesting area lies over low ridges on a large triangular moraine (not shown on map) that extends eastward from rocky cliffs on the eastern coast of Coulman Island. A small group of nests is located on the steeper slopes just below these cliffs. Information on other bird species at the site is not available. Non-bird biodiversity: None known.
Delineation rationale: 1.26 km radius around point.
Threats
Summary of threats to biodiversity at KBA: Coulman Island is visited by tourist ships relatively infrequently. From 2008–13 visits were made in two seasons with a total of three tourist ships, and it is reported that ice walks, helicopter flights and small boat cruising took place, although the specific sites where these activities occurred are not reported (IAATO Tourism Statistics, accessed: 24/11/2014). The number of tourists visiting the site is therefore uncertain, although is expected to be minimal. Few visits to Coulman Island are made by national programmes, and data for the penguin census are gathered by aerial survey under controlled conditions, so disturbance from these sources is anticipated to be minimal.
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 Taylor, R.H. & Wilson, P.R. 1985. Adélie Penguin rookeries at Coulman Island, Western Ross Sea, Antarctica. Notornis 32 (2): 101-07.