Falaises d'Entrecasteaux (6903)
French Southern Territories, Antarctica
Site overview
KBA status: confirmed
Global KBA criteria: A1a, A1c, B1, D1a
Year of last assessment: 2001
National site name: Falaises d'Entrecasteaux
Central coordinates: Latitude: -37.8500, Longitude: 77.5167
System: marine, terrestrial
Elevation (m): 0 to 731
Area of KBA (km2): 2.98163
Protected area coverage (%): 100.00
KBA classification: Global
Legacy site: Yes
Site details
Site description: The site includes the whole western coastline of Île Amsterdam and consists of vertical cliffs that reach 731 m, together with a small ledge at their base. The vegetation is composed mainly of tussock-grasses and rushes. It covers much of the site, but is thickest towards the bottom of the cliffs. There is a single cabin on the site, used occasionally by research teams.
Rationale for qualifying as KBA: This site qualifies as a Key Biodiversity Area of international significance that meets the thresholds for at least one criterion described in the Global Standard for the Identification of KBAs.
Additional biodiversity: See Box for key species. At least seven species breed. The site is home to one of the largest colonies of Diomedea chlororhynchos in the world, approximately 19,000 pairs (declining) or 20% of the world’s population. There is also a large rookery of Eudyptes chrysocome moseleyi (25,000 pairs). At least two species, Procellaria cinerea and Pterodroma mollis, which are rare on Amsterdam due to predation by cats and rats, are thought to breed. Non-bird biodiversity: A large population of the seal Arctocephalus tropicalis (5,700 pups in 1982) occurs. Offshore Orcinus orca (LR/cd) are seen regularly. Three endemic plant species and 10 endemic arthropod species have been recorded.
Delineation rationale: Type 1 marine IBA: suitable for the seaward extension approach.
Habitats
Land use: nature conservation and research | not utilised
Threats
Summary of threats to biodiversity at KBA: The site is an ‘Area restricted to scientific and technical research’, to which access is limited. Both cats and rats are a serious threat to petrel populations and may have been the cause of the local extinction of several species. Thanks to their inaccessibility, the vegetation of the cliff-ledges has never been grazed by the once-feral cattle.
Additional information
References: Brothers (1991), Guinard et al. (1998), Guinet et al. (1994), Jouventin (1994), Jouventin and Micol (1992), Jouventin et al. (1984, 1988, 1996), Weimerskirch and Jouventin (1997), Worthy and Jouventin (1999).