Péninsule Courbet (6905)
French Southern Territories, Antarctica
Site overview
KBA status: confirmed
Global KBA criteria: A1b, A1d, B1, B2, D1a
Year of last assessment: 2001
National site name: Péninsule Courbet
Central coordinates: Latitude: -49.1500, Longitude: 70.3667
System: marine, terrestrial
Elevation (m): 0 to 500
Area of KBA (km2): 714.85398
Protected area coverage (%): 100.00
KBA classification: Global
Legacy site: Yes
Site details
Site description: Péninsule Courbet consists of a large, mainly flat peninsula of alluvium deposits of glacial origin on the north-eastern tip of Grande Terre. A large number of lakes of different sizes and boggy margins are scattered across the site. Inland areas of the peninsula are, however, drier and largely unvegetated. The western edge of the site is hillier and reaches 500 m. The western limit of the site is defined by a line linking Pointe Scott and Château d’If; the archipelago’s only base camp, Port-aux-Français situated nearby, is therefore excluded.
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 22 species breed. Three large rookeries of Aptenodytes patagonicus are found on the western coast of the site, with a combined total of 172,400 pairs. Eudyptes chrysolophus breed along the northern coast in a string of colonies. The inland parts of the site are also important as they hold the largest population of Anas eatoni in the French Southern Territories. In addition, numbers of breeding Phalacrocorax verrucosus, Chionis minor, Catharacta antarctica, Larus dominicanus, Sterna virgata and S. vittata exceed thresholds, but quantitative data are lacking. Non-bird biodiversity: The site holds the largest breeding population of the mammal Mirounga leonina in the archipelago, with 43,782 females (1997 census data). An important population of Arctocephalus gazella also occurs.
Delineation rationale: Type 1 marine IBA: suitable for the seaward extension approach.
Habitats
Land use: not utilised
Threats
Summary of threats to biodiversity at KBA: The site is completely unprotected and has not been proposed as a Nature Reserve. The vegetation has generally been badly degraded by rabbits, and cats have probably been responsible for severe declines of several species.
Additional information
References: Cherel et al. (1996), Guinet et al. (1999), Jouventin and Micol (1992), Jouventin et al. (1984, 1988), Weimerskirch and Jouventin (1997), Weimerskirch et al. (1989).