Islands of the Golfe du Morbihan (6906)
French Southern Territories, Antarctica
Site overview
KBA status: confirmed
Global KBA criteria: B1, D1a
Year of last assessment: 2001
National site name: Islands of the Golfe du Morbihan
Central coordinates: Latitude: -49.4500, Longitude: 70.0000
System: marine, terrestrial
Elevation (m): 0 to 159
Area of KBA (km2): 297.21846
Protected area coverage (%): 100.00
KBA classification: Global
Legacy site: Yes
Site details
Site description: This site covers a large part of the Golfe du Morbihan, and is located to the east of Grande Terre between, to the north, Péninsule Courbet (TF009) and, to the south, Péninsule Jeanne d’Arc and Presqu’île Ronarch. About 20 islands and numerous islets are scattered across this part of the gulf, the biggest being Île Australia (2,000 ha). The mountain ridges of Grande Terre to the west protect the gulf from some of the wind and rain; hence rainfall is lower here than in most of Kerguelen. Some of the islands are free of introduced species, but others have rats, mice and rabbits. There is no permanent human presence, but research programmes are undertaken on some of the islands.
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 25 species breed, including 13 species of petrel, a consequence of the milder climate and the fact that some of the islands are predator-free. It is possible that numbers of breeding Pterodroma brevirostris, P. macroptera, P. lessoni, Pachyptila desolata, P. belcheri, Procellaria aequinoctialis, Oceanites oceanicus, Garrodia nereis, Pelecanoides georgicus, P. urinatrix, Phalacrocorax verrucosus, Anas eatoni, Chionis minor, Catharacta antarctica and Sterna virgata exceed thresholds, but quantitative data are lacking. Regionally, the islands are of interest because of their large populations of Halobaena caerulea and Procellaria cinerea. Non-bird biodiversity: Several cetaceans occur, notably Cephalorhynchus commersonii (DD). Some islands retain their original subantarctic vegetation, including Pringlea antiscorbutica, Lyallia kerguelensis and Ranunculus moseleyi.
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: Many of the islands are ‘Areas restricted to scientific and technical research’, to which access is limited. Programmes to eradicate rats and rabbits are under way on several of the islands.
Additional information
References: Cherel et al. (1996), Jouventin and Micol (1992), Jouventin et al. (1984, 1988, 1996), Weimerskirch et al. (1989).