Part 3Antarctic specially protected area No. 103

Part 3 Antarctic specially protected area No. 103

  Ardery Island and Odbert Island, Budd Coast, Wilkes Land, East Antarctica.

  Latitude 66 22 S, longitude 110 27 E.

  Ardery Island and Odbert Island support several breeding species of petrel. There is no other readily accessible place in eastern Antarctica where the four genera of fulmarine petrels (Thalassoica antarctica, Fulmarus glacialoides, Daption capense and Pagodroma nivea) breed in the same place in sufficient numbers to allow comparative study. Study of these four genera at one location is of high ecological importance in understanding and monitoring the Southern Ocean ecosystem.

  It is believed that Ardery Island is unique insofar as it is the only area in the Antarctic which harbours two different subspecies of snow petrels. Studies on morphological or ecological differences between these two subspecies are not possible anywhere else. In addition both islands have breeding populations of Wilson’s storm petrels (Oceanites oceanicus) and Antarctic skuas (Catharacta maccormicki) and Odbert Island supports breeding populations of Adélie penguins (Pygoscelis adeliae).

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Note   Part 4 is reserved.