Data Zone
Country/territory: Antarctica
IBA criteria met: A4iii (2015)
For more information about IBA criteria, please click here
Area: 80 hectares (0.80 km2)
Site description (2015 baseline)
Mathewson Point is a small ice free point of ~1 km across on the northeastern coast of Shepard Island, which lies adjacent to the Getz Ice Shelf, Marie Byrd Land. Shepard Island is of basaltic geology (Gohl 2010), is predominantly ice-covered, and rises to ~520 m at Mount Colburn.
The IBA qualifies on the basis of the concentration of seabirds present (in particular Adélie Penguin (Pygoscelis adeliae)) and comprises all ice free ground at Mathewson Point.
There are no research stations nearby. The closest permanent stations are Scott Base (NZL) and McMurdo Station (USA), located ~1570 km to the southwest in the southern Ross Sea.
Key biodiversity
Approximately 28 934 breeding pairs (95% CI: 17 454, 47 659) of Adélie Penguin were present on Mathewson Point in December 2010, as estimated from satellite imagery (Lynch & LaRue 2014). The penguins nest mainly on the eastern side of Mathewson Point. No other birds are known to breed in the area.
Non-bird biodiversity: None known.
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Mathewson Point, Shepard Island (Antarctica). Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/mathewson-point-shepard-island-iba-antarctica on 22/12/2024.