Current view: Text account
Site description (2015 baseline):
Site location and context
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.
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.
Pressure/threats to key 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.
