Current view: Text account
Site description (2001 baseline):
Site location and context
This plateau covers the highest part of Amsterdam in the centre-west of the island. The plateau is an ancient lava-flow now almost entirely covered with waterlogged peatbog. A number of craters are scattered across the site. Cats, rats and mice are present. The only human habitation on the island, a scientific research station which annually houses 20 or so scientists, is situated 3 km north of the site. The site itself is visited monthly, mostly for ornithological surveys.
See Box for key species. This is the only site at which the Critically endangered
Diomedea amsterdamensis breeds. This species has a biennial breeding system such that each year an average of 20 pairs breed in a loose colony on the plateau. The total population of the species is approximately 150 individuals. The only other bird species present is
Catharacta antarctica, of which 39 pairs breed.
Non-bird biodiversity: Ten species of endemic arthropod, one endemic fern and four endemic vascular plant species occur.
Pressure/threats to key biodiversity
The site is an ‘Area restricted to scientific and technical research’, to which access is limited. From a dozen pairs of
Diomedea amsterdamensis that bred in the 1980s, the population has, now totally protected and closely monitored, increased to 21 pairs. Virtually every individual is ringed and the condition of each regularly checked. The area is now protected against damage by cattle, as the once-feral herd is now confined to the north of the island.
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Plateau des Tourbières (French Southern Territories). Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/plateau-des-tourbières-iba-french-southern-territories on 27/12/2024.
