Current view: Text account
Site description (2015 baseline):
Site location and context
Scullin Monolith and Murray Monolith are imposing steep massifs of metasedimentary gneiss and granitic origin, situated ~5 km apart on the Mawson Coast, Mac.Robertson Land. The adjacent coastline consists of ice cliffs rising up to 40 m in height. Scullin Monolith, in the west, rises steeply to extend from Mikkelsen Peak (435 m) westward in a crescent that encloses Douglas Bay. Murray Monolith is dome-shaped with steep sides and rises to a seaward summit of 339 m and an inland summit of 363 m at Torlyn Mountain.
The area was designated as ASPA No. 164 in 2005 on the basis of its ecological and scientific values, in particular for the largest concentration of seabird breeding colonies in East Antarctica (ASPA No. 164 Management Plan 2010).
The IBA qualifies on the basis of the Adélie Penguin (
Pygoscelis adeliae) and Antarctic Petrel (
Thalassoica antarctica) colonies present and coincides with the boundary of ASPA No. 164.
The nearest permanent station is Mawson (AUS), ~170 km to the west in Holme Bay, on Mawson Coast.
Seven bird species breed at Scullin and Murray monoliths (Tables 126.1 and 126.2). At Scullin Monolith a large colony of Adélie Penguins breeds on the lower slopes up to 200 m along the coast of Douglas Bay, and extends ~500 m along the northern coast below Mikkelsen Peak at elevations of <50 m. Large numbers of Antarctic Petrel and Southern Fulmar (
Fulmarus glacialoides ) breed on the higher slopes around Douglas Bay (Table 126.1). The population of Antarctic Petrel at Scullin Monolith is the second largest in Antarctica after the colony at Svarthamaren IBA (ASPA No. 142). South Polar Skua (
Catharacta maccormicki ) also breed on the upper southwestern and southeastern slopes of Scullin Monolith. Adélie penguins at Murray Monolith breed on the lower slopes along the coast below and west of the seaward summit, including on glacial ice covered by moraine (Southwell & Emmerson 2013). The distribution of other breeding birds at Murray Monolith has not yet been described.
Non-bird biodiversity: Weddell Seals (
Leptonychotes weddellii) and a Leopard Seal (
Hydrurga leptonyx) have been observed in the vicinity (ASPA No. 164 Management Plan 2010).
Pressure/threats to key biodiversity
The first visits and landings at Scullin and Murray monoliths occurred in the 1930s (ASPA No. 164 Management Plan 2010). More recently, visits have been for scientific research although are rare and usually for less than a day per visit. One visit of 6 days duration was made in February 1987 to carry out the only detailed bird census of the site yet made. Access may be made by small boat or helicopter. Aircraft operations perhaps pose the most significant local conservation risk, although strict rules governing aircraft operations and overflight are imposed by the ASPA management plan which should ensure breeding sites are adequately protected. The area is considered mostly undisturbed and suitable as a reference site.
A few tourist visits have been made to Scullin Monolith, the first being of 80 people in 1992. Subsequently, 90 visitors landed in 1996/97; 235 in 1997/98; 96 in 1998/99; and in 2007/08 one visit was made to the Murray Monolith area although none landed (IAATO Tourism Statistics, accessed: 23/01/2015). No tourists have visited since the site was designated an ASPA in 2008.
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Scullin Monolith / Murray Monolith (Antarctica). Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/scullin-monolith--murray-monolith-iba-antarctica on 28/11/2024.
