Environmental monitoring and management proposals for the Fildes Region, King George Island, Antarctica

Figures & data

Fig. 1  Overview of the study area on the Fildes Peninsula.

Table 1 Overview of monitoring methods employed during the study. For further details see Peter et al. (2008).

Study object	Method
Seabird breeding pair numbers and distribution	Standardized seabird census with repeated counts and mapping (GPS- and GIS^a-based)
Numbers and distribution of resting and moulting seals	Monthly seal counts
Seal pupping sites	Monitoring, reports of station members during winter months
Air traffic	Record of all flight activities per aircraft, classification by operator and type
	Registration of flights below the defined vertical (610 m) and horizontal (460 m) distance near concentrations of birds (SAT 2004, 2009c)
	Reference period from 10 December–26 February = 79 days
Ship traffic	Record of all ships present in the Maxwell Bay, classification by operator and type
	Reference period from 10 December–26 February = 79 days
Land traffic	Mapping of vehicle tracks beyond the existing road network (GPS- and GIS-based)
Status of current and historical waste deposits	Monitoring, mapping (GPS- and GIS-based)
Recent entry of waste in the environment	Mapping of waste items (except marine debris) brought in after 2006 (GPS- and GIS-based), identification by type, age, origin
Current station's waste management, including sewage treatment	Monitoring, reports of station members
Oil contamination: visible staining of soil and oily sheens on water bodies	Mapping (GPS- and GIS-based)
Impact of construction activities	Monitoring, mapping (GPS- and GIS-based)
Land consumption by stations	Mapping (GPS- and GIS-based), use of data set in Vogt et al. (2004)
Use of field huts	Monitoring, examination of hut register
Impact of scientific and leisure activities of station members and tourism	Monitoring
	Documentation of the marathon event in March 2009
Tourism	Analysis of tourism statistics published by International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators

^aGlobal positioning system and geographic information system.

Fig. 2  The distribution of seabird breeding sites in the Fildes Region during the 2008/09 season.

Fig. 3  The location of pupping sites for elephant seals (Mirounga leonina; E), Weddell seals (Leptonychotes weddelli; W), fur seals (Arctocephalus gazella; F) and leopard seals (Hydrurga leptonyx; L). Data from 2003/04 to 2009/10 are included.

Table 2 Breeding pair numbers in the Fildes Region during the 2008/09 and 2009/10 seasons.

Species	Breeding pair numbers
Chinstrap penguin (Pygoscelis antarctica)	8–11 (Ardley Island) (ca. 70 at western coast)
Gentoo penguin (Pygoscelis papua)	5083–5665
Adélie penguin (Pygoscelis adeliae)	307–545
Southern giant petrel (Macronectes giganteus)	297–350
Light-mantled sooty albatross (Phoebetria palpebrata)	0–5
Cape petrel (Daption capense)	>300
Wilson's storm petrel (Oceanites oceanicus)	ca. 3500–5000
Black-bellied storm petrel (Fregetta tropica)	ca. 500–1000
Brown skua (Catharacta antarctica lonnbergi)	27–59
South Polar skua (Catharacta maccormicki)	146–178
Mixed skua pairs (C. a. lonnbergi x C. maccormicki)	11–16
Kelp gull (Larus dominicanus)	50–109
Antarctic tern (Sterna vittata)	<100–700
Snowy sheathbill (Chionis alba)	1–2

Fig. 4  Number of days with flight activity in the Fildes Region by aircraft type, between 10 December and 26 February each season. Shading indicates the proportion of station-based aircrafts.

Fig. 5  Observed incidences of flights within the overflight exclusion zone, i.e., below the altitude (610 m) or within the horizontal distance (460 m) set out for Ardley Island in Resolution 2 (SAT 2004).

Fig. 6  Number of ship arrivals in Maxwell Bay by type of ship (left axis) and number of ship days (right axis, not summable). The asterisk represents one additional unknown freight ship, not included in the other categories.

Fig. 7  Examples of environmental impacts in the Fildes Region: (a) vegetation damage caused by land traffic; (b) open waste deposit; (c) diesel plume in Maxwell Bay (visible as the sheen on the ocean in the centre of the image); and (d) beach ridge, damaged by quarrying.

Fig. 8  Waste distribution in the southern part of the Fildes Region; only items recorded after 2006 are presented.

Peter H.-U. Buesser C. Mustafa O. Pfeiffer S. Risk assessment for the Fildes Peninsula and Ardley Island, and development of management plans for their designation as Specially Protected or Specially Managed Areas. German Federal Environment Agency. Dessau, 2008

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Vogt S. Braun M. Jaña R. The King George Island geographic information system project. Pesquisa Antártica Brasileira. 2004; 4: 183–186.

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SAT (Secretariat of the Antarctic Treaty). 2004. Resolution 2 (2004). Guidelines for the operation of aircraft near concentrations of birds in Antarctica. In: Final report of the twenty-seventh Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting. Pp. 223–225. Buenos Aires: Secretariat of the Antarctic Treaty.

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