Campbell Islands


The Campbell Islands are a group of subantarctic islands, belonging to New Zealand. They lie about 600 km south of Stewart Island. The islands have a total area of, consisting of one big island, Campbell Island, and several small islets, notably Dent Island, Isle de Jeanette Marie, Folly Island, Jacquemart Island, and Monowai Island. Ecologically, they are part of the Antipodes Subantarctic Islands tundra ecoregion. The islands were gazetted as a nature reserve in 1954, and are one of five subantarctic island groups collectively designated as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.

Geography

The islands are relatively flat; due to tectonic pressure, however, there are mountains in the centre of each island. A sea stack at the southern tip of Jacquemart Island is – with the exception of the country's Antarctic claims – New Zealand's southernmost point.
The following table includes named islands according to Land Information New Zealand.
LocationArea
Campbell Island10,906.0
Jacquemart Island24.7
Dent Island20.5
Isle de Jeanette Marie8.4
Monowai Island6.7
Hook Keys6.3
Wasp Island4.5
Survey Island3.3
Gomez Island2.1
Cossack Rock0.9
Seagull Rock0.1
Bull Rock0.1
Folly Islandunknown
Total10,983.7

Flora and fauna

Since its discovery in 1810, the flora and fauna have been under threat from mammals introduced by humans. Cats and Norway rats prey on native birds, and much of the vegetation was destroyed by sheep and cattle. Restoration of the island began in 1970 with the removal of the feral cattle and sheep; subsequently the island's vegetation recovered, becoming denser. In 2001, four helicopters, under instruction from the New Zealand Department of Conservation spread 120 tonnes of rodenticide-laced bait across the island over one month. Repeated monitoring has found no signs of rats since. This operation became a template for rat eradication on other islands around the world.

Important Bird Area

The Campbell Islands have been identified as an Important Bird Area by BirdLife International because of its significance as a breeding site for several species of seabirds, as well as the endemic Campbell teal and Campbell snipe. The seabirds are southern rockhopper and yellow-eyed penguins, Antipodean, southern royal, light-mantled, black-browed, Campbell and grey-headed albatrosses, northern giant and white-chinned petrels, and the Campbell shag.