The Campbell Islands (or Campbell Island Group) are a group of
subantarctic
The sub-Antarctic zone is a region in the Southern Hemisphere, located immediately north of the Antarctic region. This translates roughly to a latitude of between 46° and 60° south of the Equator. The subantarctic region includes many islands ...
islands, belonging to New Zealand. They lie about 600 km south of
Stewart Island
Stewart Island ( mi, Rakiura, ' glowing skies', officially Stewart Island / Rakiura) is New Zealand's third-largest island, located south of the South Island, across the Foveaux Strait. It is a roughly triangular island with a total land ar ...
. The islands have a total area of , consisting of one big island,
Campbell Island (), and several small
islet
An islet is a very small, often unnamed island. Most definitions are not precise, but some suggest that an islet has little or no vegetation and cannot support human habitation. It may be made of rock, sand and/or hard coral; may be permanent ...
s, notably
Dent Island (), Isle de Jeanette Marie (),
Folly Island
Folly Island is a barrier island in the Atlantic Ocean near Charleston, South Carolina. It is one of the Sea Islands and is within the boundaries of Charleston County, South Carolina. During the American Civil War, the island served as a majo ...
(or Folly Islands),
Jacquemart Island
Jacquemart Island, one of the islets surrounding Campbell Island in New Zealand, lies south of Campbell Island and is the southernmost island of New Zealand.
The name commemorates Captain J. Jacquemart, of the vessel FRWS ''Vire'', that supp ...
(), and Monowai Island (also known as Lion Rock, ). Ecologically, they are part of the
Antipodes Subantarctic Islands tundra
The Antipodes Subantarctic Islands tundra ecoregion, within the tundra biome, includes five remote island groups in the Pacific Ocean south of New Zealand: the Bounty Islands, Auckland Islands, Antipodes Islands and Campbell Island groups of New ...
ecoregion
An ecoregion (ecological region) or ecozone (ecological zone) is an ecologically and geographically defined area that is smaller than a bioregion, which in turn is smaller than a biogeographic realm. Ecoregions cover relatively large areas of l ...
. The islands are one of five
subantarctic island groups collectively designated as a
World Heritage Site
A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...
by UNESCO.
Geography
*
Campbell Island / Motu Ihupuku
Campbell Island / Motu Ihupuku is an uninhabited subantarctic island of New Zealand, and the main island of the Campbell Island group. It covers of the group's , and is surrounded by numerous stacks, rocks and islets like Dent Island, Foll ...
()
*
Dent Island ()
*
Jacquemart Island
Jacquemart Island, one of the islets surrounding Campbell Island in New Zealand, lies south of Campbell Island and is the southernmost island of New Zealand.
The name commemorates Captain J. Jacquemart, of the vessel FRWS ''Vire'', that supp ...
()
*
Folly Island
Folly Island is a barrier island in the Atlantic Ocean near Charleston, South Carolina. It is one of the Sea Islands and is within the boundaries of Charleston County, South Carolina. During the American Civil War, the island served as a majo ...
or Folly Islands
The islands are relatively flat; due to tectonic pressure, however, there are mountains in the centre of each island. A
sea stack
A stack or sea stack is a geological landform consisting of a steep and often vertical column or columns of rock in the sea near a coast, formed by wave erosion. Stacks are formed over time by wind and water, processes of coastal geomorphology. ...
at the southern tip of Jacquemart Island is – with the exception of the country's Antarctic claims – New Zealand's southernmost point.
Flora and fauna
Since its discovery in 1810, the flora and fauna have been under threat from mammals introduced by humans. Cats (''Felis catus'') and
Norway rats
The brown rat (''Rattus norvegicus''), also known as the common rat, street rat, sewer rat, wharf rat, Hanover rat, Norway rat, Norwegian rat and Parisian rat, is a widespread species of common rat. One of the largest muroids, it is a brown o ...
(''Rattus novegicus'') prey on native birds and much of the vegetation was destroyed by
sheep
Sheep or domestic sheep (''Ovis aries'') are domesticated, ruminant mammals typically kept as livestock. Although the term ''sheep'' can apply to other species in the genus ''Ovis'', in everyday usage it almost always refers to domesticated s ...
(''Ovis aries'') and
cattle
Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, cloven-hooved, herbivores. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus ''Bos''. Adult females are referred to as cows and adult mal ...
(''Bos taurus''). Restoration of the island began in 1970 with the removal of the
feral
A feral () animal or plant is one that lives in the wild but is descended from domesticated individuals. As with an introduced species, the introduction of feral animals or plants to non-native regions may disrupt ecosystems and has, in some ...
cattle and sheep; subsequently the island's vegetation recovered, becoming denser. In 2001, four helicopters, under instruction from the
New Zealand Department of Conservation (DOC) spread 120 tonnes of
rodenticide
Rodenticides are chemicals made and sold for the purpose of killing rodents. While commonly referred to as "rat poison", rodenticides are also used to kill mice, squirrels, woodchucks, chipmunks, porcupines, nutria, beavers, and voles. Despi ...
-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
An Important Bird and Biodiversity Area (IBA) is an area identified using an internationally agreed set of criteria as being globally important for the conservation of bird populations.
IBA was developed and sites are identified by BirdLife Int ...
(IBA) by
BirdLife International
BirdLife International is a global partnership of non-governmental organizations that strives to conserve birds and their habitats. BirdLife International's priorities include preventing extinction of bird species, identifying and safeguarding ...
because of its significance as a breeding site for several species of seabirds as well as the endemic
Campbell teal
The Campbell teal or Campbell Island teal (''Anas nesiotis'') is a small, flightless, nocturnal species of dabbling duck of the genus ''Anas'' endemic to the Campbell Island group of New Zealand. It is sometimes considered conspecific with the ...
and
Campbell snipe
The Campbell snipe (''Coenocorypha aucklandica perseverance''), also known as the Campbell Island snipe, is a rare subspecies of the Subantarctic snipe, endemic to Campbell Island, a subantarctic island south of New Zealand in the Southern Oce ...
. The seabirds are
southern rockhopper and
yellow-eyed penguin
The yellow-eyed penguin (''Megadyptes antipodes''), known also as hoiho or tarakaka, is a species of penguin endemic to New Zealand.
Previously thought closely related to the little penguin (''Eudyptula minor''), molecular research has shown it ...
s,
Antipodean,
southern royal,
light-mantled,
black-browed,
Campbell Campbell may refer to:
People Surname
* Campbell (surname), includes a list of people with surname Campbell
Given name
* Campbell Brown (footballer), an Australian rules footballer
* Campbell Brown (journalist) (born 1968), American television ne ...
and
grey-headed albatross
The grey-headed albatross (''Thalassarche chrysostoma'') also known as the gray-headed mollymawk, is a large seabird from the albatross family. It has a circumpolar distribution, nesting on isolated islands in the Southern Ocean and feeding at hi ...
es,
northern giant and
white-chinned petrel
The white-chinned petrel (''Procellaria aequinoctialis'') also known as the Cape hen and shoemaker, is a large shearwater in the family Procellariidae. It ranges around the Southern Ocean as far north as southern Australia, Peru and Namibia, and ...
s, and the
Campbell shag
The Campbell shag (''Leucocarbo campbelli''), also known as the Campbell Island shag, is a species of bird in the family Phalacrocoracidae. It is endemic to Campbell Island. Its natural habitats are open seas and rocky shores. It is a medium- ...
.
[BirdLife International. (2012). Important Bird Areas factsheet: Campbell Island (and outliers). Downloaded from on 22 January 2012.]
See also
*
Desert island
A desert island, deserted island, or uninhabited island, is an island, islet or atoll that is not permanently populated by humans. Uninhabited islands are often depicted in films or stories about shipwrecked people, and are also used as stereot ...
*
List of Antarctic and subantarctic islands
*
List of islands
This is a list of the lists of islands in the world grouped by country, by continent, by body of water
A body of water or waterbody (often spelled water body) is any significant accumulation of water on the surface of Earth or another plane ...
*
List of islands of New Zealand
New Zealand consists of more than six hundred islands, mainly remnants of a larger land mass now beneath the sea. New Zealand is the seventh-largest island nation on earth, and the third-largest located entirely in the Southern Hemisphere. T ...
*
New Zealand Subantarctic Islands
The New Zealand Subantarctic Islands comprise the five southernmost groups of the New Zealand outlying islands. They are collectively designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Most of the islands lie near the southeast edge of the largely ...
References
External links
Map of the Campbell Islandswith several surrounding islets, including Jacquemart Island lying south of the main island and Dent island lying northwest of the main island
{{Authority control
Archipelagoes of New Zealand
Archipelagoes of the Southern Ocean
Important Bird Areas of New Zealand
Island restoration