Dent Island is a
subantarctic
The sub-Antarctic zone is a physiographic region in the Southern Hemisphere, located immediately north of the Antarctic region. This translates roughly to a latitude of between 46th parallel south, 46° and 60th parallel south, 60° south of t ...
rock
stack, lying 3 km west of
Campbell Island and belonging to the
Campbell Island group. Dent Island is located at . It was named by the French
1874 Transit of Venus Expedition to Campbell Island because of its resemblance to a tooth (''dent'' in French).
Birds
The island is part of the Campbell Island group
Important Bird Area (IBA), identified as such 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 i ...
because of its significance as a breeding site for several species of
seabird
Seabirds (also known as marine birds) are birds that are adaptation, adapted to life within the marine ecosystem, marine environment. While seabirds vary greatly in lifestyle, behaviour and physiology, they often exhibit striking convergent ...
s as well as the endemic
Campbell teal and
Campbell snipe.
Campbell teal
The island is most famous for its Campbell teal, which was thought to have been extinct for more than 100 years until a small group was rediscovered there in 1975. Dent Island is free from predators, especially the rats whose introduction on
Campbell Island led to the extinction of the teal there. However, the suitable habitat for the teal on Dent Island is much more limited than its area would suggest, because a large area of the island is bare rock.
The Campbell teal conservation programme started in 1984 when four birds were transferred from Dent Island to the
Pukaha / Mount Bruce National Wildlife Centre.
TerraNature.org
/ref> In 1997, a census carried out on Dent Island showed that its Campbell teal population had declined to dangerous levels with only three birds being found.
However, the conservation and breeding has been very successful, and in recent years many teals have been reintroduced onto Campbell Island itself, where there is now a population of over a hundred. Rats were eventually eradicated from Campbell Island in 2001.
See also
* List of Antarctic and subantarctic islands
This is a list of Antarctic and sub-Antarctic islands.
* Antarctic islands are, in the strict sense, the islands around mainland Antarctica, situated on the Antarctic Plate, and south of the Antarctic Convergence. According to the terms of the A ...
* 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 large ...
* Megaherb
References
External links
Map of Campbell Island
Islands of the Campbell Islands
Stacks of New Zealand
Important Bird Areas of the Campbell Islands
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