Jacquemart Island
Encyclopedia
Jacquemart Island, one of the islet
s surrounding Campbell Island
in New Zealand
, lies 1 km (0.621372736649807 mi) south of Campbell Island and is the southernmost island
of New Zealand.
While Jacquemart Island belongs indisputably to New Zealand, New Zealand also claims territory in Antarctica which stretches to the South Pole
. Like other Antarctic territorial claims, New Zealand's jurisdiction over the Ross Dependency
is not recognised by most nations. The name "Jaquemart" originates from the name of the Captain of the vessel of the French Expedition to Campbell Island in 1874.
with an area of 19 ha (46.9 acre), being about 750 m (2,461 ft) in length by 500 metres (1,640 ft) in width and surrounded by precipitous cliffs at least 30 m (98 ft) high at their lowest. Its highest point is about 200 m (656 ft) asl
. It is an eroded remnant of basalt
ic lava
s originally laid down on a sedimentary base. Because of its inaccessibility from the sea, the first visit by humans to the island did not take place until 29 December 1980 when a small party of scientists was landed by helicopter on the summit ridge for a 90 minute survey. Subsequent short visits were made in 1984 and 1997.
grassland
on a substratum of peat
undermined with petrel burrows. The environment includes herbfield
communities, rock and ledge communities, as well as lichen
s and cushion plant
s.
Birds recorded as breeding on Jacquemart include the Sooty Shearwater
, Northern Giant Petrel
, Grey-backed Storm-petrel
, Light-mantled Sooty Albatross, Brown Skua
and Campbell Shag. Other seabird
s which may breed there are Common Diving-petrel and Cape Petrel
. Australasian Pipit
s and Common Starlings have been seen. A species of cave weta
has also been recorded from the island, as well as the Campbell Island Leaf-veined Slug
.
in 2001, Jacquemart was also the last refuge of the Campbell Snipe, a subspecies
of Subantarctic Snipe first discovered in 1997 and described in 2009. After the eradication
of rats the snipe began to recolonise the rest of the group, with a small breeding population discovered in 2005 on southern Campbell Island opposite Jacquemart.
Islet
An islet is a very small island.- Types :As suggested by its origin as islette, an Old French diminutive of "isle", use of the term implies small size, but little attention is given to drawing an upper limit on its applicability....
s surrounding Campbell Island
Campbell Island, New Zealand
Campbell Island is a remote, 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, Folly Island , Isle de Jeanette Marie, and Jacquemart Island, the latter being the...
in New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
, lies 1 km (0.621372736649807 mi) south of Campbell Island and is the southernmost island
Island
An island or isle is any piece of sub-continental land that is surrounded by water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, cays or keys. An island in a river or lake may be called an eyot , or holm...
of New Zealand.
While Jacquemart Island belongs indisputably to New Zealand, New Zealand also claims territory in Antarctica which stretches to the South Pole
South Pole
The South Pole, also known as the Geographic South Pole or Terrestrial South Pole, is one of the two points where the Earth's axis of rotation intersects its surface. It is the southernmost point on the surface of the Earth and lies on the opposite side of the Earth from the North Pole...
. Like other Antarctic territorial claims, New Zealand's jurisdiction over the Ross Dependency
Ross Dependency
The Ross Dependency is a region of Antarctica defined by a sector originating at the South Pole, passing along longitudes 160° east to 150° west, and terminating at latitude 60° south...
is not recognised by most nations. The name "Jaquemart" originates from the name of the Captain of the vessel of the French Expedition to Campbell Island in 1874.
Geography
Jacquemart Island consists of a stackStack (geology)
A stack is a geological landform consisting of a steep and often vertical column or columns of rock in the sea near a coast, isolated by erosion. Stacks are formed through processes of coastal geomorphology, which are entirely natural. Time, wind and water are the only factors involved in the...
with an area of 19 ha (46.9 acre), being about 750 m (2,461 ft) in length by 500 metres (1,640 ft) in width and surrounded by precipitous cliffs at least 30 m (98 ft) high at their lowest. Its highest point is about 200 m (656 ft) asl
Above mean sea level
The term above mean sea level refers to the elevation or altitude of any object, relative to the average sea level datum. AMSL is used extensively in radio by engineers to determine the coverage area a station will be able to reach...
. It is an eroded remnant of basalt
Basalt
Basalt is a common extrusive volcanic rock. It is usually grey to black and fine-grained due to rapid cooling of lava at the surface of a planet. It may be porphyritic containing larger crystals in a fine matrix, or vesicular, or frothy scoria. Unweathered basalt is black or grey...
ic lava
Lava
Lava refers both to molten rock expelled by a volcano during an eruption and the resulting rock after solidification and cooling. This molten rock is formed in the interior of some planets, including Earth, and some of their satellites. When first erupted from a volcanic vent, lava is a liquid at...
s originally laid down on a sedimentary base. Because of its inaccessibility from the sea, the first visit by humans to the island did not take place until 29 December 1980 when a small party of scientists was landed by helicopter on the summit ridge for a 90 minute survey. Subsequent short visits were made in 1984 and 1997.
Flora and fauna
Much of the area of the island above the cliffs is covered with tussockTussock
Tussock most often refers to a small hillock of grassy, or grass-like plant growth, but may also refer to Plants and ecology, Insects.- Plants and ecology :*Tussock *New Zealand tussock grasslands*Serrated Tussock...
grassland
Grassland
Grasslands are areas where the vegetation is dominated by grasses and other herbaceous plants . However, sedge and rush families can also be found. Grasslands occur naturally on all continents except Antarctica...
on a substratum of peat
Peat
Peat is an accumulation of partially decayed vegetation matter or histosol. Peat forms in wetland bogs, moors, muskegs, pocosins, mires, and peat swamp forests. Peat is harvested as an important source of fuel in certain parts of the world...
undermined with petrel burrows. The environment includes herbfield
Herbfield
Herbfields are plant communities dominated by herbaceous plants, especially forbs and grasses. They are found where climatic conditions do not allow large woody plants to grow, such as in subantarctic and alpine tundra environments...
communities, rock and ledge communities, as well as lichen
Lichen
Lichens are composite organisms consisting of a symbiotic organism composed of a fungus with a photosynthetic partner , usually either a green alga or cyanobacterium...
s and cushion plant
Cushion plant
A cushion plant is a compact, low growing, mat forming plant that is found in alpine, subalpine, arctic, or subarctic environments around the world...
s.
Birds recorded as breeding on Jacquemart include the Sooty Shearwater
Sooty Shearwater
The Sooty Shearwater is a medium-large shearwater in the seabird family Procellariidae. In New Zealand it is also known by its Māori name tītī and as "muttonbird", like its relatives the Wedge-tailed Shearwater and the Australian Short-tailed Shearwater The Sooty Shearwater (Puffinus griseus) is...
, Northern Giant Petrel
Northern Giant Petrel
The Northern Giant Petrel , also known as the Hall's Giant Petrel, is a large seabird of the southern oceans. Its distribution overlaps broadly with the similar Southern Giant Petrel, though it overall is centered slightly further north.-Taxonomy:The Northern Giant Petrel along with its...
, Grey-backed Storm-petrel
Grey-backed Storm-petrel
The Grey-backed Storm Petrel is a species of seabird in the Hydrobatidae family. It is monotypic within the genus Garrodia which was named by William Alexander Forbes in 1881 after Alfred Henry Garrod, while the specific descriptor is an allusion to the Nereids, the sea nymphs of Greek...
, Light-mantled Sooty Albatross, Brown Skua
Brown Skua
The Brown Skua , also known as the Antarctic Skua, Southern Great Skua, Southern Skua, or Hākoakoa , is a large seabird that breeds in the subantarctic and Antarctic zones and moves further north when not breeding...
and Campbell Shag. Other seabird
Seabird
Seabirds are birds that have adapted to life within the marine environment. While seabirds vary greatly in lifestyle, behaviour and physiology, they often exhibit striking convergent evolution, as the same environmental problems and feeding niches have resulted in similar adaptations...
s which may breed there are Common Diving-petrel and Cape Petrel
Cape Petrel
The Cape Petrel also called Cape Pigeon or Pintado Petrel, is a common seabird of the Southern Ocean from the family Procellariidae. It is the only member of the genus Daption, and is allied to the fulmarine petrels, and the Giant Petrels. It is also sometimes known as the Cape Fulmar...
. Australasian Pipit
Australasian Pipit
The Australasian Pipit is a fairly small passerine bird of open country in Australia, New Zealand and New Guinea. It belongs to the pipit genus Anthus in the family Motacillidae....
s and Common Starlings have been seen. A species of cave weta
Novoplectron
Novoplectron is a genus of cave weta in the family Rhaphidophoridae, endemic to offshore islands of New Zealand.-Species:* Novoplectron serratum Hutton, 1897* Notoplectron campbellense Richards, 1964...
has also been recorded from the island, as well as the Campbell Island Leaf-veined Slug
Pseudaneitea sorenseni
Pseudaneitea sorenseni is a leaf-veined slug, a terrestrial gastropod mollusc in the family Athoracophoridae.-References:* Powell A. W. B., New Zealand Mollusca, William Collins Publishers Ltd, Auckland, New Zealand 1979 ISBN 0-00-216906-1*...
.
Campbell Snipe
Until the Campbell Islands were cleared of introduced ratsIntroduced species
An introduced species — or neozoon, alien, exotic, non-indigenous, or non-native species, or simply an introduction, is a species living outside its indigenous or native distributional range, and has arrived in an ecosystem or plant community by human activity, either deliberate or accidental...
in 2001, Jacquemart was also the last refuge of the Campbell Snipe, a subspecies
Subspecies
Subspecies in biological classification, is either a taxonomic rank subordinate to species, ora taxonomic unit in that rank . A subspecies cannot be recognized in isolation: a species will either be recognized as having no subspecies at all or two or more, never just one...
of Subantarctic Snipe first discovered in 1997 and described in 2009. After the eradication
Island restoration
The ecological restoration of islands, or island restoration, is the application of the principles of ecological restoration to islands and island groups. Islands, due to their isolation, are home to many of the world's endemic species, as well as important breeding grounds for seabirds and some...
of rats the snipe began to recolonise the rest of the group, with a small breeding population discovered in 2005 on southern Campbell Island opposite Jacquemart.
See also
- Campbell Island groupCampbell Island groupThe Campbell Island group is a group of subantarctic islands, belonging to New Zealand. The group has a total area of , consisting of one big island, Campbell Island , and several small islets, notably Dent Island , Isle de Jeanette Marie , Jacquemart Island , and Monowai Island 1...
- Extreme points of New ZealandExtreme points of New ZealandThis article discusses the extreme points of New Zealand: the points that lie farther north, south, east or west than any other equivalent location in the country....
- List of islands of New Zealand
- List of sub-Antarctic islands
- New Zealand sub-antarctic islandsNew Zealand sub-antarctic islandsThe five southernmost groups of the New Zealand Outlying Islands form the New Zealand Sub-Antarctic islands. These islands are collectively designated as an UNESCO World Heritage Site....
- Slope PointSlope PointSlope Point is the southernmost point of the South Island of New Zealand.Slope Point lies just south of the small settlements of Waikawa and Haldane, near the southwestern edge of the Catlins and Toetoes Bay and 70 km east of Invercargill....
External links
- Map of Campbell Island with several surrounding islets, including Jacquemart Island lying south of the main island and Dent island lying northwest of the main island
