Bishop and Clerk Islets

For the Welsh islets, see Bishops and Clerks.
Bishop and Clerk Islets
Geography
Location Pacific Ocean
Area 60 ha (150 acres)
Highest elevation 45 m (148 ft)[1]
Country
State Tasmania
Demographics
Population Uninhabited

The Bishop and Clerk Islets are a group of islets located in the South Pacific Ocean, 33 km (21 mi) south of Macquarie Island.[2]

The group consists of Bishop Islet, 24 smaller islets, and various rocks and reefs. Bishop Islet has an area of 3 ha and is mostly rock with some shallow patches of soil. Its highest elevation is 45 m.[1]

The Bishop and Clerk Islets are part of the Australian state of Tasmania. They are the southernmost terrestrial point of both Australia (excluding the Australian Antarctic Territory) and Tasmania. The islets are within the Macquarie Island Nature Reserve, managed by the Tasmanian Parks and Wildlife Service.[1]

History

Three known landings have been made on the islets, all by ship-assisted helicopter. The first, in 1965, was on a rock 50 m from Bishop Isle. The following two, in 1976 and 1993, were on Bishop Islet itself.[1]

The islets, along with Macquarie Island and the Judge and Clerk Islets,[3] were declared a World Heritage Site in 1997.[1]

Ecology

Macquarie shags have been recorded nesting at the Bishop and Clerk Islets. A colony of black-browed albatrosses was discovered in 1965.[4]

The only vascular plant recorded on Bishop Islet is Colobanthus muscoides, while two varieties of lichens have also been noted.

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Cooper, John. "ACAP Breeding Site No. 66. Bishop and Clerk Islets: Australia’s southernmost albatross colony". Retrieved 5 December 2014.
  2. ↑ Brothers, Nigel; Ledingham, Rod (5 August 2008). "The avifauna of Bishop and Clerk islets and its relationship to nearby Macquarie Island" (PDF). Papers and Proceedings of the Royal Society of Tasmania 142 (1): 117–121. Retrieved 5 December 2014.
  3. ↑ "World Heritage Places - Macquarie Island - Outstanding Universal Value". Commonwealth of Australia. Retrieved 5 December 2014.
  4. ↑ Alderman, R; Double, M; Valencia, J; Gales, R (2005). "Genetic affinities of newly sampled populations of Wandering and Black-browed Albatross". Emu – Austral Ornithology 105: 169–179. doi:10.1071/MU04034.

Coordinates: 55°03′S 158°46′E / 55.050°S 158.767°E / -55.050; 158.767


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