New Zealand Sub Antarctic Islands
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New Zealand Sub Antarctic Islands
Location
Subantartic zone
Country
New Zealand
Year of Research
1998
Culture
The New Zealand Sub-Antarctic Islands has five island groups (the Snares, Bounty Islands, Antipodes Islands, Auckland Islands and Campbell Island) in the Southern Ocean south-east of New Zealand. The islands situated between the Antarctic and Subtropical Convergences and the seas, have a high level of productivity, biodiversity, wildlife population densities and endemism among birds, plants and invertebrates. They are particularly important resident for the large number of pelagic seabirds and penguins that nest there. There are 126 bird species in total, including 40 seabirds of which five breed nowhere else in the world.The New Zealand Sub-Antarctic Islands shows a pattern of immigration of species, diversification and emergent endemism, provides particularly good opportunities for research into the dynamics of island ecology.The New Zealand Sub-Antarctic Islands are remarkable for their high level of biodiversity, population densities,and for endemism in birds, plants and invertebrates. The bird and plant life, especially the endemic albatrosses, cormorants, landbirds and “megaherbs” are unique to the islands.