Appendix Template for Submission of Scientific Information to Describe Ecologically or Biologically Significant Marine Areas

• Main Authors: Note Please, Do Not
• Other Authors: The Pennsylvania State University CiteSeerX Archives
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Subjects: Antarctic; Indian; The Antarctic; Antarc*; Prince Edward Islands
• Online Access: http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.259.6026; http://www.biodiv.org/doc/meetings/mar/ebsa-sio-01/other/ebsa-sio-01-southafrica-07-en.pdf

The proposed area covers a northern section of the South African EEZ around Prince Edward Islands and extends eastward to include the Del Cano Rise (towards the western margin of the EEZ around the French Crozet Archilpelago) and westward to include the southern flank of the NE-SW trending Southwest Indian Ridge. The Prince Edward Islands are considered to be pristine and have a high level of endemism. The region constitutes the foraging and breeding areas for many threatened bird species and is important in terms of terrestrial and oceanic connectivity and connectivity between bathymetric features. The area lies between the Subtropical Convergence to the north and the Antarctic Polar Front (APF) to the south and includes two major frontal areas and three water masses. There is considerable habitat heterogeneity with potentially sensitive habitats and vulnerable species including reef forming cold water corals. Habitats include seamounts, transform faults and fracture zones, deep trenches, hydrothermal vents, abyssal plain and several pelagic habitat types. This area includes the submarine terrain where the western end of the relatively low relief eastwest trending Del Cano Rise merges with the southern flank of the northeast-southwest trending