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Gough Island (also called Diego Alvarez) is a volcanic island rising from the South Atlantic Ocean to heights of over 900 metres (2950 ft) above sea level and has an area of approximately 65 km² (25 mi²). It includes small satellite islands and rocks such as Southwest Island, Saddle Island (South), Tristiana Rock, Isolda Rock (West), Round Island, Cone Island, Lot's Wife, Church Rock (North), Penguin Island (Northeast), and The Admirals (East). It is a remote and lonely place, about 350 km (220 mi) southeast of the other islands in the Tristan da Cunha group, 2700 km (1700 mi) from Cape Town, and over 3200 km (2000 mi) from the nearest point of South America. It is a possession of the United Kingdom, but the only inhabitants are the crew of a weather station which South Africa has maintained continually on the island since 1956.

The island is named for Charles Gough, who reputedly (re-)disovered it in 1731.

Gough and Inaccessible Island are a protected wildlife reserve, which has been designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. It has been described as one of the least disrupted ecosystems of its kind and one of the best shelters for nesting seabirds in the Atlantic. In particular, it is host to almost the entire world population of the Tristan Albatross (Diomedea dabbenena) and the Atlantic Petrel (Pterodroma incerta') ^[1]. RSPB conservationists have recently reported aggressive groups of unusually large and violent human-introduced mice which have been posing a problem for the Albatross breeding grounds, attacking large numbers of young birds; the mice are supposed to be eradicated in the coming years. A government advisor, Dr Vincent Fleming from Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC) told the BBC News website:

The numbers of non-native species range from up to almost 1,200 on Bermuda to zero on the South Sandwich Islands. As we saw from the recent Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, invasive species are responsible for the greatest loss of biodiversity on islands; and are second only to habitat loss globally as a major cause of extinctions.

The RSPB has since been awarded £62,000 by the UK government's Overseas Territories Environment Programme to fund additional research on the Gough Island mice and a feasibility study of how best to deal with them. The grant will also pay for the assessment of a rat problem on Tristan Island.

Gough Island is located at 40°20′S 10°0′W. Topographic features include the High Peak, Mount Argus, Hags Tooth, Mount Rowett, the Sea Elephant Bay, Quest Bay, and the Hawkins Bay.

References

• ^  Cuthbert, J. & Sommer, E. Population size and trends of four globally threatened seabirds at Gough Island, South Atlantic Ocean. Marine Ornithology 32: 97–103.

External links

• map of Gough Island, with PDF downloadable
• The South Atlantic and Subantarctic Islands: Gough Island
• South African weather station on Gough Island
• Gough Island Wildlife Reserve
• Metre-high seabird chicks being eaten alive by mice

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