Factors that influence trace element levels in blood and feathers of Pygoscelis penguins from South Shetland Islands, Antarctica

Abstract The few Antarctic studies to date to have applied metabarcoding in Antarctica have primarily focused on microorganisms. In this study, for the first time, we apply high-throughput sequencing of environmental DNA to investigate the diversity of Embryophyta (Viridiplantae) DNA present in soil samples from two contrasting locations on Deception Island. The first was a relatively undisturbed site within an Antarctic Specially Protected Area at Crater Lake, and the second was a heavily human-impacted site in Whalers Bay. In samples obtained at Crater Lake, 84% of DNA reads represented fungi, 14% represented Chlorophyta and 2% represented Streptophyta, while at Whalers Bay, 79% of reads represented fungi, 20% represented Chlorophyta and < 1% represented Streptophyta, with ~1% of reads being unassigned. Among the Embryophyta we found 16 plant operational taxonomic units from three Divisions, including one Marchantiophyta, eight Bryophyta and seven Magnoliophyta. Sequences of six taxa were detected at both sampling sites, eight only at Whalers Bay and two only at Crater Lake. All of the Magnoliophyta sequences (flowering plants) represent species that are exotic to Antarctica, with most being plausibly linked to human food sources originating from local national research operator and tourism facilities.

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Lithostratigraphy of volcanic and sedimentary sequences in central Livingston Island, South Shetland Islands

Antarctic Science ◽

10.1017/s0954102095000137 ◽

1995 ◽

Vol 7 (1) ◽

pp. 99-113 ◽

Cited By ~ 22

Author(s):

J.L. Smellie ◽

M. Liesa ◽

J.A. Muñoz ◽

F. Sàbat ◽

R. Pallàs ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Debris Flows ◽

Lower Jurassic ◽

South Shetland Islands ◽

Polyphase Deformation ◽

Magmatic Arc ◽

Shetland Islands ◽

Sedimentary Sequences ◽

Early Mesozoic ◽

Livingston Island ◽

Volcaniclastic Rocks

Livingston Island contains several, distinctive sedimentary and volcanic sequences, which document the history and evolution of an important part of the South Shetland Islands magmatic arc. The turbiditic, late Palaeozoic–early Mesozoic Miers Bluff Formation (MBF) is divided into the Johnsons Dock and Napier Peak members, which may represent sedimentation in upper and lower mid-fan settings, respectively, prior to pre-late Jurassic polyphase deformation (dominated by open folding). The Moores Peak breccias are formed largely of coarse clasts reworked from the MBF. The breccias may be part of the MBF, a separate unit, or part of the Mount Bowles Formation. The structural position is similar to the terrigenous Lower Jurassic Botany Bay Group in the northern Antarctic Peninsula, but the precise stratigraphical relationships and age are unknown. The (?) Cretaceous Mount Bowles Formation is largely volcanic. Detritus in the volcaniclastic rocks was formed mainly during phreatomagmatic eruptions and redeposited by debris flows (lahars), whereas rare sandstone interbeds are arkosic and reflect a local provenance rooted in the MBF. The Pleistocene–Recent Inott Point Formation is dominated by multiple, basaltic tuff cone relicts in which distinctive vent and flank sequences are recognized. The geographical distribution of the Edinburgh Hill Formation is closely associated with faults, which may have been reactivated as dip-slip structures during Late Cenozoic extension (arc splitting).

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The summer diet of demersal fish at the South Shetland Islands

Antarctic Science ◽

10.1017/s0954102097000527 ◽

1997 ◽

Vol 9 (4) ◽

pp. 407-413 ◽

Cited By ~ 26

Author(s):

Masanori Takahashi ◽

Tetsuo Iwami

Keyword(s):

Marine Ecosystem ◽

Stomach Contents ◽

Demersal Fish ◽

South Shetland Islands ◽

Fish Prey ◽

Shetland Islands ◽

Antarctic Marine ◽

Dietary Component ◽

Gobionotothen Gibberifrons ◽

The Antarctic

The stomach contents of demersal fish in late January 1982 were analysed. Samples were taken at 100, 300 and 500 m depth south of Elephant Island, Bransfield Strait and north of Livingston Island, and at 800 m to the east of Smith Island. Fifty four taxa of fish belonging to 11 families were collected. The diets of 2101 fish representing 38 taxa were examined. These were classified into three categories, fish feeders, krill feeders and benthos feeders. Fish prey species fed on krill and/or benthos. Krill was a major dietary component for 32 (84.2%) out of 38 taxa. Gobionotothen gibberifrons was distributed at all 10 stations (100–800 m in depth) and its diet comprised krill and benthos. The present findings verify the importance of krill in the Antarctic marine ecosystem and indicate that krill is consumed by benthic fish at greater depths than previously reported.

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