Colonisation of stranded whale bones by lichens and mosses at Hennequin Point, King George Island, Antarctica

Polar Record ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 54 (1) ◽  
pp. 29-35 ◽  
Author(s):  
Margéli Pereira de Albuquerque ◽  
Jair Putzke ◽  
Adriano Luis Schünemann ◽  
Frederico Costa Beber Vieira ◽  
Filipe de Carvalho Victoria ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTThis paper presents the details of lichens and mosses found on whale vertebrae substratum in the Admiralty Bay area, King George Island, Antarctica. Samples were taken in the coastal area at Hennequin Point, a relict of the Antarctic whaling era. The samples were collected from the upper surface of the whale bones found in the study area during the austral summer 2010–2011. A total of 15 lichen and two moss species were found. All species sampled are known in the Admiralty Bay area, both as pioneers and in more advanced succession stages in ice-free areas. These results suggest that the colonisation of whale bones is not new for Antarctic plants, but it is an additional substrate on which these plants can develop. A map showing the distribution of colonised bones and details of the usual substrata for the lichens and mosses found in this study are provided.

2010 ◽  
pp. 50-51
Author(s):  
César de Castro Martins ◽  
Liziane Marcella Michelloti Ceschim ◽  
Edna Wisnieski ◽  
Sabrina Nart Aguiar

2022 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tailisi H. Trevizani ◽  
Rosalinda C. Montone ◽  
Rubens C. L. Figueira

The polar regions are vulnerable to impacts caused by local and global pollution. The Antarctic continent has been considered an environment that has remained little affected by human activities. Direct exposure to contaminants may occur in areas continuously occupied by research stations for several decades. Admiralty Bay on the southeast coast of King George Island, has potential for being affected by human activities due research stations operating in the area, including the Brazilian Commandant Ferraz Antarctic Station (CFAS). The levels of metals and arsenic were determined in soils collected near CFAS (points 5, 6, 7, and 9), Base G and at two points distant from the CFAS: Refuge II and Hennequin. Samples were collected after the fire in CFAS occurred in February 2012, up to December 2018 to assess the environmental impacts in the area. Al and As were related with Base G. Refuge II and Hennequin can be considered as control points for this region. As a consequence of the accident, the increased levels for Cd, Cu, Pb, and Zn, especially at point 9 (inside the CFAS) and in the soil surrounding the CFAS in 2013. The results from 2016 to 2018 demonstrated a reduction in levels of all studied metals near CFAS, which may be related to the leaching of metals into Admiralty Bay; it is thus, being important the continue monitoring soil, sediments, and Antarctic biota.


2009 ◽  
Vol 44 (8) ◽  
pp. 891-895 ◽  
Author(s):  
Grzegorz Gryziak

This work aimed to investigate the ratio of colonization by terrestrial mites on ice-free areas created by the ongoing climate-induced melting of Antarctic glaciers. Glacier retreat opens new ice-free areas for the colonization by vegetation and animals. The study was undertaken on the Antarctic Specially Protected Area no. 128 (West Coast of the Admiralty Bay, King George Island, South Shetlands Islands). Transects marked between the Ecology, Baranowski and Windy Glaciers, and a sea shore were used to collect soil samples. Oribatid mites were found only on near-shore areas, on patches of vegetation of more than 30 years of age. The colonization by mite communities is strongly determined by the presence of plants.


2017 ◽  
Vol 38 (3) ◽  
pp. 409-419
Author(s):  
Karol Zemko ◽  
Krzysztof Pabis ◽  
Jacek Siciński ◽  
Magdalena Błażewicz

AbstractAdmiralty Bay (King George Island) is an Antarctic Specially Managed Area and one the most thoroughly studied small-scale marine basins in the Southern Ocean. Our study provides new data on the isopod fauna in this glacially affected fjord. Twelve species of isopods were recorded in this basin for the first time. Six of them were found for the first time in the region of the South Shetland Islands. The highest number of species new for Admiralty Bay were found in the families Munnopsidae (4 species) and Munnidae (3 species).


2018 ◽  
Vol 87 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mariusz Wierzgoń ◽  
Tomasz Suchan ◽  
Michał Ronikier

<em>Tortella fragilis</em> (Drumm.) Limpr. (Pottiaceae) and <em>Bryum nivale</em> Müll. Hal. (Bryaceae) are recorded for the first time from the South Shetland Islands in the northern maritime Antarctic. They were discovered in the Admiralty Bay area on King George Island, the largest island of this archipelago. The two species are briefly characterized morphologically, their habitats are described, and their distribution in the Antarctic is mapped. Discovery of these species has increased the documented moss flora of King George Island to 67 species, strengthening it in the leading position among individual areas with the richest diversity of moss flora in Antarctica. Likewise, <em>T. fragilis</em> and <em>B. nivale</em> represent remarkable additions to the moss flora of the South Shetland Islands, which currently consists of 92 species and one variety, making this archipelago by far the richest bryofloristically amongst large geographic regions of the Antarctic. Comparison of recent (2018) and old (1985) photographs revealed a significant retreat of glacial cover and suggests that the collection site was likely opened for colonization only within the last several decades. The record of <em>T. fragilis</em> is biogeographically relevant, and constitutes an intermediate site between the species’ occurrences in the Antarctic Peninsula and southern South America. The present record of <em>B. nivale</em> is the fourth discovery of the species worldwide, which may be helpful for the future designation of the distribution of this extremely rare species.


2006 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
pp. 163-170 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mônica A. Varella Petti ◽  
Edmundo Ferraz Nonato ◽  
Rodrigo S.P. Skowronski ◽  
Thaïs Navajas Corbisier

Polychaetes, the dominant macrofaunal taxa of the Antarctic soft sediments, provided more than 40% of the animals found in Martel Inlet. However, little information is available on the composition of meiofaunal communities in polar areas. This study identified the meiofaunal polychaete species and described their bathymetric distribution in the nearshore zone. Sediment cores were taken by divers from 6–25 m depth in the summer of 1991 and 1994 in front of the Brazilian Antarctic Station (Martel Inlet, Admiralty Bay). Additional sampling was done at the 18 m depth in 1994 in order to study the influence of ice scouring. A total of 1895 specimens in 17 families were found. Three species (Apistobranchus glacierae, Leitoscoloplos kerguelensis and Ophryotrocha notialis), all of them belonging to the temporary meiofauna, provided more than 70% of the total polychaete fraction. This meiofaunal component showed similar distributional patterns to those of the macrofaunal polychaetes in this area.


2000 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 153-160
Author(s):  
Ryszard Ochyra ◽  
Halina Bednarek-Ochyra ◽  
Theo Arts ◽  
Ronald I. Lewis Smith

Dicranella hilariana (Mont.) Mitt., a pan-neotropical moss species, is reported for the first time from the Antarctic botanical zone. It was found on geothermally heated ground near fumaroles on Visokoi, Candlemas and Bellingshausen Islands in the volcanic archipelago of the South Sandwich Islands. Dicranella recurvata Ochyra, Arts & Lewis-Smith, nom. nud., is reduced to synonymy with D. hilariana. The Antarctic plants of D. hilariana are briefly described and illustrated, including the rhizoidal tubers which have not previously been reported in this species. The global distribution of D. hilariana is briefly reviewed and mapped. It is suggested that the species reached the Antarctic via long-distance dispersal from South America by the prevailing strong westerly winds.


2001 ◽  
Vol 28 (2) ◽  
pp. 337
Author(s):  
JORGE ARIGONY NETO ◽  
JEFERSON CARDIA SIMÕES ◽  
ULISSES FRANZ BREMER ◽  
FRANCISCO ELISEU AQUINO

Ice masses in the South Shetland Islands, Antarctica, are relatively thin and near or at the melting pressure point. They are, therefore, very sensitive to climatic variations. This work discusses glaciers retreat observed since 1950s in the Antarctic Specially Managed Area (ASMA) of Admiralty Bay in King George Island. From 1956 to 1979 this area lost 4.3 km2 (2%) of its ice cover. Further 4.9 km2 disappeared (10% of the original ice cover, i.e. in 1956). The ice retreat magnitude in this period cannot be attributed to in-built variations of the glacier system. Further, it is associated to similar glaciers retractions and ice shelves collapses in the northern most part of the Antarctic Peninsula. Probably this general ice retreat results from or is enhanced by the atmospheric warming recorded for the region since 1940s.


2016 ◽  
pp. 64-68
Author(s):  
José Juan Barrera-Alba ◽  
Vinícius Henrique Reis ◽  
Márcio Murilo Barboza Tenório ◽  
Denise Rivera Tenenbaum

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document