Marine richness and gradients at Deception Island, Antarctica

AbstractStudies of the recovery of the fauna following the 1967–70 eruptions at Deception Island, South Shetland Islands, have made it one of the best-studied marine sites of the Southern Ocean for biodiversity. Using SCUBA we surveyed the mega- and macro-epifauna of its subtidal zones in the entrance (Neptune's Bellows), immediately inside the caldera (Whaler's Bay) and well within the caldera (Fumarole Bay). Richness declined from 10 phyla, 13 classes and 35 species at Neptune's Bellows to three phyla, four classes and five species in Whaler's Bay and just two phyla, classes and species at Fumarole Bay. Amongst the 35 species we found at Neptune's Bellows, 14 were previously unrecorded from Deception Island. Despite many ship visits and amongst the warmest sea temperatures in the Southern Ocean, the Non Indigenous Species (NIS) algae were not found in our survey. Deception Island has been recolonized considerably since the recent eruptions, but many taxa are still very poorly represented and the colonizers present are mainly those with planktotrophic larvae. Examination of the literature revealed that to date 163 named marine species have been found within the caldera as well as at least 50 more morphospecies, which are yet to be identified. Species accumulation has consistently increased across eight recent samples reported and the number of species reported there is likely to reach 300 when taxa such as the nematodes are identified to species level. This represents a first meaningful total species estimate for an Antarctic marine area and, as the site is comparatively impoverished, indicates how rich the surrounding Antarctic shelf must be.

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Species richness and interacting factors control invasibility of a marine community

Proceedings of The Royal Society B Biological Sciences ◽

10.1098/rspb.2015.0439 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 282 (1812) ◽

pp. 20150439 ◽

Cited By ~ 12

Author(s):

M. L. Marraffini ◽

J. B. Geller

Keyword(s):

Species Richness ◽

Native Species ◽

Biotic Resistance ◽

Marine Species ◽

Indigenous Species ◽

Total Species Richness ◽

Species Recruitment ◽

Non Indigenous Species ◽

Total Species

Anthropogenic vectors have moved marine species around the world leading to increased invasions and expanded species' ranges. The biotic resistance hypothesis of Elton (in The ecology of invasions by animals and plants , 1958) predicts that more diverse communities should have greater resistance to invasions, but experiments have been equivocal. We hypothesized that species richness interacts with other factors to determine experimental outcomes. We manipulated species richness, species composition (native and introduced) and availability of bare space in invertebrate assemblages in a marina in Monterey, CA. Increased species richness significantly interacted with both initial cover of native species and of all organisms to collectively decrease recruitment. Although native species decreased recruitment, introduced species had a similar effect, and we concluded that biotic resistance is conferred by total species richness. We suggest that contradictory conclusions in previous studies about the role of diversity in regulating invasions reflect uncontrolled variables in those experiments that modified the effect of species richness. Our results suggest that patches of low diversity and abundance may facilitate invasions, and that such patches, once colonized by non-indigenous species, can resist both native and non-indigenous species recruitment.

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Exploring the plant environmental DNA diversity in soil from two sites on Deception Island (Antarctica, South Shetland Islands) using metabarcoding

Antarctic Science ◽

10.1017/s0954102021000274 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 1-10

Author(s):

Micheline Carvalho-Silva ◽

Luiz Henrique Rosa ◽

Otávio H.B. Pinto ◽

Thamar Holanda Da Silva ◽

Diego Knop Henriques ◽

...

Keyword(s):

High Throughput Sequencing ◽

Crater Lake ◽

Environmental Dna ◽

Food Sources ◽

South Shetland Islands ◽

Deception Island ◽

Shetland Islands ◽

Operational Taxonomic Units ◽

First Time ◽

Impacted Site

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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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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Fur seals, whales and tourists: a commercial history of Deception Island, Antarctica

Polar Record ◽

10.1017/s0032247409008651 ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 46 (3) ◽

pp. 210-221 ◽

Cited By ~ 15

Author(s):

J. Stephen Dibbern

Keyword(s):

South Shetland Islands ◽

Deception Island ◽

Commercial Activity ◽

Early 19Th Century ◽

Cruise Industry ◽

Shetland Islands ◽

Fur Seals ◽

History Of ◽

The Antarctic ◽

Antarctic Fur Seals

ABSTRACTDeception Island in the South Shetland Islands was the site of some of the earliest commercial activity to be carried out in the Antarctic with the early 19th century hunting of Antarctic fur seals. Nearly a century later it was the site of the most extensive anchorage for the reconstructed ships and ocean liners used as non-pelagic whale processing factories. Deception was also the site of what is the only successful land based commercial activity in Antarctic history. The Hektor whaling station operated in Whalers Bay from 1912 until 1931. Most of the remains of the station have now been obliterated by the volcanic activity that occurred in the late 1960s and 1970. By the later part of the twentieth century Deception Island had become a regular stop for the growing Antarctic tourist cruise industry. No other place in Antarctica has been so thoroughly identified with commercial activity.

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Chapter 7.1 Deception Island

Geological Society London Memoirs ◽

10.1144/m55-2018-56 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. M55-2018-56

Author(s):

A. Geyer ◽

D. Pedrazzi ◽

J. Almendros ◽

M. Berrocoso ◽

J. López-Martínez ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Ground Deformation ◽

South Shetland Islands ◽

Deception Island ◽

Research Activity ◽

Proper Understanding ◽

Volcanic Unrest ◽

Origin And Evolution ◽

Shetland Islands ◽

The Past ◽

Scientific Disciplines

AbstractDeception Island (South Shetland Islands) is one of the most active volcanoes in Antarctica, with more than 15 explosive eruptive events registered over the past two centuries. Recent eruptions (1967, 1969 and 1970) and volcanic unrest episodes in 1992, 1999 and 2014–15 demonstrate that the occurrence of future volcanic activity is a valid and pressing concern for scientists, logistic personnel and tourists that are visiting or are working on or near the island. Over the last few decades, intense research activity has been carried out on Deception Island to decipher the origin and evolution of this very complex volcano. To that end, a solid integration of related scientific disciplines, such as tectonics, petrology, geochemistry, geophysics, geomorphology, remote sensing, glaciology, is required. A proper understanding of the island's evolution in the past, and its present state, is essential for improving the efficiency in interpreting monitoring data recorded during volcanic unrest periods and, hence, for future eruption forecasting. In this chapter, we briefly present Deception Island's most relevant tectonic, geomorphological, volcanological and magmatic features, as well as the results obtained from decades of monitoring the island's seismic activity and ground deformation.

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Periphyton diversity in two different Antarctic lakes assessed using metabarcoding

Antarctic Science ◽

10.1017/s0954102021000316 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 1-9

Author(s):

Paulo E.A.S. Câmara ◽

Láuren M.D. De Souza ◽

Otávio Henrique Bezerra Pinto ◽

Peter Convey ◽

Eduardo T. Amorim ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Dna Sequences ◽

High Throughput Sequencing ◽

Shannon Index ◽

South Shetland Islands ◽

King George Island ◽

Deception Island ◽

Maritime Antarctic ◽

Shetland Islands ◽

Antarctic Lakes ◽

Significant Difference

Abstract Antarctic lakes have generally simple periphyton communities when compared with those of lower latitudes. To date, assessment of microbial diversity in Antarctica has relied heavily on traditional direct observation and cultivation methods. In this study, sterilized cotton baits were left submerged for two years in two lakes on King George Island and Deception Island, South Shetland Islands (Maritime Antarctic), followed by assessment of diversity by metabarcoding using high-throughput sequencing. DNA sequences of 44 taxa belonging to four kingdoms and seven phyla were found. Thirty-six taxa were detected in Hennequin Lake on King George Island and 20 taxa were detected in Soto Lake on Deception Island. However, no significant difference in species composition was detected between the two assemblages (Shannon index). Our data suggest that metabarcoding provides a suitable method for the assessment of periphyton biodiversity in oligotrophic Antarctic lakes.

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Responses of Southern Ocean Seafloor Habitats and Communities to Global and Local Drivers of Change

Frontiers in Marine Science ◽

10.3389/fmars.2021.622721 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 8 ◽

Author(s):

Madeleine J. Brasier ◽

David Barnes ◽

Narissa Bax ◽

Angelika Brandt ◽

Anne B. Christianson ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Southern Ocean ◽

Indigenous Species ◽

Drivers Of Change ◽

Regional Warming ◽

Commercial Fish ◽

Key Species ◽

Antarctic Shelf ◽

Non Indigenous Species ◽

The Antarctic ◽

Slow Growing

Knowledge of life on the Southern Ocean seafloor has substantially grown since the beginning of this century with increasing ship-based surveys and regular monitoring sites, new technologies and greatly enhanced data sharing. However, seafloor habitats and their communities exhibit high spatial variability and heterogeneity that challenges the way in which we assess the state of the Southern Ocean benthos on larger scales. The Antarctic shelf is rich in diversity compared with deeper water areas, important for storing carbon (“blue carbon”) and provides habitat for commercial fish species. In this paper, we focus on the seafloor habitats of the Antarctic shelf, which are vulnerable to drivers of change including increasing ocean temperatures, iceberg scour, sea ice melt, ocean acidification, fishing pressures, pollution and non-indigenous species. Some of the most vulnerable areas include the West Antarctic Peninsula, which is experiencing rapid regional warming and increased iceberg-scouring, subantarctic islands and tourist destinations where human activities and environmental conditions increase the potential for the establishment of non-indigenous species and active fishing areas around South Georgia, Heard and MacDonald Islands. Vulnerable species include those in areas of regional warming with low thermal tolerance, calcifying species susceptible to increasing ocean acidity as well as slow-growing habitat-forming species that can be damaged by fishing gears e.g., sponges, bryozoan, and coral species. Management regimes can protect seafloor habitats and key species from fishing activities; some areas will need more protection than others, accounting for specific traits that make species vulnerable, slow growing and long-lived species, restricted locations with optimum physiological conditions and available food, and restricted distributions of rare species. Ecosystem-based management practices and long-term, highly protected areas may be the most effective tools in the preservation of vulnerable seafloor habitats. Here, we focus on outlining seafloor responses to drivers of change observed to date and projections for the future. We discuss the need for action to preserve seafloor habitats under climate change, fishing pressures and other anthropogenic impacts.

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