Driftwood on Heard Island

Abstract Samples from 73 pieces of non-structural driftwood on Heard Island (53°06′S, 73°30′E) were identified to genus or species. Thirty-one belonged to South American species of Nothofagus . The remainder, consisting mostly of conifers especially Picea and Larix , probably came from ships' c...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Polar Record
Main Authors: Smith, J. M. B., Rudall, P., Keage, P. L.
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: Cambridge University Press (CUP) 1989
Subjects:
General Earth and Planetary Sciences
Ecology
Geography, Planning and Development
Heard Island
Polar Record
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0032247400010834
https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0032247400010834
Description
Summary:Abstract Samples from 73 pieces of non-structural driftwood on Heard Island (53°06′S, 73°30′E) were identified to genus or species. Thirty-one belonged to South American species of Nothofagus . The remainder, consisting mostly of conifers especially Picea and Larix , probably came from ships' cargoes. The assemblage is similar to those reported, from smaller samples, on other southern islands. Other items of flotsam, including fishing buoys and drift-cards, are also reported from Heard Island. The significance of driftwood transport from South America to the island in accounting for long-distance dispersal of terrestrial and intertidal organisms is discussed.

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