The identification and comparison of the bio-elements of the penguin ornithogenic sediments sample from Davis Station and Great Wall Station

• Main Authors: Tao, Huang, Liguang, Sun, Yuhong, Wang, Renbin, Zhu
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Polar Research Institute of China - PRIC 2008
• Subjects: Fauna; Antarctic; Antarctic Peninsula; East Antarctica; Austral; Vestfold Hills; Vestfold; Gardner; Davis Station; Davis-Station; Ardley; Ardley Island; Great Wall Station; Gardner Island; Advances in Polar Science; Antarc*; Antarctica; Polar Science
• Online Access: http://library.arcticportal.org/2346/; http://library.arcticportal.org/2346/1/A200801005.pdf

During CHINARE-22 in austral summer of 2005-2006, a lake sediment core named DG4, which is impacted by penguin droppings, was retrieved from a lake catchment in Gardner Island of Vestfold Hills, East Antarctica. In this study, the concentrations of characteristic elements in the core, local bedrocks and fresh penguin guanos were determined. P, Se, F, S, As, Sr and Cu in DG4 were identified as the bio-element assemblage by R-clustering analysis and compared with those in the local bedrocks and fresh guanos, the results are similar to Y2 in Ardley Island, Antarctic Peninsula. On this basis, P and Se were identified as the optimum bio-elements in DG4 and F, P and S were identified in Y2, respectively. This work will provide the foundation for reconstructing the past penguin populations in Gardner Island of Vestfold Hills, East Antarctica and comparing the penguin population dynamics between East Antarctica and Antarctic Peninsula.