Terrestrial Antarctic Ecosystems at the Changing World – an over− view. Polish Polar Research 30

• Main Author: Katarzyna J. Chwedorzewska
• Other Authors: The Pennsylvania State University CiteSeerX Archives
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Subjects: Antarctic; The Antarctic; Tive; Antarc*; Antarctica; Polish Polar Research
• Online Access: http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.503.6221; http://www.polish.polar.pan.pl/ppr30/PPR30-263.pdf

Abstract: Although the Antarctic has avoided the worst effects of alien species, its future seems endangered due to increasing natural and man−made pressures. Rapid changes in three major environmental variables have occurred in the Antarctic region during the last decades. In the short term terrestrial biota are likely to benefit from reduced environmental stresses, but in the long run the colonization of the region by lower latitude species with greater competi− tive ability will become increasingly important and can lead to large−scale changes in biologi− cal composition and trophic complexity in some existing Antarctic terrestrial ecosystems. Moreover, the recent dynamic climate changes combined with human activities in the Antarc− tic region might modify the status of several alien species which have hitherto been consid− ered transient or persistent and could, therefore, become naturalized and threaten the native communities on a larger scale than today, or influence the status of naturalized species. Key words: Antarctica, alien species, human impact. Specificity of Antarctic conditions and its implications Isolation and the glaciation of Antarctica are strongly associated with the evo− lution of Antarctic organisms (Clarke et al. 2005) and are the main reasons why its