Patterns of moss richness in Admiralty Bay, King George Island, cannot be explained by geological or ornithogenic drivers alone

• Published in: Antarctic Science
• Main Authors: Costa Silva, Bárbara Guedes, Convey, Peter, Carvalho-Silva, Micheline, Toledo Amorim, Eduardo, Patiño, Jairo, Aguiar Saraiva Câmara, Paulo Eduardo
• Other Authors: Conselho Nacional de Pesquisa
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Cambridge University Press 2022
• Subjects: Bryophytes; environmental filters; geological extracts; non-ornithogenic soils; ornithogenic soils; Admiralty Bay; Antarctic; Arctowski; Commandante Ferraz Station; Ferraz; King George Island; The Antarctic; Antarc*; Antarctic Science; Brazilian Antarctic Program
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10261/296203; https://doi.org/10.1017/S0954102021000614

We set out to document the diversity and distribution of bryophytes in Admiralty Bay and thereby enable the identification of patterns in local diversity and their possible drivers. Combining data extracted from different sources and recent collections, we documented the presence of 63 species. Similarity analyses of moss species diversity in relation to underlying geology and ornithogenic influence identified an identical cophenetic correlation coefficient of 0.744 for both factors. The Sørensen index was < 0.6, indicating that the groups share < 60% of the species recorded. The data showed that the selected filters (ornithogenic soils, non-ornithogenic soils and different geological extracts) did not underlie consistent species groupings, and we conclude that other environmental and topographical factors are likely to be responsible for shaping the moss community structure in Admiralty Bay. To enable effective management of Antarctic Specially Managed Area (ASMA) No. 1 and Antarctic Specially Protected Area (ASPA) No. 128, robust assessments of the local ecosystem and biodiversity are necessary to assist in the decision-making processes mandated under the Antarctic Treaty System, one of whose founding principles is the preservation of the Antarctic ecosystem. We thank the botany postgraduate programme at the University of Brasilia and the Brazilian Antarctic Program (PROANTAR) for the opportunity to conduct research in the Antarctic, the Brazilian Navy for logistical support and the personnel of the Polish 'Arctowski' Antarctic station and Brazilian 'Commandante Ferraz' station for supporting the research team. We thank Dr Luis R. Pertierra and an anonymous reviewer for their constructive suggestions. This project was funded by CNPq (Conselho Nacional de Pesquisa – Brazil; MEC/MCTI/CAPES/CNPq/FAPs). Peer reviewed