Ecological contrasts across an Antarctic land-sea interface
We report the composition of terrestrial, intertidal and shallow sublittoral faunal communities at sites around Rothera Research Station, Adelaide Island, Antarctic Peninsula. We examined primary hypotheses that the marine environment will have considerably higher species richness, biomass and abund...
Published in: | Austral Ecology |
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2006
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Online Access: | http://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/148/ https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1442-9993.2006.01618.x |
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ftnerc:oai:nora.nerc.ac.uk:148 2024-06-09T07:37:51+00:00 Ecological contrasts across an Antarctic land-sea interface Waller, Catherine L. Barnes, David K.A. Convey, Peter 2006 http://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/148/ https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1442-9993.2006.01618.x unknown Blackwell Waller, Catherine L.; Barnes, David K.A.; Convey, Peter. 2006 Ecological contrasts across an Antarctic land-sea interface. Austral Ecology, 31 (5). 656-666. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1442-9993.2006.01618.x <https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1442-9993.2006.01618.x> Ecology and Environment Publication - Article PeerReviewed 2006 ftnerc https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1442-9993.2006.01618.x 2024-05-15T08:39:04Z We report the composition of terrestrial, intertidal and shallow sublittoral faunal communities at sites around Rothera Research Station, Adelaide Island, Antarctic Peninsula. We examined primary hypotheses that the marine environment will have considerably higher species richness, biomass and abundance than the terrestrial, and that both will be greater than that found in the intertidal. We also compared ages and sizes of individuals of selected marine taxa between intertidal and subtidal zones to test the hypothesis that animals in a more stressed environment (intertidal) would be smaller and shorter lived. Species richness of intertidal and subtidal communities was found to be similar, with considerable overlap in composition. However, terrestrial communities showed no overlap with the intertidal, differing from previous reports, particularly from further north on the Antarctic Peninsula and Scotia Arc. Faunal biomass was variable but highest in the sublittoral. While terrestrial communities were depauperate with low biomass they displayed the highest overall abundance, with a mean of over 3 × 105 individuals per square metre. No significant differences in ages of intertidal and subtidal individuals of the same species were found, with bryozoan colonies of up to 4 years of age being present in the intertidal. In contrast with expectation and the limited existing literature we conclude that, while the Antarctic intertidal zone is clearly a suboptimal and highly stressful habitat, its faunal community can be well established and relatively diverse, and is not limited to short-term opportunists or waifs and strays. Article in Journal/Newspaper Adelaide Island Antarc* Antarctic Antarctic Peninsula Natural Environment Research Council: NERC Open Research Archive Adelaide Island ENVELOPE(-68.914,-68.914,-67.762,-67.762) Antarctic Antarctic Peninsula Rothera ENVELOPE(-68.130,-68.130,-67.568,-67.568) Rothera Research Station ENVELOPE(-68.129,-68.129,-67.566,-67.566) The Antarctic Waifs ENVELOPE(-62.717,-62.717,-64.550,-64.550) Austral Ecology 31 5 656 666 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Natural Environment Research Council: NERC Open Research Archive |
op_collection_id |
ftnerc |
language |
unknown |
topic |
Ecology and Environment |
spellingShingle |
Ecology and Environment Waller, Catherine L. Barnes, David K.A. Convey, Peter Ecological contrasts across an Antarctic land-sea interface |
topic_facet |
Ecology and Environment |
description |
We report the composition of terrestrial, intertidal and shallow sublittoral faunal communities at sites around Rothera Research Station, Adelaide Island, Antarctic Peninsula. We examined primary hypotheses that the marine environment will have considerably higher species richness, biomass and abundance than the terrestrial, and that both will be greater than that found in the intertidal. We also compared ages and sizes of individuals of selected marine taxa between intertidal and subtidal zones to test the hypothesis that animals in a more stressed environment (intertidal) would be smaller and shorter lived. Species richness of intertidal and subtidal communities was found to be similar, with considerable overlap in composition. However, terrestrial communities showed no overlap with the intertidal, differing from previous reports, particularly from further north on the Antarctic Peninsula and Scotia Arc. Faunal biomass was variable but highest in the sublittoral. While terrestrial communities were depauperate with low biomass they displayed the highest overall abundance, with a mean of over 3 × 105 individuals per square metre. No significant differences in ages of intertidal and subtidal individuals of the same species were found, with bryozoan colonies of up to 4 years of age being present in the intertidal. In contrast with expectation and the limited existing literature we conclude that, while the Antarctic intertidal zone is clearly a suboptimal and highly stressful habitat, its faunal community can be well established and relatively diverse, and is not limited to short-term opportunists or waifs and strays. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Waller, Catherine L. Barnes, David K.A. Convey, Peter |
author_facet |
Waller, Catherine L. Barnes, David K.A. Convey, Peter |
author_sort |
Waller, Catherine L. |
title |
Ecological contrasts across an Antarctic land-sea interface |
title_short |
Ecological contrasts across an Antarctic land-sea interface |
title_full |
Ecological contrasts across an Antarctic land-sea interface |
title_fullStr |
Ecological contrasts across an Antarctic land-sea interface |
title_full_unstemmed |
Ecological contrasts across an Antarctic land-sea interface |
title_sort |
ecological contrasts across an antarctic land-sea interface |
publisher |
Blackwell |
publishDate |
2006 |
url |
http://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/148/ https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1442-9993.2006.01618.x |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-68.914,-68.914,-67.762,-67.762) ENVELOPE(-68.130,-68.130,-67.568,-67.568) ENVELOPE(-68.129,-68.129,-67.566,-67.566) ENVELOPE(-62.717,-62.717,-64.550,-64.550) |
geographic |
Adelaide Island Antarctic Antarctic Peninsula Rothera Rothera Research Station The Antarctic Waifs |
geographic_facet |
Adelaide Island Antarctic Antarctic Peninsula Rothera Rothera Research Station The Antarctic Waifs |
genre |
Adelaide Island Antarc* Antarctic Antarctic Peninsula |
genre_facet |
Adelaide Island Antarc* Antarctic Antarctic Peninsula |
op_relation |
Waller, Catherine L.; Barnes, David K.A.; Convey, Peter. 2006 Ecological contrasts across an Antarctic land-sea interface. Austral Ecology, 31 (5). 656-666. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1442-9993.2006.01618.x <https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1442-9993.2006.01618.x> |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1442-9993.2006.01618.x |
container_title |
Austral Ecology |
container_volume |
31 |
container_issue |
5 |
container_start_page |
656 |
op_container_end_page |
666 |
_version_ |
1801376267329601536 |