Geomorphic and ambient environmental impacts on lichen distribution on two inland Nunataks in western Dronning Maud Land, Antarctica
Feedbacks between abiotic variables and community structure in Antarctica are poorly understood. Research is, therefore, required to elucidate the patterns of biodiversity that exist and the factors that influence them, particularly under changing climates. Landscape processes affect environmental h...
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ftrhodesunivcory:vital:4889 2023-05-15T13:54:47+02:00 Geomorphic and ambient environmental impacts on lichen distribution on two inland Nunataks in western Dronning Maud Land, Antarctica Dwight, Rosemary Anne 2015 114 leaves pdf http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1018189 https://corycommons.ru.ac.za/vital/access/manager/Repository/vital:4889 English eng Rhodes University Faculty of Science, Geography vital:4889 https://corycommons.ru.ac.za/vital/access/manager/Repository/vital:4889 http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1018189 Dwight, Rosemary Anne Lichens -- Antarctica -- Queen Maud Land Lichen communities -- Antarctica -- Queen Maud Land Lichens -- Climatic factors -- Antarctica -- Queen Maud Land Lichens -- Effect of environment on -- Antarctica -- Queen Maud Land Biotic communities -- Antarctica -- Queen Maud Land Biotic communities -- Climatic factors -- Antarctica -- Queen Maud Land Biodiversity -- Climatic factors -- Antarctica -- Queen Maud Land Thesis Masters MSc 2015 ftrhodesunivcory 2022-12-26T12:55:07Z Feedbacks between abiotic variables and community structure in Antarctica are poorly understood. Research is, therefore, required to elucidate the patterns of biodiversity that exist and the factors that influence them, particularly under changing climates. Landscape processes affect environmental heterogeneity, which in turn affect patterns of biodiversity. Two inland Antarctic nunataks, Robertskollen and the Northern Buttress of Vesleskarvet, were selected for investigation to determine the potential impact of selected environmental factors on lichen distribution and abundance, at the intra- and inter-nunatak scales. Lichens were found to prefer rock faces with dips between 1° and 45°, and northern/southern aspects. Lichen colonisation was mostly in microtopographical features that result from rock weathering. The distribution of lichens was found to be regular at the intra- and inter-nunatak scale, whereas lichen abundance was found to be mostly influenced by temperature. On the Northern Buttress, rock hardness displays a similar pattern to lichen abundance, both of which are suggested to be a function of exposure time, which is dependent on deglaciation. The two nunataks serve as excellent laboratories that can potentially be used as proxies for investigating the possible impacts of climate change Master Thesis Antarc* Antarctic Antarctica Dronning Maud Land Queen Maud Land Rhodes University Cory: Repository Antarctic Buttress ENVELOPE(-57.083,-57.083,-63.550,-63.550) Dronning Maud Land Queen Maud Land ENVELOPE(12.000,12.000,-72.500,-72.500) Robertskollen ENVELOPE(-3.217,-3.217,-71.450,-71.450) Vesleskarvet ENVELOPE(-2.833,-2.833,-71.667,-71.667) |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Rhodes University Cory: Repository |
op_collection_id |
ftrhodesunivcory |
language |
English |
topic |
Lichens -- Antarctica -- Queen Maud Land Lichen communities -- Antarctica -- Queen Maud Land Lichens -- Climatic factors -- Antarctica -- Queen Maud Land Lichens -- Effect of environment on -- Antarctica -- Queen Maud Land Biotic communities -- Antarctica -- Queen Maud Land Biotic communities -- Climatic factors -- Antarctica -- Queen Maud Land Biodiversity -- Climatic factors -- Antarctica -- Queen Maud Land |
spellingShingle |
Lichens -- Antarctica -- Queen Maud Land Lichen communities -- Antarctica -- Queen Maud Land Lichens -- Climatic factors -- Antarctica -- Queen Maud Land Lichens -- Effect of environment on -- Antarctica -- Queen Maud Land Biotic communities -- Antarctica -- Queen Maud Land Biotic communities -- Climatic factors -- Antarctica -- Queen Maud Land Biodiversity -- Climatic factors -- Antarctica -- Queen Maud Land Dwight, Rosemary Anne Geomorphic and ambient environmental impacts on lichen distribution on two inland Nunataks in western Dronning Maud Land, Antarctica |
topic_facet |
Lichens -- Antarctica -- Queen Maud Land Lichen communities -- Antarctica -- Queen Maud Land Lichens -- Climatic factors -- Antarctica -- Queen Maud Land Lichens -- Effect of environment on -- Antarctica -- Queen Maud Land Biotic communities -- Antarctica -- Queen Maud Land Biotic communities -- Climatic factors -- Antarctica -- Queen Maud Land Biodiversity -- Climatic factors -- Antarctica -- Queen Maud Land |
description |
Feedbacks between abiotic variables and community structure in Antarctica are poorly understood. Research is, therefore, required to elucidate the patterns of biodiversity that exist and the factors that influence them, particularly under changing climates. Landscape processes affect environmental heterogeneity, which in turn affect patterns of biodiversity. Two inland Antarctic nunataks, Robertskollen and the Northern Buttress of Vesleskarvet, were selected for investigation to determine the potential impact of selected environmental factors on lichen distribution and abundance, at the intra- and inter-nunatak scales. Lichens were found to prefer rock faces with dips between 1° and 45°, and northern/southern aspects. Lichen colonisation was mostly in microtopographical features that result from rock weathering. The distribution of lichens was found to be regular at the intra- and inter-nunatak scale, whereas lichen abundance was found to be mostly influenced by temperature. On the Northern Buttress, rock hardness displays a similar pattern to lichen abundance, both of which are suggested to be a function of exposure time, which is dependent on deglaciation. The two nunataks serve as excellent laboratories that can potentially be used as proxies for investigating the possible impacts of climate change |
format |
Master Thesis |
author |
Dwight, Rosemary Anne |
author_facet |
Dwight, Rosemary Anne |
author_sort |
Dwight, Rosemary Anne |
title |
Geomorphic and ambient environmental impacts on lichen distribution on two inland Nunataks in western Dronning Maud Land, Antarctica |
title_short |
Geomorphic and ambient environmental impacts on lichen distribution on two inland Nunataks in western Dronning Maud Land, Antarctica |
title_full |
Geomorphic and ambient environmental impacts on lichen distribution on two inland Nunataks in western Dronning Maud Land, Antarctica |
title_fullStr |
Geomorphic and ambient environmental impacts on lichen distribution on two inland Nunataks in western Dronning Maud Land, Antarctica |
title_full_unstemmed |
Geomorphic and ambient environmental impacts on lichen distribution on two inland Nunataks in western Dronning Maud Land, Antarctica |
title_sort |
geomorphic and ambient environmental impacts on lichen distribution on two inland nunataks in western dronning maud land, antarctica |
publisher |
Rhodes University |
publishDate |
2015 |
url |
http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1018189 https://corycommons.ru.ac.za/vital/access/manager/Repository/vital:4889 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-57.083,-57.083,-63.550,-63.550) ENVELOPE(12.000,12.000,-72.500,-72.500) ENVELOPE(-3.217,-3.217,-71.450,-71.450) ENVELOPE(-2.833,-2.833,-71.667,-71.667) |
geographic |
Antarctic Buttress Dronning Maud Land Queen Maud Land Robertskollen Vesleskarvet |
geographic_facet |
Antarctic Buttress Dronning Maud Land Queen Maud Land Robertskollen Vesleskarvet |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctic Antarctica Dronning Maud Land Queen Maud Land |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctic Antarctica Dronning Maud Land Queen Maud Land |
op_relation |
vital:4889 https://corycommons.ru.ac.za/vital/access/manager/Repository/vital:4889 http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1018189 |
op_rights |
Dwight, Rosemary Anne |
_version_ |
1766260896854704128 |