Environmental change and Human Impacts on terrestrial ecosystems of the sub-Antarctic islands between their discovery and the mid-twentieth century.

• Main Authors: Convey, Peter, Lebouvier, Marc
• Other Authors: British Antarctic Survey (BAS), Natural Environment Research Council (NERC), Ecosystèmes, biodiversité, évolution Rennes (ECOBIO), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Observatoire des Sciences de l'Univers de Rennes (OSUR)-Institut Ecologie et Environnement (INEE), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université de Rennes 1 (UR1), Université de Rennes (UNIV-RENNES)-Université de Rennes (UNIV-RENNES), BAS Ecosystems SCAR 'Evolution and Biodiversity in Antarctica' IPEV Programme 136 ZA CNRS
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: HAL CCSD 2009
• Subjects: predator; non-indigenous species; nutrient transfer; habitat loss; ecosystem engineering; whaling; sealing; herbivore; geo; envir; Antarctic; Antarc*
• Online Access: https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00462186

International audience impacts on land were associated with the marine exploitation industries of sealing and whaling. Their onshore activities involved considerable construction and pollution in many accessible landing bays, inevitably destroying large areas of coastal terrestrial habitat. Considerable transfer of nutrients to terrestrial environments will have been associated with scavengers utilising large carrion supplies. Attempted establishment of agricultural industries, particularly the introduction of grazing mammals, took place on several islands and, although rarely proving economically viable, often resulted in the long-term creation of feral populations. These were accompanied by introductions of other alien vertebrates, plants and invertebrates to most sub-Antarctic islands, although precise records of introduction events, or subsequent biological studies in this period, largely do not exist. Thus, exploitation industries in this region inevitably led to considerable alterations and impacts to terrestrial ecosystems almost from the outset of human contact with the islands. In the absence of baseline ecological and biodiversity studies, the true magnitude of many of these impacts is difficult to assess, although their legacy continues to the present day. Indeed, the almost complete removal of fur seals may have allowed coastal vegetation to become more extensive and lush than hitherto, paradoxically now regarded as “typical” and threatened by recovery of seal populations.