Abundance and diversity of soil invertebrates in the Windmill Islands region, East Antarctica
The harsh climate and patchy distribution of habitable terrestrial ecosystems constrain soil invertebrate communities in continental Antarctica. The Windmill Islands in East Antarctica have a relatively gentle climate by Antarctic standards, and the region supports some of the most well-developed mo...
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ftunivwestsyd:oai:researchdirect.westernsydney.edu.au:uws_31553 2023-05-15T13:34:53+02:00 Abundance and diversity of soil invertebrates in the Windmill Islands region, East Antarctica Nielsen, Uffe N. (R17023) King, Catherine K. Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment (Host institution) 2015 print 10 http://handle.uws.edu.au:8081/1959.7/uws:31553 https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-015-1703-2 eng eng Germany, Springer Polar Biology--0722-4060--1432-2056 Vol. 38 Issue. 9 No. pp: 1391-1400 XXXXXX - Unknown soils ecosystems microhabitats Casey station (Antarctica) journal article 2015 ftunivwestsyd https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-015-1703-2 2020-12-05T17:41:05Z The harsh climate and patchy distribution of habitable terrestrial ecosystems constrain soil invertebrate communities in continental Antarctica. The Windmill Islands in East Antarctica have a relatively gentle climate by Antarctic standards, and the region supports some of the most well-developed moss beds on the continent. These moss beds and soils are known to sustain invertebrate communities dominated by nematodes, rotifers and tardigrades, but our knowledge of the diversity and composition of these communities remains limited. We extracted soil fauna from 74 soil samples representing a wide range of microhabitats, and 24 moss samples, collected at Clark Peninsula, Bailey Peninsula and Robinson Ridge in the Windmill Islands during the 2012–2013 austral summer. Invertebrates were present in all samples, but densities varied considerably both within and between sites with limited correlation with edaphic variables or cover type. Taxa found included two species of nematodes (Plectus murrayi; Plectus frigophilus), one mite (Nanorchestes antarcticus) as well as tardigrades and rotifers (enumerated only). No springtails were found in this study, but individuals of the genus Cryptopygus were later recovered from moss collected near Casey Station. The Windmill Islands soils and moss beds support dense populations of soil fauna. However, despite the relatively mild climate conditions and favorable soil properties, species diversity is low. The diversity is possibly limited by recent deglaciation and limited dispersal opportunities to the region. Given favorable local conditions, it is likely that colonizing species will perform well, whether these arrive by natural means or are accidentally introduced by humans. Article in Journal/Newspaper Antarc* Antarctic Antarctica antarcticus East Antarctica Nanorchestes antarcticus Polar Biology Windmill Islands Mite University of Western Sydney (UWS): Research Direct Antarctic Austral Bailey Peninsula ENVELOPE(110.533,110.533,-66.286,-66.286) Casey Station ENVELOPE(110.528,110.528,-66.282,-66.282) Clark Peninsula ENVELOPE(110.563,110.563,-66.254,-66.254) East Antarctica Robinson Ridge ENVELOPE(110.594,110.594,-66.369,-66.369) Windmill Islands ENVELOPE(110.417,110.417,-66.350,-66.350) Polar Biology 38 9 1391 1400 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
University of Western Sydney (UWS): Research Direct |
op_collection_id |
ftunivwestsyd |
language |
English |
topic |
XXXXXX - Unknown soils ecosystems microhabitats Casey station (Antarctica) |
spellingShingle |
XXXXXX - Unknown soils ecosystems microhabitats Casey station (Antarctica) Nielsen, Uffe N. (R17023) King, Catherine K. Abundance and diversity of soil invertebrates in the Windmill Islands region, East Antarctica |
topic_facet |
XXXXXX - Unknown soils ecosystems microhabitats Casey station (Antarctica) |
description |
The harsh climate and patchy distribution of habitable terrestrial ecosystems constrain soil invertebrate communities in continental Antarctica. The Windmill Islands in East Antarctica have a relatively gentle climate by Antarctic standards, and the region supports some of the most well-developed moss beds on the continent. These moss beds and soils are known to sustain invertebrate communities dominated by nematodes, rotifers and tardigrades, but our knowledge of the diversity and composition of these communities remains limited. We extracted soil fauna from 74 soil samples representing a wide range of microhabitats, and 24 moss samples, collected at Clark Peninsula, Bailey Peninsula and Robinson Ridge in the Windmill Islands during the 2012–2013 austral summer. Invertebrates were present in all samples, but densities varied considerably both within and between sites with limited correlation with edaphic variables or cover type. Taxa found included two species of nematodes (Plectus murrayi; Plectus frigophilus), one mite (Nanorchestes antarcticus) as well as tardigrades and rotifers (enumerated only). No springtails were found in this study, but individuals of the genus Cryptopygus were later recovered from moss collected near Casey Station. The Windmill Islands soils and moss beds support dense populations of soil fauna. However, despite the relatively mild climate conditions and favorable soil properties, species diversity is low. The diversity is possibly limited by recent deglaciation and limited dispersal opportunities to the region. Given favorable local conditions, it is likely that colonizing species will perform well, whether these arrive by natural means or are accidentally introduced by humans. |
author2 |
Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment (Host institution) |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Nielsen, Uffe N. (R17023) King, Catherine K. |
author_facet |
Nielsen, Uffe N. (R17023) King, Catherine K. |
author_sort |
Nielsen, Uffe N. (R17023) |
title |
Abundance and diversity of soil invertebrates in the Windmill Islands region, East Antarctica |
title_short |
Abundance and diversity of soil invertebrates in the Windmill Islands region, East Antarctica |
title_full |
Abundance and diversity of soil invertebrates in the Windmill Islands region, East Antarctica |
title_fullStr |
Abundance and diversity of soil invertebrates in the Windmill Islands region, East Antarctica |
title_full_unstemmed |
Abundance and diversity of soil invertebrates in the Windmill Islands region, East Antarctica |
title_sort |
abundance and diversity of soil invertebrates in the windmill islands region, east antarctica |
publisher |
Germany, Springer |
publishDate |
2015 |
url |
http://handle.uws.edu.au:8081/1959.7/uws:31553 https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-015-1703-2 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(110.533,110.533,-66.286,-66.286) ENVELOPE(110.528,110.528,-66.282,-66.282) ENVELOPE(110.563,110.563,-66.254,-66.254) ENVELOPE(110.594,110.594,-66.369,-66.369) ENVELOPE(110.417,110.417,-66.350,-66.350) |
geographic |
Antarctic Austral Bailey Peninsula Casey Station Clark Peninsula East Antarctica Robinson Ridge Windmill Islands |
geographic_facet |
Antarctic Austral Bailey Peninsula Casey Station Clark Peninsula East Antarctica Robinson Ridge Windmill Islands |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctic Antarctica antarcticus East Antarctica Nanorchestes antarcticus Polar Biology Windmill Islands Mite |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctic Antarctica antarcticus East Antarctica Nanorchestes antarcticus Polar Biology Windmill Islands Mite |
op_relation |
Polar Biology--0722-4060--1432-2056 Vol. 38 Issue. 9 No. pp: 1391-1400 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-015-1703-2 |
container_title |
Polar Biology |
container_volume |
38 |
container_issue |
9 |
container_start_page |
1391 |
op_container_end_page |
1400 |
_version_ |
1766058771682951168 |