Colonisation of stranded whale bones by lichens and mosses at Hennequin Point, King George Island, Antarctica

This paper presents the details of lichens and mosses found on whale vertebrae substratum in the Admiralty Bay area, King George Island, Antarctica. Samples were taken in the coastal area at Hennequin Point, a relict of the Antarctic whaling era. The samples were collected from the upper surface of...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Polar record 2018-01, Vol.54 (1), p.29-35
Main Authors: de Albuquerque, Margéli Pereira, Putzke, Jair, Schünemann, Adriano Luis, Vieira, Frederico Costa Beber, Victoria, Filipe de Carvalho, Pereira, Antonio Batista
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
20th century
Aquatic mammals
Aquatic plants
Area
Birds
Bones
Bryophyta
Chemical elements
Coastal zone
Colonization
Ecosystems
Islands
Lichens
Marine mammals
Mosses
R&D
Research & development
Spine
Studies
Substrata
Substrates
Vertebrae
Whales & whaling
Whaling
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:This paper presents the details of lichens and mosses found on whale vertebrae substratum in the Admiralty Bay area, King George Island, Antarctica. Samples were taken in the coastal area at Hennequin Point, a relict of the Antarctic whaling era. The samples were collected from the upper surface of the whale bones found in the study area during the austral summer 2010–2011. A total of 15 lichen and two moss species were found. All species sampled are known in the Admiralty Bay area, both as pioneers and in more advanced succession stages in ice-free areas. These results suggest that the colonisation of whale bones is not new for Antarctic plants, but it is an additional substrate on which these plants can develop. A map showing the distribution of colonised bones and details of the usual substrata for the lichens and mosses found in this study are provided.
ISSN:0032-2474
1475-3057
DOI:10.1017/S0032247418000062