Abstract
The nutrient-poor soils of Antarctica are sensitive to change. Recent increases in the number of anthropogenic introductions mean that understanding the impact of non-native species on Antarctic soils is pertinent, and essential for developing future risk assessments and management strategies. Through comparative baseline assessments of vegetation, microbes, soil chemistry, substrate composition and micro-arthropod abundance, this study explored if there are detectable terrestrial ecosystem impacts resulting from the introduction of the chironomid midge Eretmoptera murphyi to Signy Island in maritime Antarctica. The key finding was that E. murphyi is the likely driver of an increase in inorganic nitrogen availability within the nutrient-poor soils in which it occurs. When compared with the levels of inorganic nitrogen present in soils influenced by native vertebrate wildlife aggregations, the increase in local nitrate availability associated with E. murphyi was similar to that caused by deposits from seals and giant petrel colonies. Overall, available nitrate has increased by three- to five-fold in soils colonised by the midge, relative to undisturbed soils. This may ultimately impact rates of decomposition as well as the native plant and micro-arthropod communities of Signy Island.
Original language | English |
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Article number | 108965 |
Number of pages | 9 |
Journal | Soil Biology and Biochemistry |
Volume | 180 |
Early online date | 23 Jan 2023 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - May 2023 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:J. Bartlett was funded by the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) through the Central England NERC Training Alliance (CENTA DTP) (RRBN19276) and the 2019–2020 BiodivClim ERA-Net COFUND programme ‘ASICS’ through the Research Council of Norway (323304) (coldregioninvasives.com). P. Convey and K.K. Newsham are supported by NERC core funding to the BAS ‘Biodiversity, Evolution and Adaptation’ Team. This study contributes to the SCAR Ant-ICON programme. The authors thank staff at Signy Research Station for their practical and moral support throughout the 2016/17 season, as well as four anonymous reviewers, and Tom Vorstenbosch, who all provided significant constructive suggestions to improve the manuscript.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2023
Keywords
- Antarctica
- Chironomidae
- Invasion impacts
- Signy Island
- Soil nitrogen
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Microbiology
- Soil Science