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Biomarker records in penguin droppings and observed changes in penguin communities and their response to the ENSO in the Western Antarctic

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Abstract

Lipid biomarkers in AD2 penguin droppings-amend soil core from the Ardley Island, Western Antarctic, were dated using 210Pb. Changes in the fatty acid ratios of nC18:2/nC18:0 from the penguin droppings reflect climate changes coincident with ENNO events during 1931–2006. The occurrence of the minimum values in the depth of 2–3 and 6–7 cm are consistent with the end of ENSO in 1958 and 1983, respectively, reflecting a lag of the biomarker records in AD2 penguin droppings-amend soil in climatic signatures. This study also reveals that the changes in the relative concentration of n-alkanes nC23, the ratios of nC23/nC17 and ΣnC21 −/ΣnC22 +, and carbon preferential index (CPI) values collectively indicate the variations of soil microorganism and lower plant, which are closely related to climate changes. The ratios of bacterial fatty acids iC15:0/aC15:0 reflect the increasing significance of microorganism activities during the two periods that occurred at the end years of ENSO. Decrease in CPIA value and increase in ΣnC21 t-/ΣnC22 + indicate that low molecular weight fatty acids are derived from microorganism; and their insignificant correlation with Pr/Ph suggests microorganisms play an important role in the relatively simply ecosystem in the Antarctic and are closely linked to climatic conditions. In addition, the observed penguin community indicates the population of penguin can largely reflect the impacts of global climate changes on the ecosystem.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratory of Marine Ecosystem and Biogeochemistry, Second Institute of Oceanography, State Oceanic Administration, Hangzhou, 310012, China

    HaiSheng Zhang, DouDing Lu, PeiSong Yu & Bing Lu

  2. State Key Laboratory of Estuarine and Coastal Research, East China Normal University, Shanghai, 201100, China

    WeiGuo Zhang

  3. Institute of Ecology, Friedrich Schiller University, Jena, D-07743, Germany

    Hans-Ulrich Peter & Walter Vetter

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  1. HaiSheng Zhang
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Correspondence to HaiSheng Zhang.

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Zhang, H., Lu, D., Yu, P. et al. Biomarker records in penguin droppings and observed changes in penguin communities and their response to the ENSO in the Western Antarctic. Sci. China Earth Sci. 55, 1238–1247 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11430-012-4439-7

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