Abstract
Recent moraines constitute a worthwhile opportunity for studies concerning plant colonization, especially when the date of origin of the moraine is known. The moraine studied, roughly 34 years old, was in an early stage of plant succession. Plant communities were observed only on the boulders at the top of the moraine. They were always composed of a relatively small number of lichen species and with a low coverage of the rock surface. It is noteworthy that all lichen species observed lack asexual propagula and most of them are considered as being nitrophilous or ornithocoprophilous. In many cases, a close relation between the boulder size and the measured variables (specimen diameter, coverage, and number of species) has been noted, with maximum values for the biggest boulders. The hypothetical biological implications of the boulder size and the causes of the interspecific differences observed in the average diameter of lichens are discussed.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Armstrong RA (1976) Studies on the growth rates of lichens. In: Brown DH, Hawksworth DL, Bailey RH (eds) Lichenology: progress and problems. Academic Press London, pp 309–322
Bailey RH (1976) Ecological aspects of dispersal and establishment in lichens. In: Brown DH, Hawksworth DL, Bailey RH (eds) Lichenology: progress and problems. Academic Press London pp 215–247
Bañón M (1992) El clima en las Shetland del Sur y norte de la Península Antártica, caso de la Base Antártica Española “Juan Carlos I”. Actas del Cuarto Simposium Español de Estudios Antárticos. Tenerife (in press)
Beschel RE (1958) Flechtenvereine der Städte, Stadtflechten und ihr Wachstum. Berichte des Naturwiss Med Ver Innsbruck 52:1–158
Beschel RE (1961) Dating rock surfaces by lichen growth and its application to glaciology and physiography (lichenometry). In:. GO Raasch (ed) Geology of the Arctic 2:1044–1062. University of Toronto Press. Toronto, pp2:1044–1062
Beschel RE (1973) Lichens as a measure of the age of recent moraines. Arct Alp Res 5:303–309
Birkenmajer K (1980) Lichenometric dating of glacier retreat at Admiralty Bay, King George Island (South Shetland Islands, West Antarctica). Bulletin de l'Academie Polonaise des Science, Srie des Sciences de la Terre 27:69–76
Calvet J, Corbera J, Furdada G (1992) Variación del frente glaciar en Bahía Sur y Punta Siddons entre 1956 y 1991, Isla Livingston, Islas Shetland del Sur. In: J. López-Martínez (ed) Geología de la Antártida Occidental, III Congreso Geológico de España y VIII Congreso Latinoamericano de Geología. Vol. III pp 283–292, Salamanca
Calkin PE, Ellis JM (1980) A lichenometric dating curve and its application to Holocene glacier studies in the Central Brooks Range, Alaska. Arct Alp Res 12:245–264
Denton GH, Karlen W (1973) Lichenometry: its application to Holocene moraine studies in southern Alaska and Swedish Lapland. Arct Alp Res 5 (4):347–372
Dodge CW (1973) Lichen flora of the Antarctic Continent and adjacent islands. Phoenix Publishing Canaan, New Hampshire
Fahselt D, Maycock PF, Svoboda J (1988) Initial establishment of saxicolous lichens following recent glacial recession in Sverdrup Pass, Ellesmere Island, Canada. Lichenologist 20 (3):253–268
Follmann G (1961) Lichenometrische Altersbestimmungen an vorchristlichen Steinsetzungen der polynesischen Osterinsel. Naturwissenschaften 48:627–628
Hale ME (1973) Growth. In: Ahmadjian V, Hale ME (eds) The Lichens. Academic Press, New York, pp 473–494
Hertel H (1987) Progress and problems in taxonomy of Antarctic saxicolous lecideoid lichens. In: Peveling E (ed) Progress and Problems in Lichenology in the Eighties. Bibliotheca Lichenologica 25:219–242
Innes JL (1986) The use of percentage cover measurements in lichenometric dating. Arc Alp Res 18 (2):209–216
Innes JL (1988) The use of lichens in dating. In: Galun M (ed) Handbook of Lichenology. Vol. III pp 75–92 CRC Press Inc. Boca Ratón, Florida
John EA (1989) Note on the sizes of largest thalli of three species of Rhizocarpon (subgenus Rhizocarpon) at a rockslide in the Canadian Rocky Mountains. Arct Alp Res 21 (2):185–187
Kappen L (1985) Lichen habitats as micro-oases in the Antarctic. The role of temperature. Polarforschung 55:49–54
Kappen L, Redon J (1987) Photosynthesis and water relations of three maritime Antarctic lichen species. Flora 179:215–229
Kappen L, Blter M, Khn A (1986) Field measurements of net photosynthesis of lichens in the Antarctic. Polar Biology 5:255–258
Kappen L, Schroeter B, Sancho LG (1990) Carbon dioxide exchange of Antarctic crustose lichens in situ measured with a CO2/H2O porometer. Oecologia 82:311–316
Karlen W, Delton (1976) Holocene glacial variations in Sarek National Park, northern Sweden. Boreas 5:25–56
Lamb IM (1968) Antarctic lichens: I. The genera Buellia and Rinodina. Br Antarct Surv Sci Rep 61:1–29
Lange OL (1990) Twenty-three years of growth measurements on the crustose lichen Caloplaca aurantia in the central Negev Desert. Israel J Bot 39:383–394
Lindsay DC (1971) Vegetation of the South Shetland Islands. Br Antarct Surv Bull 25:59–83
Lindsay DC, Brook D (1971) Lichens from the Theron Mountains. Br Antarct Surv Bull 25:95–98
Llano GA (1965) The flora of Antarctica. In: Hatherton T (ed) Antarctica. Methuen, London, pp 331–350
Longton RE (1985) Terrestrial habitats — Vegetation. In: Bonner WN, Wallon DWH (eds) Key Environments Antarctica Pergamon Press. Oxford pp 73–105
Longton RE (1988) The biology of polar bryophytes and lichens. Studies in Polar Research. Cambridge University Press. Avon
Luckman BH (1977) Lichenometric dating of holocene moraines at Mount Edith Cavell, Jasper, Canada. Can J Earth Sci 14:1809–1822
Olech M (1989) Preliminary botanical studies in Johnsons Dock area (Livingston, Antarctica). Bull Pol Acad Sci Biol Sci 37:223–230
Olech M (1990) Preliminary studies on ornithocoprophilous lichens of the Arctic and Antarctic regions. Proceedings of NIPR Symposium on Polar Biology 3:218–223
Ott S (1987a) Differences in the developmental rates of lichens. Ann Bot Fenn 24:385–393
Ott S (1987b) The juvenile development of lichen thalli from vegetative diaspores. Symbiosis 3:57–74
Ott S (1987c) Sexual reproduction and developmental adaptations in Xanthoria parietina. Nord J Bot 7:219–228
Porter SC (1981) Lichenometric studies in the Cascade Range of Washington: establishment of Rhizocarpon geographicum growth curves at Mount Rainier. Arct Alp Res 13 (1):11–23
Sancho LG (1987) Catálogo liqunico del material recolectado en las islas Shetland del Sur por la expedición Antarctic-86. Actas del Segundo Simposium Español de Estudios Antárticos 387–397. Madrid
Sancho LG, Kappen L, Schroeter B (1990) Primeros datos sobre la flora y vegetatión liquenica de isla Livingston (islas Shetland del Sur, Antártida). Actas del Tercer Simposium Español de Estudios Antárticos. 94–99. Gredos
Schuster G, Ott S, Jahns HM (1985) Artificial cultures of lichens in the natural environment. Lichenologist 17 (3):247–253
Smith RIL (1990) Signy Island as a paradigm of biological and environmental change in Antarctic terrestrial ecosystems. In: Kerry KR, Hempel G (eds) Antarctic Ecosystems. Ecological Change and Conservation. Springer Berlin, Heidelberg, pp 32–50
Spence JR (1987) Plant succesion on glacial deposits of Mount Kenya, East Africa. In: Mahaney WC (ed) Quaternary and environmental research on East Africa mountains. Balkema, Rotterdam
Spence JR, Mahaney WC (1988) Growth and ecology of Rhizocarpon section Rhizocarpon on Mount Kenya, East Africa. Arct Alp Res 20 (2):237–242
Topham PB (1977) Colonization, growth, succession and competition. In: Seaward MRD (ed) Lichen Ecology. London, pp 31–68
Walker FJ (1985) The lichen genus Usnea subgenus Neuropogon. Bull Brit Mus Nat Hist 13:1–130
Webber PJ, Andrews JT (1973) Lichenometry: a commentary. Arct Alp Res 5:295–302
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Sancho, L.G., Valladares, F. Lichen colonization of recent moraines on Livingston Island (South Shetland I., Antarctica). Polar Biol 13, 227–233 (1993). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00238757
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00238757