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First record of Trichoceridae (Diptera) in the maritime Antarctic

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Abstract

During the austral summer of 2006–07, abundant Diptera were found in the sewage system of the Base Científica Antártica Artigas on King George Island. These are here identified as Trichocera (Saltrichocera) maculipennis (Diptera: Trichoceridae), a Holarctic species widely distributed in the Northern Hemisphere which has been introduced to some sub-Antarctic islands, but never been recorded in the maritime Antarctic. The distribution of the fly on King George Island indicates that it has been introduced by human agency. Although its origin is unclear, adult specimens have distinctive morphological features rarely represented in autochthonous populations in Europe. To date, larvae have been found only in the Artigas Base sewage system, but adults have been observed around the buildings and more widely in the vicinity. Given the species’ natural northern range, habitats and feeding preferences, it is likely to have good preadaptation permitting survival in the natural terrestrial ecosystems of the maritime Antarctic. We recommend that urgent eradication efforts are made.

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Abbreviations

BMNH:

British Museum—Natural History, London, UK

CIFC:

Colección de Invertebrados de la Facultad de Ciencias, Montevideo, Uruguay

ISEA:

Institute of Systematics and Evolution of Animals, Kraków, Poland

MNHN:

Musée National d’Histoire Naturelle, Neuchâtel, Switzerland

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Acknowledgments

The authors wish to thank the Uruguayan Antarctic Institute for supporting this study. O.V. gratefully acknowledges receiving a SCAR Fellowship facilitating collaborative research with the British Antarctic Survey. The paper also contributes to the British Antarctic Survey ‘Ecosystems’ and SCAR ‘Evolution and Biodiversity in Antarctica’ programmes. The contribution of E. Krzemińska was partially supported by the grant of the Polish Ministry for Science and Higher Education No. NN303 803 940. Christophe Dufour and Jean-Paul Haenni (MNHN) are gratefully thanked for a loan of specimens from Switzerland. Dr. K. Hughes and two anonymous reviewers are thanked for helpful comments.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Sección Zoología de Invertebrados, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de la República, Iguá 4225, 11400, Montevideo, Uruguay

    Odile Volonterio & Rodrigo Ponce de León

  2. British Antarctic Survey, High Cross, Madingley Road, Cambridge, CB3 0ET, UK

    Peter Convey

  3. Institute of Systematics and Evolution of Animals, Polish Academy of Sciences, ul. Slawkowska 17, 31-016, Krakow, Poland

    Ewa Krzemińska

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  1. Odile Volonterio
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  2. Rodrigo Ponce de León
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  3. Peter Convey
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  4. Ewa Krzemińska
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Correspondence to Odile Volonterio.

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Volonterio, O., Ponce de León, R., Convey, P. et al. First record of Trichoceridae (Diptera) in the maritime Antarctic. Polar Biol 36, 1125–1131 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-013-1334-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-013-1334-4

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