Abstract
Five species of terrestrial arthropods have been found in Sør Rondane inland nunataks of eastern Dronning Maud Land, Antarctica, so far almost a biologically unexplored region. These arthropods comprised one collembolan and four mite species (one oribatid mite and three prostigmatic mite). Their occurrence was restricted to the nunataks in the central and western parts of the region. The same was also observed for the visible vegetation, such as algae and mosses, near nesting-bird colonies. The maximum reorded population density was 859 arthropods/100 ml soil at the nest of snow petrel at Tanngarden, in the northwestern part of the region. The arthropod fauna of Sør Rondane is very similar to that of central Dronning Maud Land, particularly in Gjelsvikfjella and Mühlich-Hofmannfjella. The fauna is, however, different from that of the eastern region, e.g. at Syowa Station and Enderby Land. Different species of collembolans and oribatid mites occur at locations separated by the Lüitzow-Holm Bay and Shirase Glaciers, whereas prostigmatic mites do not show such a difference.
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Ohyama, Y., Hiruta, Si. The terrestrial arthropods of Sør Rondane in eastern Dronning Maud Land, Antarctica, with biogeographical notes. Polar Biol 15, 341–347 (1995). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00238484
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00238484