Abstract
The invertebrate faunal composition of moss-dominated flushes near the Canada Glacier was, as in similar habitats in continental Antarctic regions, numerically dominated by protozoa, rotifers, nematodes and tardigrades. Mites were of lesser abundance. Although collembola occur in the Taylor Valley, none were found at the study site. The finding of a catenulid flatworm is significant as microturbellarians have only rarely been recorded from Antarctica. Nematode, tardigrade and rotifer densities recorded were comparable to those in other Antarctic regions. These groups were found at a mean depth ranging from 5 to 10.83 mm in the moss. A greater percentage of all groups were in the upper 5 mm of moss cores in post-melt samples than in pre-melt samples.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Block W (1984) Terrestrial microbiology, invertebrates and ecosystems. In: Laws RM (ed) Antarctic ecology, vol 1. Academic Press, London, pp 163–218
Block W (1985) Arthropod interactions in an Antarctic terrestrial community. In: Siegfried WR Condy PR, Laws RM (eds) Antarctic nutrient cycles and food webs. Springer, Berlin Heidelberg New York, pp 614–619
Broady PA (1979) The Signy Island terrestrial reference sites: IX. The ecology of the algae of site 2, a moss carpet. Br Antarct Surv Bull 47:13–29
Caldwell JR (1981) The Signy Island terrestrial reference sites: XIII. Population dynamics of the nematode fauna. Br Antarct Surv Bull 54:33–46
Dartnall HJG, Hollowday ED (1985) Antarctic rotifers. Br Antarct Surv Sci Rep 100:1–46
Dastych H (1984) The Tardigrada from Antarctica with descriptions of several new species. Acta Zool Cracov 27:377–436
Dougherty CC, Harris LG (1963) Antarctic micrometazoa: Freshwater species in the McMurdo Sound area. Science New York 140:497–498
Edmondson WT (1966) Fresh-water biology, 2nd edn. John Wiley and Sons, New York
Everitt DA (1981) An ecological study of an Antarctic freshwater pool with particular reference to Tardigrada and Rotifera. Hydrobiologia 83:225–237
Greenfield LG, Wilson GJ (1981) Report: University of Canterbury Antarctic Research Unit Expedition 19
Ingole BS, Parulekar AH (1990) Limnology of Priyadarshani Lake, Schirmacher Oasis, Antarctica. Polar Rec 26 (156):13–17
Janetschek H (1967) Arthropod ecology of south Victoria Land. In: Gressitt JL (ed) Entomology of Antarctica. Antarct Res Ser 10:205–294
Jennings PG (1976) The Tardigrada of Signy Island, south Orkney Islands, with a note on the Rotifera. Br Antract Surv Bull 44:1–25
Jennings PG (1979) The Signy Island terrestrial reference sites: X. Population dynamics of the Tardigrada and Rotifera. Br Antarct Surv Bull 47:89–105
Maslen NR (1981) The Signy Island terrestrial reference sites: XII. Population ecology of Nematodes with additions to the fauna. Br Antarct Surv Bull 53:57–75
McInnes SJ, Ellis-Evans JC (1990) Micro-invertebrate community structure within a maritime Antarctic lake. Proc NIPR Symp Polar Biol 3:179–189
Miller JD, Home P, Heatwole H, Miller WR, Bridges L (1988) A survey of the terrestrial Tardigrada of the Vestfold Hills, Antarctica, Hydrobiologia 165:197–208
Rounsevell DE (1981) A population of Nanorchestes antarcticus (Acari: Prostigmata) at the Vestfold Hills, Antarctica. ANARE Sci Rep Publ 131, Antarct Div, Dept Sci Hobart
Rounsevell DE, Horne PA (1986) Terrestrial, parasitic and introduced invertebrates of the Vestfold Hills. In: Pickard J (ed) Antarctic oasis, Terrestrial environments and history of the Vestfold Hills. Academic Press, London, pp 309–331
Schwarz A-MJ, Seppelt R, Green TGA (1992) Terrestrial vegetation at Canada Glacier, southern Victoria Land, Antarctica. Polar Biol 12:397–404
Spaull VW (1973) Qualitative and quantitative distribution of soil nematodes of Signy Island, South Orkney Islands. Br Antarct Surv Bull 33 34:177–184
Steel RGD, Torrie JH (1960) Principles and procedures of statistics. McGraw-Hill, New York
Strandtmann RW, George JE (1973) Distribution of the Antarctic mite Stereotydeus mollis Wormersley and Strandtmann in southern Victoria Land. Antarct J United States 8(4):209–211
Suren A (1990) Microfauna associated with algal mats in melt ponds on the Ross Ice Shelf. Polar Biol 10:329–335
Tilbrook PJ (1967) The terrestrial invertebrate fauna of the maritime Antarctic. In: Smith JE (ed) A discussion on the terrestrial Antarctic ecosystem. Phil Trans R Soc (B252) 777:261–78
Timm RW (1971) Antarctic soil and freshwater nematodes from the McMurdo Sound Region. Proc Helminthological Soc Washington (38) 1:45–52
Usher MB, Booth RG (1984) Arthropod communities in a maritime Antarctic moss-turf habitat: Three dimensional distribution of mites and Collembola. J Anim Ecol 53:427–441
Usher MB, Booth RG (1986) Arthropod communities in a maritime Antarctic moss-turf habitat: Multiple scales of pattern in the mites and Collembola. J Anim Ecol 55:155–170
Wharton DA, Brown IM (1989) A survey of terrestrial nematodes from the McMurdo Sound region, Antarctica. NZ J Zool 16:467–470
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Schwarz, A.M.J., Green, J.D., Green, T.G.A. et al. Invertebrates associated with moss communities at Canada Glacier, southern Victoria Land, Antarctica. Polar Biol 13, 157–162 (1993). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00238925
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00238925