On the uptake of ornithogenic products by plants on the inland mountains of Dronning Maud Land, Antarctica, using stable isotopes

Abstract

Breeding snow petrels (Pagodroma nivea) may be a major source of nutrients for the ecosystems on the inland nunataks (mountain outcrops) of continental Antarctica. To test this theory, the δ¹⁵N and δ¹³C values of soil and plants (moss, lichen and algae) from 11 nunataks with and without breeding snow petrels in northwestern Dronning Maud Land were compared. High δ¹⁵N values in all samples from nunataks with breeding birds provide a strong indication of the presence of breeding birds, as well as the use of bird-derived nitrogen by the plants of these ecosystems. The δ¹³C values showed little difference between the nunataks and are not a useful indicator of bird effects on ecosystem development.