Thursday 3 May 2007

Bryophytes et al

Bryophytes Link to BBS > Home

Lichens LINK

Rotifers LINK

Tardigrades (water bears) LINK

Nematodes (round worms) LINK

Mites and Springtails LINK

Antarctic Bestiary Terrestrial Animals Living on the ground of the Antarctic Peninsula presents some extreme challenges to organisms, including:

  • Highly variable, extreme temperatures, from -30°F to 50°F air temperature, with summer surface temperatures of rocks and moss reaching 70°F.
  • Extremely high winds.
  • A very short growing season (period when temperatures allow plant growth).
  • Wide swings in pH, from 3 (very acidic) to 12 (very basic), partly caused by...
  • Immersion in penguin guano (waste) from nesting Adélie penguin colonies in the summer.
  • Immersion in both freshwater (from melting glaciers and snow and rain) and saltwater (from waves splashing on the land).
  • Dehydration from exposure to very dry air in the winter.
  • Exposure to intense UV rays. The protective ozone layer is naturally thinner here, and there is a hole in it (probably caused by human pollution) that opens up in the winter.
  • Lack of oxygen, due to being encased in ice for long periods, as well as being immersed in penguin guano filled with oxygen-using microbes.

Antarctic Treaty meeting moves to protect frozen continent from non-native species

Important new measures to protect Antarctica * the world's last great wilderness * from invasive non-native species have been agreed at a meeting of Antarctic experts in Edinburgh.
Scientists and policy makers at the Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting, which finished at Edinburgh International Conference Centre on Friday 23 June, agreed new measures that will reduce the risk of non-native species being introduced into both marine and terrestrial ecosystems in Antarctica.
To protect the marine environment, the meeting adopted new practical guidelines for ballast water exchange by ships operating in the Southern Ocean around Antarctica. Under the new guidelines drawn up by the UK, vessels will need to exchange any ballast water before arriving in Antarctic waters, and plan for and keep records of all ballast water operations.
According to Dr John Shears of British Antarctic Survey, "In the past, Antarctica was isolated with a very harsh and cold environment, which made it very difficult for non-native species to establish. However, more and more people are travelling to the continent, most of them on ships. Evidence from other parts of the world has shown that there is a direct link between numbers of people visiting a remote area and the numbers of non-native species that survive. Once established, they can be very difficult to eradicate. Prevention is better than cure."
Concerned that a rapidly changing and warming climate on the Antarctic Peninsula could increase the risk of non-native species establishing themselves on the continent itself, the meeting also backed a series of recommendations made by New Zealand. These include development of a code of conduct for land-based activities - a set of minimum standards that all visitors, including tourists and scientists, would have to follow. Scientists called for more research into the issue. Dr Shears said that scientists need to identify which areas of Antarctica are most vulnerable and better understand the potential implications of climate change on the spread of non-native species.
Dr Shears says, "Antarctica's remoteness and isolation offer science a unique opportunity to understand our world. Part of Antarctica's value as a natural laboratory lies in the fact that its communities of animals and plants consist of only a few species living in simple relationships. This makes the Antarctic a perfect place to study how ecosystems work. The inadvertent introduction of non-native species into Antarctica could put this in jeopardy, and has the potential to change the continent's biodiversity forever."

Link to Antarctic Treaty meeting moves to protect frozen continent from non-native species Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting

Power station harnesses Sun's rays

Solar thermal power station   Image: BBC

There is a scene in one of the Austin Powers films where Dr Evil unleashes a giant "tractor beam" of energy at Earth in order to extract a massive payment.

Well, the memory of it kept me chuckling as I toured the extraordinary scene of the new solar thermal power plant outside Seville in southern Spain.

Link to BBC NEWS | Science/Nature | Power station harnesses Sun's rays