Why WRB needs a mammalic qualifier: the case of seal colony soils

Bedernichek, Tymur; Dykyy, Ihor; Partyka, T.; Заименко, Н.В.

doi:10.1016/j.geoderma.2020.114369

Cited by 7 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 17 publications

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“…That impact includes, but is not limited to, accumulation of guano. Bedernichek et al (2020) reported that seal hair and other byproducts contain a lot of biogenic and toxic elements. The accumulation of hair, skin, carcasses of sea mammals on the soil, as well as their urine and excrements, may also be one of the key factors that affect the elemental composition of the coastal soils in Polar regions.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Content of biogenic and toxic elements in the leaves of Deschampsia antarctica É. Desv. (Poaceae): a preliminary study

Bedernichek¹,

Loya²,

Parnikoza³

2020

Plant. Introd.

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The Antarctic hairgrass (Deschampsia antarctica É. Desv.) is one of two flowering plants native to the Antarctic and therefore it was intensively studied for decades. However, there is still limited information available about the content of biogenic and toxic elements in the leaves of this plant. While being an important component of the Antarctic terrestrial ecosystems, the content of nutrients like K, P, and S in the plants of D. antarctica may significantly affect soil properties, especially in such hot spots like rhizosphere and detritosphere. Moreover, the content of toxic elements and trace metals in particular in the plant is an important criterion to evaluate its indicative role, whether or not D. antarctica may be used as a bio-indicator to monitor the Antarctica environmental state. In this study, we report the preliminary results about the content of K, P, Ca, S, Mg, Na, Si, Fe, Zn, Al, Sr, Mn, Cu, B, Cr, Ba, V, Pb, Cd, and Co in the leaves of D. antarctica from the natural habitats of the maritime Antarctіс. Dry leaves were digested in nitric acid (closed-vessel microwave digestion). Elemental concentration was measured by ICP-OES technique. It was found that differences between the samples taken from one location were far less notable than between samples from different locations. Among the biogenic elements, the content of potassium was the most variable – from 12.2 mg·g-1 on Galindez Island to 28.7 mg·g-1 on the Cape Tuxen (Antarctic Peninsula). The content of trace metals also varied greatly between the samples from different locations. The results of this preliminary study suggest that due to the high content of nutrients, leaves of D. antarctica should be considered as an important precursor of soil organic matter, as well as a possible bioindicator. However, future studies are needed to confirm these preliminary results and hypotheses.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Content of biogenic and toxic elements in the leaves of Deschampsia antarctica É. Desv. (Poaceae): a preliminary study

Bedernichek¹,

Loya²,

Parnikoza³

2020

Plant. Introd.

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“…Most of the studies are focussed on the influence of seabirds on their reproductive colonies being studies with southern elephant seals and other marine mammals largely neglected (Bedernichek et al 2020). For example, Cipro et al (2018) confirmed that seabirds input Cd, Hg and probably As, Se and Zn to Antarctic terrestrial ecosystems, whilst Espejo et al (2017) reported the input of Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Mo, V and Zn from penguin colonies from Chile and the Antarctic Peninsula area.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Influence of marine vertebrates on organic matter, phosphorus and other chemical element levels in Antarctic soils

et al. 2022

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The presence of marine vertebrates in dense reproductive colonies and other aggregations contributes to the input of organic matter and nutrients into the local environment and it is believed that chemical elements are subsequently remobilized from the excreta of these animals. In this study, we investigated the influence of marine vertebrates on trace elements levels (As, Cd, Co, Cu, Fe, Li, Lu, Mg, Mn, Ni, Pb, Sb, Sc, Se, Sm, Sn, Sr, Tb, U and Zn), nutrient (total phosphorus) and soil organic matter (SOM) content from five locations with and without the presence of seabirds and marine mammals in Admiralty Bay, King George Island, South Shetland Islands, Antarctica. Soils were acid digested using a microwave digestion system, elements were quantified using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry and SOM was calculated by loss-on-ignition. The non-influenced and vertebrate-influenced soils had similar concentrations of most of the trace elements assessed, however, we observed a significant increase in SOM and P that was positively correlated with the concentrations of As, Cd, Se, Sr and Zn. Although marine vertebrates did not appear to significantly increase the elemental concentrations in the soils examined here, there is a clear evidence of selective enrichment indicating a zoogenic influence. Comparing our results with other studies, we conclude that soil elemental levels are result from an interplay between local geology, vertebrate diet and colony size. Further studies with increased sample size are required to obtain a better understanding of the influence of marine vertebrates on chemical element levels in Antarctic soils.

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“…Moreover, for sub-Antarctic Marion Island Haussmann et al (2013) showed that fur seals facilitate the establishment of exotic vascular plants. They have found that seal-affected sites were inhabited by many alien plant species, including such invaders as Poa annua L. and Sagina procumbens L. Impact of pinnipeds on the terrestrial ecosystems and in par-ticular soils in the Antarctic is not well known yet (Bedernichek et al, 2020). However, taking into account a rapid increase of the fur seal population and observation from Marion Island, they are expected to transport seeds of alien plants to the maritime Antarctic as well.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Allelopathic potential and cytostatic activity of Antarctic moss Sanionia georgicouncinata (Amblystegiaceae)

Dziuba¹,

Liubinska²,

Khoyetskyy

et al. 2021

Biosys. divers.

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From the first half of the XX century, the maritime Antarctic was a region with high regional warming rates. At the beginning of the XXI century, regional warming strongly slowed down, but during the next twenty years the near-surface temperatures and mean annual precipitation at the Antarctic Peninsula will most probably increase. Higher temperatures and precipitation make the conditions in the maritime Antarctic more favourable for plants, including invasive species. Moreover, the increasing number of Antarctic tourists unintentionally transport thousands of seeds to the Antarctic on their clothes and equipment. In such circumstances, it is important to evaluate possible defensive mechanisms of native plant species, including their allelopathic potential. The objective of this study was to evaluate the allelopathic potential and cytostatic activity of Sanionia georgicouncinata. This species is widespread in the maritime Antarctic and is one of the most abundant moss species on the Argentine Islands (Wilhelm Archipelago). Seeds of cucumber Cucumis sativus, radish Raphanus raphanistrum subsp. sativus, wheat Triticum vulgare, and amaranth Amaranthus paniculatus were used as bioassay species. Fresh green biomass of S. georgicouncinata was used to prepare aqueous extracts with 1 : 10, 1 : 50, and 1 : 100 plant to water ratios. The average root length of wheat sprouts and cucumber sprouts in distilled water did not differ significantly from those in plant extracts. The root length of radish sprouts in 1 : 50 plant extract was significantly shorter than in distilled water. Meanwhile, in 1 : 50 and 1 : 100 water extracts, roots of amaranth plants were significantly longer than in water. The number of lateral roots of cucumber sprouts in water and studied aqueous extracts varied from 1 to 6 with medians from 3 to 4. The medians of control (distilled water) and sample groups (aqueous extracts) did not differ significantly, but only 38.1 ± 6.1% of cucumber sprouts developed lateral roots in the 1 : 10 aqueous extract of S. georgicouncinata, and even less – 28.3 ± 7.5% in the 1 : 50 aqueous extract. The results of this study show that the allelopathic potential of S. georgicouncinata is low. However, a significant cytostatic activity of the studied extracts shows that this species may still affect other plants and animals. Further research is needed to evaluate the impact of the studied extracts on root growth and germination of the invasive plants, particularly Poa annua.

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Why WRB needs a mammalic qualifier: the case of seal colony soils

Cited by 7 publications

References 17 publications

Content of biogenic and toxic elements in the leaves of Deschampsia antarctica É. Desv. (Poaceae): a preliminary study

Content of biogenic and toxic elements in the leaves of Deschampsia antarctica É. Desv. (Poaceae): a preliminary study

Influence of marine vertebrates on organic matter, phosphorus and other chemical element levels in Antarctic soils

Allelopathic potential and cytostatic activity of Antarctic moss Sanionia georgicouncinata (Amblystegiaceae)

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