Exotic Collembola on subantarctic islands: pathways, origins and biology

Abstract

Three exotic species of Collembola are here identified in collections made during surveys on subantarctic South Georgia in the summers of 2005/2006 and 2009/2010.Previously, only two exotic species of Collembola were known from the island. Increased visitation by tourists, research and maintenance personnel seems an obvious cause despite strict quarantine controls imposed on all visitors. The biology, habitat and distribution of the new species records indicated that fresh vegetables, imported in past years, were their likely means of dispersal to the island. A risk analysis based on their current distribution and ecology was conducted for exotic collembolan species that could invade South Georgia. Pathway analysis of the species with the highest risk scores suggested additional quarantine management protocols could include fumigation of imported fresh food, and this is recommended to minimise the risk of further invasions. A review of exotic Collembola in the Antarctic and subantarctic is provided and the biological traits of Collembola are discussed in relation to their invasion potential.

Continent-wide risk assessment for the establishment of nonindigenous species in Antarctica

“…Deception Island (included in the highest risk cell identified; Fig. 3) has also recently been colonized by two vascular plant species of South American origin (13), and two alien springtail species have established at the same site, at least one of which has substantial impacts on some sub-Antarctic systems (29).…”

Biological invasions in soil: DNA barcoding as a monitoring tool in a multiple taxa survey targeting European earthworms and springtails in North America

“…To date, Collembola invasion has only been documented in a few sub-Antarctic Islands (Greenslade and Wise 1984;Gabriel et al 2001;Greenslade 2002a;Myburgh et al 2007;Greenslade 2008;Greenslade and Convey 2012), in Australia (Womersley 1939;King et al 1985;Greenslade et al 2002;Greenslade 2002b;Oliver et al 2005;Greenslade 2008) and in New Zeland (Salmon 1941). Shown to competitively exclude certain native species (Convey et al 1999), invasive Collembola display a greater ability to adapt to rising temperature and so could be favored by climate changes (Slabber et al 2007;Janion et al 2009).…”

The alien terrestrial invertebrate fauna of the High Arctic archipelago of Svalbard: potential implications for the native flora and fauna

“…This is in contrast with the maritime Antarctic, where alien species, such as the carabid beetle (Merizodus soledadinus [Guerin-Meneville, 1830]), may have dramatic effects on the native flora and fauna (Convey et al 2011;Greenslade & Convey 2012;Hidalgo et al 2013). The relatively scarcity of alien species in Svalbard could possibly be a result of the greater connectivity in the Arctic, where extensive regions of continent and numerous islands facilitate natural dispersal.…”