Global Collembola on Deception Island

Abstract

Three new non-indigenous springtail species are recorded in recent collections made on Deception Island, South Shetland Islands, maritime Antarctic: Deuteraphorura (Deuteraphorura) cebennaria (Gisin) (Collembola: Onychiuridae), Mesaphorura macrochaeta Rusek (Tullbergiidae), and Proisotoma minuta Axelson (Isotomidae). One of these, D. (D.) cebennaria, is described. Additionally, two new indigenous species, Mesaphorura macrochaeta Rusek and Proisotoma minuta Axelson, are also recorded. The total number of Collembola species now known from the island is 14, comprised of eight native species and six non-indigenous species. This number of non-indigenous species recorded at Deception Island compares with only a single non-indigenous springtail recorded at any other maritime or continental Antarctic location. The reason underlying this high level of occurrence of non-indigenous species on Deception Island is likely to be a combination of the island's high level of human visitation and the presence of relatively benign terrestrial habitats associated with areas of geothermal activity. Two of the new records represent species recently assessed as being of the highest risk to become invaders in the less extreme environments of the subantarctic, thereby emphasising the importance and urgency of adopting and applying effective biosecurity measures to protect the unique and vulnerable ecosystems of this region. Also documented are the impacts on the soil fauna of the island from human trampling, which drastically reduced densities of both native and non-indigenous species to 1% of the abundance typical of non-trampled sites.

Invasive non‐native species likely to threaten biodiversity and ecosystems in the Antarctic Peninsula region

“…It should be emphasized that the terrestrial invertebrate species mentioned in Table are ‘representative’—at present explicit evidence does not exist to enable differentiation across a wide diversity of representatives of these groups occurring naturally or already introduced in the wider sub‐Antarctic (especially South Georgia). However, Greenslade et al (), considering recent establishment of non‐native Collembola on Deception Island, noted that several of the species now present are identified as high risk in the assessment that Greenslade and Convey () applied to the sub‐Antarctic islands, again, highlighting the heightened risk associated with parts of the APR. Similarly, Russell et al () have reported several non‐native mite and springtail species recently established in the South Shetland Islands.…”

“…see Downie, Convey, McInnes, & Pugh, ; Russell et al, ). In particular, high human visitation of small geothermal areas on Deception Island can create literal ‘hot spots’ for non‐native species establishment, and the island contains the highest number of known non‐native species in Antarctica (Chown et al, ; Enríquez et al, ; Greenslade, Potapov, Russell, & Convey, ; Hughes, Pertierra, et al, ; Longton, ; Pertierra, Francisco, Benayas, Smith, & Hughes, ; Skottsberg, ).…”

“…Fresh food importation can also transport non‐native species, including invertebrates and microbial plant and animal pathogens, on the produce or in associated soil or packaging (Hughes, Cowan, & Wilmotte, ; Hughes et al, ; Roy et al, ). Furthermore, Antarctic hydroponic systems may become infested with non‐native microorganisms and invertebrates, which present a risk to local environments should containment measures fail (Bergstrom et al, ; Greenslade et al, ; Volonterio et al, ). Given the great diversity of pathways and origin of visitors, ships and aircraft accessing the APR, unanticipated species may access the region from many different locations.…”

Trampling on maritime Antarctica: can soil ecosystems be effectively protected through existing codes of conduct?

“…Ayres et al (2008) observed reductions of up to 52 and 76%, respectively, in densities of two species of nematode, Scottnema lindsayae and Eudorylaimus sp., between paths with heavy pedestrian traffic and nearby undisturbed reference areas. Tejedo et al (2009) detected a clear decrease in Collembola abundance with increased pedestrian traffic, and Greenslade et al (2012) similarly noted large reductions in soil collembolan densities in areas on Deception Island subject to a high level of visitation relative to neighbouring undisturbed areas. Finally, some authors have proposed the possibility of non-indigenous species establishment as a direct result of the foot traffic associated with human presence, although there is still little evidence about the relative importance of this mechanism (Frenot et al 2005).…”

Synonymy of two monobasic Anurophorinae genera (Collembola: Isotomidae) from the Antarctic Continent

“…An additional three species of Cryptopygus are known from the Antarctic Peninsula and Scotia Arc Islands: Cryptopygus antarcticus antarcticus Willem, 1901 (type locality Gerlache Straits); Cryptopygus caecus (Wahlgren, 1906) (type locality South Georgia); and Cryptopygus badasa Greenslade, 1995 (type locality Livingston Island, Shetland Islands) (Greenslade 2010;Greenslade et al 2012). These species have wider distributions and are also found on subantarctic and maritime Antarctic islands.…”