Patterns of moss richness in Admiralty Bay, King George Island, cannot be explained by geological or ornithogenic drivers alone

We set out to document the diversity and distribution of bryophytes in Admiralty Bay and thereby enable the identification of patterns in local diversity and their possible drivers. Combining data extracted from different sources and recent collections, we documented the presence of 63 species. Similarity analyses of moss species diversity in relation to underlying geology and ornithogenic influence identified an identical cophenetic correlation coefficient of 0.744 for both factors. The Sørensen index was < 0.6, indicating that the groups share < 60% of the species recorded. The data showed that the selected filters (ornithogenic soils, non-ornithogenic soils and different geological extracts) did not underlie consistent species groupings, and we conclude that other environmental and topographical factors are likely to be responsible for shaping the moss community structure in Admiralty Bay. To enable effective management of Antarctic Specially Managed Area (ASMA) No. 1 and Antarctic Specially Protected Area (ASPA) No. 128, robust assessments of the local ecosystem and biodiversity are necessary to assist in the decision-making processes mandated under the Antarctic Treaty System, one of whose founding principles is the preservation of the Antarctic ecosystem.

Bibliographic Details

Main Authors:	Costa Silva, Bárbara Guedes, Convey, Peter, Carvalho-Silva, Micheline, Toledo Amorim, Eduardo, Patiño, Jairo, Aguiar Saraiva Câmara, Paulo Eduardo
Other Authors:	Conselho Nacional de Pesquisa
Format:	artículo biblioteca
Language:	English
Published:	Cambridge University Press 2022-04-08
Subjects:	Bryophytes, environmental filters, geological extracts, non-ornithogenic soils, ornithogenic soils,
Online Access:	http://hdl.handle.net/10261/296203
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