Introducing the wetland mosaic concept improves understanding of an Antarctic biodiversity hotspot (ASPA No. 134)

MATALONI, G.; SICA Y.; CASA V.; LIBERTELLI M.; QUIROGA M.V.; QUINTANA R.D.

Edinburgh (online)

Conferencia; UK Antarctic Science Conference 2021; 2021

SCAR - British Antarctic Survey

Despite its pristine appearance, Antarctica is submitted to the same environmental issues asthe rest of the world. In particular, native biodiversity is threatened by the combined effectsof climate change, biological invasions, contamination and increasing human footprint, andthe growing concern of the Antarctic research community about its protection hasprompted the launching of the Ant‐ICON SCAR Programme.A key constraint for the existence of Antarctic life is freshwater availability. Positive summertemperatures grant plentiful water in some areas, particularly Maritime Antarctica coasts,frequently defining wetlands landscapes. Wetlands are globally recognised as fundamentalproviders of nature goods and benefits, and their particular ecosystem structure andfunctioning merited the generation of a paradigm of its own for their study, conservationand management. Still, Antarctic wetlands are poorly surveyed, understood and protecteddespite the high nature benefits they provide.Cierva Point (Antarctic Peninsula) is located within ASPA No. 134 on account of itsexceptional biodiversity, and its topographically complex North face hosts numerous smallwetlands. Within the framework of a comprehensive project, during 2017‐2018 wegeolocalised 39 wetlands and classified them into six wetland types. Then we analysed theinfluence of the wetland type, site characterisation (location, topography, influence ofpenguin colonies) and physical and chemical features on their environmental diversitythrough two Principal Component Analyses. Though the variables selected explained a highpercentage of the variance, the resulting ordinations were different and did not groupwetlands of the same type. Rather, distinct combinations of these features render CiervaPoint a wetland mosaic spanning a large environmental diversity. This feature, presentlyexpressed as a hotspot of mostly autochtonous taxa, turns Cierva Point highly susceptible tobiological invasions and merits inclusion of biodiversity monitoring in the ASPAManagement Plan. We recommend that this paradigm be embraced by studies of similarsystems.