Plant Composition of Skuas Nests at Hennequin Point, King George Island, Antarctica

Margéli Pereira de Albuquerque, Filipe de Carvalho Victoria, Adriano Luís Schünemann, Jair Putzke, Ricardo José Gunski, Suzana Seibert, Maria Virginia Petry, Antonio Batista Pereira

Federal University of Pampa, Campus S?o Gabriel, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil.
National Institute of Science and Technology Antarctic for Environmental Research, S?o Gabriel, Brazil.
University of Vale do Rio dos Sinos, S?o Leopoldo, Brazil.

DOI: 10.4236/ajps.2012.35082                

Abstract

We investigate the plant composition in the Skuas nest at Hennequin Point, located in the Admiralty Bay Area, King George Island, Antarctica. Sample of 61 activity nests were analyzed. 21 plant and lichenized fungi species were found in the nest composition, being the mosses Sanioniauncinata (Hedw.) Loeske and Polytrichastrumalpinum (Hedw) G. S. Smith the most frequent species found in the Skuas nests. Usneaantarctica Du Rietz was the most frequent lichen and the grass Deschampsiaantarctica Desv was the most frequent flowering plant found in the nests. These results contribute for the environmental menagement of the Admiralty Bay area research activities.

Keywords

Plant Communities; Sea Bird Nests; Mosses; Lichen

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

References

[1]	J. Putzke and A. B. Pereira, “The Antarctic Mosses with Special Reference to the South Shetland Islands,” EDULBRA, Canoas, 2001.
[2]	A. B. Pereira and J. Putzke, “Floristic Composition of Stinker Point, Elephant Island, Antarctica,” Korean Journal of Polar Research, Vol. 5, No. 2, 1994, pp. 37-47.
[3]	B. Jablonski, “Distribution, Abundance and Biomass of a Summer Community of Birds in the Region of the Admiralty Bay (King George Island, South Shetland Islands, Antarctica) in 1978/1979,” Polish Polar Research, Vol. 7, 1986, pp. 217-260.
[4]	D. F. Parmelee, “The Hybrid Skua: A Southern Ocean Enigma,” Wilson Bulletin, Vol. 100, 1988, pp. 345-356.
[5]	M. S. Ritz, S. Hahn, T. Janicke and H.-U. Peter, “Hybridization between South Polar skua (Catharactamaccormicki) and Brown skua (C. antarcticalonnbergi) in the Antarctic Peninsula Region,” Polar Biology, Vol. 29, No. 3, 2005, pp. 153-159. doi:10.1007/s00300-005-0034-0
[6]	A. P. B. Carneiro, M. Polito, M. Sander and W. Z. Trivelpiece, “Abundance and Spatial Distribution of Sympatrically Breeding Catharacta spp. (Skuas) in Admiralty Bay, King George Island, Antarctica,” Polar Biology, Vol. 33, No. 5, 2010, pp. 673-682. doi:10.1007/s00300-009-0743-x
[7]	R. W. Burton, “Breeding Biology of the Brown Skua, Catharacta skua l?nnbergi (Matheus) at Signy, South Orkney Islands,” British Antarctic Survey Bulletin, Vol. 15, 1968, pp. 9-28.
[8]	R. D. Quintana, V. Cirelli and O. Benitez, “Nest Materials of skuas (Catharacta spp.) and Kelp Gulls (Larusdominicanus) at Cierva Point, Antarctic Peninsula,” Notornis, Vol. 48, 2001, pp. 235-241.
[9]	M. T. Matsuoka, D. M. Soares, S. F. Souza and M. S. Veronez, “Análise da Aplica??o de Receptor GPS de Navega??o No Posicionamento Relative Estático de Lin-ha-Base Curta,” Gaea—Journal of Geoscience, Vol. 4, No. 2, 2008, pp. 88-93.
[10]	J. Aragony-Neto, J. C. Sim?es, U. F. Bremer and N. DANI, “Perspectivas para o Gerenciamento Ambientalda Baía do Almirantado, Ilha Rei George, Antártica,” Revista do Departamento de Geografia, Vol. 15, 2002, pp. 91-99.
[11]	R. I. Lewis-Smith and C. H. Gimingham, “Classification of Cryptogamic Communities in the Maritime Antarctic,” British Antarctic Survey Bulletin, Vol. 33-34, 1976, pp. 89-122.
[12]	J. Redón, “Líquenes Antárticos,” Instituto Antártico Chileno (INACH), Santiago de Chile, 1985.
[13]	R. Ochyra, “The Moss Flora of King George Island Antarctica,” Polish Academy of Sciences, Cracow, 1998.
[14]	D. O. ?vstedal and R. I. Lewis-Smith, “Lichens of Antarctica and South Georgia—A Guide to Their Identification and Ecology,” Studies in Polar Research, Cambridge University Press, 2001.
[15]	E. S. Costa and M. A. S. Alves, “The Breeding Birds of the Hennequin Point: An Ice-Free Area of Admiralty Bay (Antarctic Specially Managed Area), King George Island, Antarctica,” Revista Brasileira de Ornitologia, Vol. 16, No. 2, 2008, pp. 137-141.
[16]	M. Sander, A. P. B. Carneiro, T. C. Balbao, S. R. Bays, E. S. Costa, N. E. Mascarello, T. D. Olivaand and C. R. Santos, “Status and Trends of Antarctic Seabirds at Admiralty Bay, King George Island,” Polar Forschung, Vol. 75, No. 2-3, 2005, pp. 145-150.
[17]	V. Siegel, “Distribution and Population Dynamics of Euphausia superba: Summary of Recent Findings,” Polar Biology, Vol. 29, No. 1, 2005, pp. 1-22. doi:10.1007/s00300-005-0058-5
[18]	F. C. Victoria, M. P. Albuquerque and A. B. Pereira, “Lichen-Moss Associations in Plant Communities of the Southwest Admiralty Bay, King George Island, Antarctica,” Neotropical Biology and Conservation, Vol. 1, 2006, pp. 84-89.
[19]	F. C. Victoria, A. B. Pereira and D. P. Costa, “Composition and Distribution of Moss Formation in the Ice-Free Areas Adjoining the Arctowski Region, Admiralty Bay, King George Island, Antarctica,” Iheringia, Vol. 64, No. 1, 2009, pp. 81-91.
[20]	F. C. Victoria and A. B. Pereira, “índice de Valor Ecológico (IES) Como ferramenta para estudos fitossociológicos e conserva??o das Espécies de Musgosna Baia do Almirantado, Ilha Rei George, Antártica Marítima,” Oecologia Brasiliensis, Vol. 11, 2007, pp. 50-55.
[21]	E. Trillmich, “Feeding Territories and Breeding Success of South Polar Skuas,” Auk, Vol. 95, 1978, pp. 23-33.
[22]	W. Trivelpiece and N. J. Volkman, “Feeding Strategies of Sympatric South Polar Catharacta maccormicki and Brown Skua C. l?nnbergi,” Ibis, Vol. 124, No. 1, 1982, pp. 50-54. doi:10.1111/j.1474-919X.1982.tb03740.x
[23]	F. Pezzo, S. Olmastroni, S. Corsolini and S. Focardi, “Factors Affecting the Breeding Success of the South Polar Skua Catharacta maccormicki at Edmonson Point, Victoria Land, Antarctica,” Polar Biology, Vol. 24, No. 6, 2001, pp. 389-393. doi:10.1007/s003000000213
[24]	S. Hahn and H-U. Peter, “Feeding Territoriality and the Reproductive Consequences in Brown Skuas Catharacta antarctica lonnbergi,” Polar Biology, Vol. 26, No. 8, 2003, pp. 552-559. doi:10.1007/s00300-003-0522-z