Guinet et coll.
PF
Biological invasions in the Antarctic:
extent, impacts and implications
60°S
Y. FRENOT, S.L. CHOWN, J. WHINAM, P.M. SELKIRK,
P. CONVEY, M. SKOTNICKI AND D.M. BERGSTROM
Biological Reviews 80, 45-72 (2005)
Subantarctic
vs
Antarctic
1. Ecological links
2. Same operators
3. Earlier response
to environmental
changes
Photo J.L. Chapuis
Isolation
Climatic constraints
(geology, oceanography, discovery)
from limit to extreme conditions
Late discovery
human influence has increased rapidly
from North to South
Low terrestrial biodiversity
High marine biodiversity
High endemism
<1950s: commercial exploitation
Disharmony of terrestrial food webs
(sealing, whaling, few farming activities)
mainly in the Subantarctic
Example of terrestrial invertebrate communities:
• dominance of decomposers,
• limited numbers of obligate herbivores
• near absence of predators
>1950s (IGY + Antarctic Treaty): Scientific activities
(permanent stations)
start of human impact on the continent itself
>1980s Development of a tourist industry
mainly on the Antarctic Peninsula
Relatively defenceless against changing environment
Proposed definitions
Alien: introduced to an ecosystem as a result of human activity
(including species that arrive by natural means to a specific
ecosystem but are alien to that biogeographical zone)
Transient alien: survived in small populations for a short time period
but either died out naturally or was removed by human intervention
Plants
Current knowledge of alien species
in Subantarctic and Antarctic ecosystems
40°S
How many?
MARION
33
59
60°S
CROZET
KERGUELEN
0-2
Persistent alien: survived, established and reproduced for many
years in a restricted locality, but has not expanded range from that
location
Invasive alien: spread into native communities and displaced native
species
13
SOUTH GEORGIA
ANTARCTIC
PENINSULA
1
69
HEARD
VICTORIA LAND
MACQUARIE
based on Greene (1964), Walton & Smith (1973) and Richardson et al. (2000)
3
1
Plants
Current knowledge of alien species
in Subantarctic and Antarctic ecosystems
Current knowledge of alien species
in Subantarctic and Antarctic ecosystems
Plants
Poa pratensis
What species?
When?
Most common families:
Poaceae
Asteraceae
Brassicaceae
Juncaceae
39 species
20 species
8 species
7 species
Nombre d’espèces végétales introduites
100
80
Most common alien species:
80
Alfred Faure
60
Poa annua, Poa pratensis, Cerastium fontanum, Rumex acetosella,
Stellaria media, Sagina procumbens
Nombre d’espèces végétales introduites
100
La Possession - Crozet
40
0
1850
Port-aux-Français
40
20
Life history traits:
Kerguelen
60
20
1900
1950
2000
0
1850
1900
1950
2000
75 % of aliens are perennial
65 % of the transient species are annual or biennial
Source: Frenot et al. 2001, Biol. Conserv. 101, 33-50.
Plants
Current knowledge of alien species
in Subantarctic and Antarctic ecosystems
Where?
Plants
Current knowledge of alien species
in Subantarctic and Antarctic ecosystems
How?
!(
Ile de la Possession
Crozet archipelago
#
#
V
#
Sagina procumbens
!(
Cupressus nootkatensis
Deliberate
!(
!(
1989 records
1996 records
2002 records
Huts
Permanent station
Source:Lebouvier et al., in prep.
Plants
Current knowledge of alien species
in Subantarctic and Antarctic ecosystems
Plants
Current knowledge of alien species
in Subantarctic and Antarctic ecosystems
Whinam et al. 2005, Biol. Conserv. 121, 207-219
How?
Poa annua
Facilitation?
Accidental
• Clothing and equipment of 64
expeditioners: 981 propagules and
five moss shoots
• 90 species from 15 families (mainly
Asteraceae and Poaceae).
• 163 germinations (24 species, 17 not
present in Subantarctic).
Aulacorthum solani
2
Current knowledge of alien species
in Subantarctic and Antarctic ecosystems
Invertebrates
Current knowledge of alien species
in Subantarctic and Antarctic ecosystems
Invertebrates
Myzus ascalonicus
40°S
How many?
What species?
MARION
12
18
SOUTH GEORGIA
60°S
Most common aliens:
CROZET
Diptera
Hemiptera
Coleoptera
14
KERGUELEN
0-3
30
Most widely distributed alien species:
HEARD
ANTARCTIC
PENINSULA
3
Psychoda parthenogenetica (Diptera Psychodidae)
Rhopalosiphum padi (Hemiptera Aphididae)
Life history traits:
VICTORIA LAND
Many of the aliens reproduce parthenogenetically
MACQUARIE
28
Current knowledge of alien species
in Subantarctic and Antarctic ecosystems
Current knowledge of alien species
in Subantarctic and Antarctic ecosystems
Invertebrates
When?
Where?
Few examples documented
N
Oopterus soledadinus
Kerguelen Islands
2005
Port-Couvreux
King Penguin colony
tourism & scientific site
1912
60°S
Falkland
Kerguelen
Port-aux-Français
Golfe du
Morbihan
Presence
Absence
Port - Couvreux
0
Risk assessment:
Example of exotic Collembola
P. Greenslade - Pedobiologia 46, 338–344 (2002)
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Distribution, preferred climate
Life history
Habitat
Ecological synchrony or tolerance
Dispersal mechanisms
Source:Lebouvier et al., in prep.
Anatalanta aptera
25 km
Current knowledge of alien species
in Subantarctic and Antarctic ecosystems
Vertebrates
40°S
How many?
MARION
3
1
SOUTH GEORGIA
60°S
CROZET
3
KERGUELEN
0
12
HEARD
ANTARCTIC
PENINSULA
0
Highest risk: the sewage springtail
Hypogastrura viatica
VICTORIA LAND
Quarantine controls: various types of inspection, washing procedures,
sampling and extraction procedures, fumigation…
MACQUARIE
6
3
Current knowledge of alien species
in Subantarctic and Antarctic ecosystems
Vertebrates
Current knowledge of alien species
in Subantarctic and Antarctic ecosystems
Microbial groups and diseases
What species?
No native fish, amphibian or reptile, no mammalian
carnivore or herbivore
Very little is known
Lake Vostok drilling
Deliberately introduced alien species
Fish (trout)
Mammals (reindeer, sheep, cat, rabbit)
Accidentally introduced alien species
Birds
Mammals (rats, mice)
Gavaghan, H. (2002) Life in the deep freeze. Nature 415, 828-830.
Current knowledge of alien species
in Subantarctic and Antarctic ecosystems
Microbial groups and diseases
Current knowledge of alien species
in Subantarctic and Antarctic ecosystems
Microbial groups and diseases
Fungi isolated from huts at historic sites on Ross island
Fungi introduced to Kerguelen and Marion Islands,now infect
the Kerguelen cabbage Pringlea antiscorbutica
The Kitchen At Cape Evans
(http://homepage.mac.com/smudog/PhotoAlbum13.html)
Current knowledge of alien species
in Subantarctic and Antarctic ecosystems
Microbial groups and deseases
Current knowledge of alien species
in Subantarctic and Antarctic ecosystems
Microbial groups and deseases
• avian paramyxoviruses (APMV)
• antibodies to Newcastle Disease (NDV)
• Salmonella sp.
• Lyme Disease spirochete, Borrelia burgdorferi
Stilbocarpa Bacilliform Mosaic Virus
(Macquarie Island)
Skotnicki et al., Polar Biology 26, 1-7 (2003)
4
Current knowledge of alien species
in Subantarctic and Antarctic ecosystems
Origins of invasion
Most aliens are of European origin,
large ecological range
Marine introductions
Only one record : Hyas araneus
Tavares, M. & De Melo, G.A.S. 2004. Antarctic
Science 16, 129–131.
Photo http://www.seawater.no/fauna/Leddyr/sandpyntekrabbe.htm
Few exceptions:
• Carabid beetles native to the Falkland Islands
Trechisibus antarcticus Æ South Georgia
Oopterus soledadinus Æ Kerguelen, South Georgia
• Bipolar plant species, present in the Falkland Islands
Trisetum spicatum Æ Kerguelen
Whinam et al. 2005, Biol. Conserv. 121, 207-219
Inspection of a barge used by AAD at Heard and Macquarie Islands:
•
•
•
•
•
•
Algae (Ulva sp.)
Barnacles
Live crustaceans
Starfish
Live mussels
Live crabs
See also Lewis et al. 2003 Marine Pollution Bulletin 46, 213–223
Trechisibus antarcticus
Photo P. Convey
Trisetum spicatum
Correlates of invasion
•
•
•
•
•
•
Changing pattern of use
Biological traits: e.g. parthenogenesis, long-lived species
Size of the islands
Distance to the nearest continent
Absence of many functional groups
Level of human occupancy or human visitor frequency
Energy availability
Tourism
Over-riding influences
• Human pattern of use
• Climate
Level of introduction
of alien biota
Source www.iaato.org
Mainly around the Scotia Arc and Antarctic Peninsula, to a lesser
extent in the Ross sea sector
Sequence of sites visited is often from warmer, higher biodiversity
areas to cooler, lower biodiversity areas
Changing pattern of use
Tourism
Changing pattern of use
Scientific research activities
Four trends in tourism patterns of significance to aliens:
1) Disproportionately attracted to sites of high/medium diversity
2) Intensity of visitor use is increasing
(number of people landing, number of rubber boat…)
3) Most popular sites of popularity change over time
4) The range of tourist activities is expanding
2001/02 season
Æ 4390 personnel in Antarctica + Subantarctic islands, across 67
stations or field camps (COMNAP, 2003)
Æ 13600 tourists (IAATO, 2002), landings at 118 sites on the Antarctic
Peninsula and South Shetland Islands (Moser & Betts, 2002)
~ 1361 Scotia Arc and Antarctic Peninsula
~ 1200 McMurdo Station, Ross sea sector
60 ships used by national programs to transport personnel and cargo
(landing and wildlife watching, walks, kayaking trips,…)
5
Climate change: trends
Changing pattern of use
Accessibility by air
Annual air temperature > 1 °C
over the last 30-50 years
Changes in precipitation
Faster, more efficient exchange of
personnel and equipment
but allows rapid transfer of
propagules (short-life stages arrive
alive)
Changes in water availability in
terrestrial habitats
Ex: house fly via British airlink
Falkland Islands Æ Rothera Point
Æ Killingbeck Isl. (mid-January 2003)
Temperature change for Austral Winter, 1950-2005
(NASA-GISS)
Glacial retreat: new areas for colonisation
Climate change: implications for alien biota
Climate change: implications for alien biota
Establishment and colonisation of new alien species
Establishment and colonisation of new alien species
69° E
Accumulated degree days / year at Kerguelen Islands
Iles Kerguelen
900
N
First record at Kerguelen
800
49° S
700
611
600
Calliphora vicina
Calliphora vicina
500
Calotte
Cook
Port aux Français
400
52
55
60
65
70
75
80
85
90
95
Minimum accumulated degree days necessary to complete
the life cycle of Calliphora vicina, vitellogenesis included
2000
Vallée
Ampère
0
10
20 30 Km
Maritime Antarctic and continental coastline
Temperature, precipitation, UV-B
Extent of existing populations of persistent aliens
Impacts likely continue to be minor, but poorly understood;
further alien colonization (including microbial groups)
expected
Victoria Land Dry Valleys (continental Antarctic)
Concordia station
75°06’S - 123°21’E
• Dome C
February 2006
Short term cooling reported but disputed
UV-B receipt during ozone depletion
No alien species known to be established; likely increase in
arrivals and establishment of alien micro-organisms
6
CONCLUSIONS
1. At present macro-alien biota confined to sub-Antarctic and
to a much lesser extent maritime Antarctic
2. Impacts of alien taxa on indigenous ecosystems range from
negligible / transient to significant
CONCLUSIONS
4. Major correlates of invasion are human visitor
numbers/frequency and temperature.
5. Risks of introductions to region, although lower than elsewhere,
remain significant.
6. Current climatic trends will further enhance alien invasion.
3. The majority of aliens are representatives of widespread families
and/or are European in origin
CONCLUSIONS
7. Unless stringent measures are taken to reduce propagule loads
new invasions will occur, with impact
key areas: humans, their food, cargo, transport vessels
Consider / recommend
on a range of further mitigation measures:
• cessation of imports / on-station cultivation of foreign biological
material
• stringent measures to ensure rodent-free status of ships and aircraft
• logistical planning to minimise the risk of intra-regional and local
transfer of propagules to pristine locations
• control of visitor numbers and access to more sensitive or pristine
sites
• cleaning/sterilization of high risk transport locations for aliens, e.g.
cargo surfaces, foodstuffs and clothing
CONCLUSIONS
8. A clear and urgent need for long-term monitoring programmes
a) identify and assess future invasions,
b) monitor the status of species already established
c) assess the effectiveness of any mitigation measures adopted
Evolution and Biodiversity in the Antarctic: the
Response of Life to Change (EBA)
describe the past,
understand the present,
predict the future ...
Establishment of a Code of Conduct for field work:
Transfer of alien species to Antarctica and Subantarctic islands
and between location transfer of species (RiSCC)
7
Support
• French Polar Institute (Programme 136)
• CNRS (Zone-atelier de recherches sur l’environnement antarctique et subantarctique)
• Spatial, Physiological and Conservation Ecology Group, Dept Zoology, University of
Stellenbosch
• NRF Centre for Invasion Biology, Tasmanian Nature Conservation Branch, Macquarie University
• British Antarctic Survey (BIRESA Project)
• Australian National University (Canberra)
• Australian Antarctic Programme (Project 1015 and 1187),
• Australian Antarctic Division
Code of Conduct to minimise the chance of introduction of alien taxa to
Antarctic and subantarctic environments and to reduce the risk of
accidental transfer of taxa between major ice-free localities
Risk assessment
•Has any equipment/ equipment cases/ field clothing/ boots,
planned for use in the subantarctic/Antarctica been used in
other natural environments, particularly alpine or polar
environments?
•What are the means needed to clean this equipment/
equipment cases/ clothing/boots?
•Will the field party be visiting more than one major locality?
•
Thank you
If yes, how will the field party ensure that equipment/ equipment cases/
clothing/boots do not carry diaspores between sites?
Photo K.Pierre / IPEV
Code of Conduct to minimise the chance of introduction of alien taxa to
Antarctic and subantarctic environments and to reduce the risk of
accidental transfer of taxa between major ice-free localities
Field work
Field planning
• If field work requires moving between major ice-free localities, aim to
conduct field work in low diversity localities before high diversity localities.
Equipment
• When designing field equipment, reduce the capacity of the equipment to
carry additional material and make the equipment easy to clean and sterilise.
• If equipment can not be cleaned effectively, do not use this equipment
between major localities but take multiple sets of equipment (eg planktonic
nets).
• Be aware of where equipment cases are stored and that these cases do not
accumulate dust or invertebrate infestations.
• When cleaning items be particularly vigilant in removing soil, seeds and
bryophyte propagules (including leaves).
Code of Conduct to minimise the chance of introduction of alien taxa to
Antarctic and subantarctic environments and to reduce the risk of
accidental transfer of taxa between major ice-free localities
Outdoor clothing and boots and packs
•If clothing can not be cleaned with bleach or similar compound, take
new clothing/boots and packs. Be aware that items with Velcro can
collect seeds. Chose items with minimal or no velcro.
•Clean field items between sites. Be particularly vigilant in removing soil,
seeds and bryophyte propagules (including leaves).
UNDERSTANDING THE THREAT
introduce the current state of knowledge regarding biological invasions in
Antarctica, and in a global context
provide background for key questions 1 and 2
Key questions:
1. State of knowledge:
How complete is the understanding of non-native species in Antarctica?
What are the gaps in knowledge?
What are the research priorities?
2. Non-native species threats:
What are the key characteristics of successful invasive species?
Which species, diseases or groups pose the greatest threat in Antarctica? (including
current identified diseases)
Which environments or ecosystems are most at risk?
What are the transport processes / pathways?
How do we distinguish between natural and human-assisted invasions? And how do we
respond?
Genetics threats? (Which may result from exchanges of individuals between sites in
Antarctica).
8