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Seabird colony effects on soil properties and vegetation zonation patterns on King George Island, Maritime Antarctic

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Abstract

Seabirds are among the most important vectors transferring biogenic compounds from the sea onto land in the polar regions and, consequently, influencing the properties of soil and vegetation. We studied the influence of bird colonies (Adélie penguin Pygoscelis adeliae, gentoo penguin P. papua and giant petrels Macronectes giganteus) on soil properties and plant communities on King George Island, Maritime Antarctic. We designated seven transects, each starting from the colony edge and running to a natural boundary feature, which were divided into contiguous sample plots where we identified specific plant taxa (Prasiola crispa, Deschampsia antarctica, Colobanthus quitensis, Usnea sp.), as well as hydrophilous and xerophilous ecological groups of mosses. Based on percentage contributions of each of these taxa, we distinguished six distinct vegetation zones along the transects, in which we measured physical (moisture, conductivity and pH) and chemical (NO3 −, NO2 −, NH4 +, K+ and PO4 3− content) soil parameters. Our study confirmed that, with increasing distance from bird colonies, the concentration of nutrients and soil conductivity decreased, while pH increased. The vegetation zones were clearly related to this gradient of seabird colony influence and occurred in the same sequence for all three bird species examined, although the largest colony of Adélie penguins had the strongest effect on vegetation. Similarly, the physical and chemical soil properties did not differ significantly between the colonies.

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Acknowledgments

This study was supported by the Polish Ministry of Science and Higher Education (Grants No. 1883/P01/2007/32). P. Convey is supported by NERC core funding to the British Antarctic Survey’s Ecosystems Programme. This paper also contributes to the SCAR AnT-ERA research programme. We would like to thank Dr. Lech Iliszko for assistance in data collection and laboratory analyses. Special thanks to Dr. Agata Weydmann and Dr. Katarzyna Zmudczyńska-Skarbek for their helpful criticism of earlier versions of this article. Thanks are also due to the 30th and 31st “Arctowski” expeditions.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Vertebrate Ecology and Zoology, University of Gdańsk, Wita Stwosza 59, 80-308, Gdańsk, Poland

    Adrian Zwolicki, Mateusz Barcikowski & Lech Stempniewicz

  2. Department of Plant Ecology and Nature Protection, Nicolaus Copernicus University, Lwowska St. 11, 87-100, Toruń, Poland

    Adam Barcikowski

  3. British Antarctic Survey, Natural Environmental Research Council, High Cross, Madingley Road, Cambridge, CB3 0ET, UK

    Peter Convey

  4. Konopnickiej 12/1, 87-100, Toruń, Poland

    Mariusz Cymerski

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  1. Adrian Zwolicki
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Correspondence to Adrian Zwolicki.

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Zwolicki, A., Barcikowski, M., Barcikowski, A. et al. Seabird colony effects on soil properties and vegetation zonation patterns on King George Island, Maritime Antarctic. Polar Biol 38, 1645–1655 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-015-1730-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-015-1730-z

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