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Aeolian fallout on recently deglaciated terrain in the high Arctic

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Abstract

In the absence of autochthonous inputs, it has been hypothesised that winds operate as an important vector for the nutritional subsidisation of pre-vegetative sites on deglaciated terrain (the aeolian subsidisation hypothesis). Aerial deposition of passively transported organic matter (non-flying Collembola and Acari; organic detritus) was measured on the proglacial region of the Midtre Lovénbre glacier, Kongsfjorden, West Spitsbergen during June and July 2003. Passive fallout, in terms of both biomass and rates of accumulation, was insufficient to explain the abundance and relative functional diversity of arthropod communities on such nutritionally depauperate sites. The role of wind as a passive vector for nutrient introduction is far overshadowed by the allochthonous inputs provided by the active dispersal to and/or colonisation of recently deglaciated habitats by arthropods.

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Acknowledgments

TCH was supported by a NERC MSc studentship and a John Ray Trust Bursury. Thanks to Drs Sarah Woodin and Mark Young for project advice; and Nick Cox and Pete Milner for logistical support at the NERC Arctic Research Station. The Norwegian Air Quality Institute (NILU) is thanked for meteorological data. Thanks to two anonymous referees for their constructive criticism of the ms.

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  1. Zoology Building, University of Aberdeen, Tillydrone Avenue, Aberdeen, AB24 2TZ, UK

    T. C. Hawes

  2. Department of Biosciences, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham, B16 2TT, UK 

    T. C. Hawes

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Correspondence to T. C. Hawes.

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Hawes, T.C. Aeolian fallout on recently deglaciated terrain in the high Arctic. Polar Biol 31, 295–301 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-007-0357-0

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