Page 62 - 31MAY2019E

A little poop goes

A long wAy in AntArcticA

ntil recently, human beings The nitrogen-rich droppings an “ideal natural laboratory” to study
were unable to under- from colonies of cute penguins the relationship between nutrients
stand how organisms cope and biodiversity because of the
with Antarctica’s severe and seals play key role in simplicity of the overall food web, in
U drought and the coldest sustaining life on the continent, contrast to other parts of the world
conditions on the planet. Now every- where ecosystems were far more com-
one is amazed when it has been found finds tehelka bureau plex. But the study also underscored
that the nitrogen-rich droppings from how interconnected the continent’s
colonies of cute penguins and seals Braving bitter temperatures, the ecosystem was — and therefore its
play key role in it. researchers waded through fields of vulnerability to human activity.
In other words, the fetid waste of animal waste - not to mention hordes All countries working on the conti-
penguins and elephant seals helps of clamoring elephant seals and gen- nent are subject to the Antarctic Treaty
spread nutrients across surprisingly too, chinstrap, and Adelie penguins — System, which obliges them to protect
large areas of Antarctica. This fertilizer to examine the surrounding soils and its wildlife, but Bokhorst said the study
traveled nearly as far as a kilometer plants using infrared gas analyzers showed “if you start poking at one end
past the edges of their active outposts, that measured their respiration. it will have an effect at the other end.”
floating on the chilled Antarctic winds. Samples brought back and exam- “You need to keep a good eye that
In areas where the poop wafted, ined in labs revealed that there were you’re not overfishing the oceans so
tiny creatures such as mites, spring- millions of tiny invertebrates per you’re not harming food supplies, oth-
tails (sometimes called snow fleas), and square meter because of the lack of erwise you’re going to have an impact
other microscopic critters were two predators in their environment - un- for biodiversity,” he said.
to five times more abundant than in like in European on American grass- The peninsula’s vibrant inverte-
areas less fecally blessed, according to lands, where the number may typically brate communities face few predators,
a paper in Current Biology. be between 50,000 and 100,000. but the advent of tourism means there
The new study published by the “The more animals we get, the is an increasing chance people could
journal has discovered that the influ- larger the footprint there is, and we’re bring seeds or even insects with them.
ential excrement supported thriving finding higher diversity in those sites,” The discovery may help researchers
communities of mosses and lichens, Bokhorst told AFP, emphasising that keep a close eye on these fragile and
which in turn sustained vast numbers species’ richness was linked less with remote ecosystems without braving
of microscopic animals like springtails how cold or dry the region was and Antarctica’s extreme landscape.Tiny
and mites for more than one 1,000 more to the nutrients added by the mites and snow fleas might seem small
meters beyond the colony. excrement. to us, but they dominate terrestrial life
“What we see is that the poo pro- Ultimately, the research allowed the in Antarctica.
duced by seals and penguins partly team to map the hotspots across the It’s a tough life, and unlike the visit-
evaporates as ammonia,” said co-au- Antarctic Peninsula, finding penguin ing birds and mammals, they can’t
thor Stef Bokhorst from the Depart- colonies to be a proxy for biodiversity. exactly venture into the nutrient-rich
ment of Ecological Sciences at Vrije The maps can be updated in the future water around the continent for a quick
Universiteit Amsterdam. “Then, the using satellite imagery to determine bite.
ammonia gets picked up by the wind the size and location of breeding But near their colony, elephant seals
and is blown inland, and this makes colonies, freeing future scientists and penguins deliver marine takeout
its way into the soil and provides the from having to conduct treacherous to these hardy invertebrates.
nitrogen that primary producers need fieldwork.
in order to survive in this landscape.” For Bokhorst, Antarctica presented letters@tehelka.com

Tehelka / 31 may 2019 62 www.Tehelka.com