Abstract
Snow Island is part of the South Shetland Archipelago in Antarctica. Most of its surface is permanently covered by snow, yet it has an important paleobotanical site. There are no protected areas on the island and no recent data regarding its vegetation. This study aimed to collect and identify fresh samples of bryophytes from President Head Peninsula of Snow Island. Samples were collected during the summers of 2015 and 2018. Among the 24 bryophyte species identified in this work, 19 are new occurrences for Snow Island, bringing the total known for the island to 29 species. The most diverse family is Pottiaceae, with four species of two genera, followed by Bryaceae and Polytrichaceae, with three species each. The results show that the diversity of mosses on Snow Island is greater than previously reported. We here demonstrated the region's importance and the 190 % increase in Snow Island species number. This study also updated the Antarctic distribution of some species.
Highlights
Antarctica is the most distant and isolated continent, and is considered the driest and coldest region on the planet (Bargagli 2005; Cassano 2013)
One hundred and eighty-five samples were collected on Snow Island during the Antarctic summers of 2015 and 2018, representing a total of 24 species of bryophytes distributed among 16 genera and 12 families
In the West Antarctica Peninsula it is registered in Danco Coast and Fallières Coast and in South Shetlands Archipelago is reported only for Deception Island (Ochyra et al 2008) and this study found this species in Snow Island too
Summary
Antarctica is the most distant and isolated continent, and is considered the driest and coldest region on the planet (Bargagli 2005; Cassano 2013). It is inhabited by extremophile organisms that are able to establish themselves and survive the harsh conditions (Longton & Holdgate 1979). These characteristics make Antarctica a unique place for the development of scientific research in diverse areas such as environmental science and biodiversity (Câmara et al 2017). The South Shetlands is an archipelago that covers an area of 3687 km. The South Shetlands is an archipelago that covers an area of 3687 km2 It comprises 11 main islands and is located north of the Antarctic Peninsula
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