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Number of results: 8
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Abstract

The aim of this study was to identify a suitable lichen species for the long−term monitoring of heavy−metal atmospheric pollution in Svalbard. Cladonia and Cetraria s.l. species that have been widely used until now for assessing heavy−metal deposition in the Arctic are in decline over extensive areas of Svalbard, mainly due to climate change and over−grazing by reindeer. Cetrariella delisei , rarely used for biomonitoring, is still common and widespread in this area. Levels of Cr, Ni, Fe, Cu, Pb, Zn, Cd and Mn were measured in three lichen species: Cetrariella delisei , Cladonia uncialis , Flavocetraria nivalis and in a moss Racomitrium lanuginosum from Sørkapp Land, South Spitsbergen. The results imply that Cetrariella delisei can be safely compared to Cladonia uncialis for identifying the levels of heavy metals, but direct comparison between Cetrariella delisei and other species studied is more difficult owing to differences in levels of heavy metals even in samples from the same site.
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Authors and Affiliations

Michał Węgrzyn
Maja Lisowska
Paweł Nicia
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Abstract

The rapidly changing Arctic provides excellent opportunities for investigating primary succession on freshly deglaciated areas. Research on the Gåsbreen foreland (S Spitsbergen) traced the succession of particular groups of organisms and species, particularly lichens and bryophytes, and determined the effect of selected abiotic factors on this succession. Fieldwork in 2008, employed a continuous linear transect of phytosociological relevés (1 m2) along the foreland. Data analysis allowed to distinguish five different succession stages and three types of colonisers. Canonical correspondence analysis and a permutation test showed that distance from the front of the glacier and fine grain material in the substrate mostly influenced the distribution and abundance of vegetation, and the steepness of the moraine hills affected the colonisation process, mainly in the older part of the marginal zone.
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Authors and Affiliations

Michał Węgrzyn
Maja Lisowska
Paulina Wietrzyk
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Abstract

Long term changes (46 years) in the a bundance of pygoscelid penguins breeding populations and nests distribution in the Lions Rump (King George Island) colony were investigated in three time intervals, according to previously published two censuses and one original study conducted in 2010. At that time a detailed colony map based on the GIS system was made. Results of this study showed different trends for each investigated species. In the last three decades Adélie penguin breeding populations showed strong declining tendencies (69.61%). In contrast, the population of gentoo penguins represents the reverse trend, increasing 171.85% over the same period. Observed changes in both penguin population sizes are reflected in the different spatial and geographic distribution of their nests. The population changes observed at the Lions Rump colony are consistent with the relevant pygoscelid penguin tendencies in the western Antarctic Peninsula region. Breeding penguin population dynamics at Lions Rump area with a minimal disturbance by human activity may well illustrate a natural response of those birds to environmental changes in the Antarctic.
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Authors and Affiliations

Małgorzata Korczak-Abshire
Michał Węgrzyn
Piotr J. Angiel
Maja Lisowska
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Abstract

This paper refers to lichen biota growing on driftwood in the Kaffi ø yra Plain (NW Spitsbergen, Svalbard). The presented list of 25 lichenized fungi includes both the eurytopic, accidental, typical, and stenotopic species. Taxa that belong to the last two groups can be considered as lignicolous. This study confirms the existence of a specific group of lichen species, for which the driftwood is a main substrate in the Arctic. Additionally, five lichen species new for the whole Svalbard were recorded, namely: Candelariella coralliza , Elixia flexella , Lecanora saligna , Lecidea plebeja , and Xylographa sibirica .
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Authors and Affiliations

Michał Węgrzyn
Paulina Wietrzyk
Edyta Adamska
Paweł Nicia
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Abstract

This study investigated leaf mesophyll cells of Caryophyllaceae plants growing in polar regions – Cerastium alpinum and Silene involucrata from the Hornsund region of Spitsbergen island (Svalbard Archipelago, Arctic), and Colobanthus quitensis from the Admiralty Bay region on King George Island (South Shetland Islands, West Antarctic). Ultra− structural changes were analyzed in mesophyll protoplasts of plants growing in natural Arctic and Antarctic habitats and plants grown in a greenhouse, including plants exposed to short−term cold stress under se mi−controlled conditions. Cell organelles of plants growing in natural polar habitats and greenhouse−grown plants were characterized by significant morphological plasticity. Chloroplasts of plants studied in this work formed variously shaped protrusions and invaginations that visibly increased the contact area between adjacent cell compartments and reduced the distance between organelles. S. involucrata plants grown under greenhouse conditions, tested by us in this wor k, were characterized by highly dynamic cell nuclei with single or multiple invaginations of the nuclear membrane and the presence of channels and cisternae filled with cytoplasm and organelles. Crystalline inclusion proteins were observed in the cell nuclei of C. quitensis between nuclear membranes and in the direct proximity of heterochromatin. Our study revealed significant conformational dynamics of organelles, manifested by variations in the optical density of matrices, membranes and envelopes, in particular in C. quitensis , which could suggest that the analyzed Caryophyllaceae taxa are well adapted to severe climate and changing conditions in polar regions.
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Authors and Affiliations

Irena Giełwanowska
Michał Węgrzyn
Maja Lisowska
Marta Pastorczyk
Ryszard J. Górecki
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Abstract

The harsh polar environment results in the dominance of mosses and liverworts in tundra communities. To date, very little research has been devoted to the diversity and ecology of these groups in the High Arctic. The aim of this research was to investigate the diversity and community composition of mosses and liverworts in various stages of the ecogenesis of Svalbard ecosystems, and to identify environmental factors affecting species distribution. In 2017, 270 plots were established in a grid in eight glacier forelands and the mature tundra surrounding them. Within these plots, the percentage cover of mosses and liverworts was investigated. In 201 plots, soil samples were taken and environmental data (aspect, bare ground cover, biological soil crust cover, distance from the glacier forehead, rock cover, slope, time elapsed since the glacier’s retreat, Topographic Wetness Index, and total insolation) were obtained. In total, 105 species were recorded. Species number and composition depended on effects of both habitat type (foreland and mature tundra) and the geographical locations of glaciers, while species cover was also associated with the interaction between those factors. The following factors affected species distribution: cover of bare ground and vascular plants, distance from the glacier forehead, soil conductivity, contents of total organic carbon and total nitrogen in soil, K+ content, silt and sand contents, soil pH, time elapsed since the glacier’s retreat, and total insolation. In the glacier forelands, mosses and liverworts are less exposed to competition from other species. Therefore, in the future, if global warming progresses at its current rate, forelands may serve as important species refugia.

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Authors and Affiliations

Paulina Wietrzyk-Pełka
ORCID: ORCID
Beata Cykowska-Marzencka
Fumino Maruo
Wojciech Szymański
ORCID: ORCID
Michał Hubert Węgrzyn
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Abstract

Assessment of photosynthetic activity is one of the quick and simple methods of verification whether the studied environmental factors have a stressful effect on photosynthetically active organisms. High-intensity light can be a stress factor that could have a potential impact on the maximum productivity of photosystem II. The purpose of the conducted research was to observe changes in photosynthetic activity of the lichen Cladonia mitis and the bryophyte Pleurozium schreberi exposed to artificial high-energy lighting under laboratory culture conditions. The obtained results showed variability of photosynthetic activity over time, depending on the amount of light energy supplied. C. mitis and P. schreberi at full exposure (light energy: 52.03 W m -2 and photosynthetically active radiation 167.24 μmol m -2) showed a slow downward trend in photosynthetic activity, while at half the light intensity periodic fluctuations were observed without changes in the controls. Long-term and high-light intensity exposure of photosynthetically active organisms may cause gradual degradation of the photosynthetic apparatus, which in turn leads to cell death. Low values of photosynthetic activity may indicate a situation in which, due to excess light, the rate of photosystem II damage exceeds the rate of its repair. This leads to irreversible damage to the photosynthetic apparatus.
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Authors and Affiliations

Patrycja Dziurowicz
1
ORCID: ORCID
Patrycja Fałowska
1
ORCID: ORCID
Karolina Waszkiewicz
1
ORCID: ORCID
Paulina Wietrzyk-Pełka
1
ORCID: ORCID
Michał H. Węgrzyn
1
ORCID: ORCID

  1. Jagiellonian University, Faculty of Biology, Institute of Botany, Laboratory of Polar Research, Gronostajowa 3, 30-387 Kraków, Poland

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