A tiny flightless midge which has colonised Antarctica’s Signy Island is driving fundamental changes to the island’s soil ecosystem.
A tiny flightless midge which has colonised Antarctica’s Signy Island is driving fundamental changes to the island’s soil ecosystem.
Research by experts at the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) in collaboration with the University of Birmingham has revealed that a non-native midge species is significantly increasing rates of plant decomposition, resulting in three to five-fold increases in soil nitrate levels compared to sites where only native invertebrates occur.
The study, published in the journal Soil Biology and Biochemistry, was part of a PhD project completed by Dr Jesamine Bartlett jointly between Birmingham and BAS, and outlines how the midge, Eretmoptera murphyi, is altering soil ecosystems on the island. The insect is a decomposer, feeding on dead organic matter across the island which releases large amounts of nutrients into the soil.
Read more at British Antarctic Survey
Image: The midge is originally a native of South Georgia before arriving in Signy (Photo Credit: Pete Bucktrout – BAS)
