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Redalyc.LÍQUENES DEL ENTORNO DE LA BASE CIENTÍFICA Polibotánica ISSN: 1405-2768 [email protected] Departamento de Botánica México Piñeiro, Verónica; Eguren, Gabriela; Pereira, Iris; Zaldúa, Natalia LÍQUENES DEL ENTORNO DE LA BASE CIENTÍFICA ANTÁRTICA ARTIGAS, BAHÍA COLLINS, ISLA REY JORGE, ANTÁRTIDA. ESTUDIO PRELIMINAR Polibotánica, núm. 33, enero, 2012, pp. 105-116 Departamento de Botánica Distrito Federal, México Disponible en: http://www.redalyc.org/articulo.oa?id=62124396007 Cómo citar el artículo Número completo Sistema de Información Científica Más información del artículo Red de Revistas Científicas de América Latina, el Caribe, España y Portugal Página de la revista en redalyc.org Proyecto académico sin fines de lucro, desarrollado bajo la iniciativa de acceso abierto Núm. 33, pp. 105-116, ISSN 1405-2768; México, 2012 LÍQUENES DEL ENTORNO DE LA BASE CIENTÍFICA ANTÁRTICA ARTIGAS, BAHÍA COLLINS, ISLA REY JORGE, ANTÁRTIDA. ESTUDIO PRELIMINAR Verónica Piñeiro3, Gabriela Eguren1, Iris Pereira2 y Natalia Zaldúa3 1Instituto de Ecología y Ciencias Ambientales, Facultad de Ciencias, UdelaR, Uruguay. 2Instituto de Biología Vegetal y Biotecnología, Universidad de Talca, Talca, Chile. 3Caubá Flora Nativa, Facultad de Ciencias, UdelaR, Uruguay. Correo electrónico: [email protected] RESUMEN ABSTRACT La isla Rey Jorge del archipiélago Shetlands King George Island is in the South del Sur, es una de las localidades más Shetlands archipelago and is one of the representativas de la Antártida marítima y most maritime Antarctic representative por lo tanto apropiada para el monitoreo areas. Therefore this area is suitable for de comunidades liquénicas y vegetales monitoring cryptogams (lichens) and como indicadoras de cambios ambientales plant communities as indicators of global globales. En este trabajo se muestrearon los environmental changes. In this study a parches de líquenes representativos en cuatro lichen patches survey was conducted in zonas, del entorno de las instalaciones de la four zones around the Uruguayan Antarctic Base Científi ca Antártica Artigas (BCAA) Scientifi c Station (UASS), located at Fíldes localizada en la Península Fildes (isla Rey Peninsula, King George Island (62º10´ S/ Jorge) (62º10´ S/58º50´ O). En cada zona 58º50´ W). In each zone, we determined se determinó la frecuencia y cobertura de the frequency and coverage of each lichen las escpecies identifi cadas. Se identifi caron species. Thirteen species were identifi ed trece especies según sus características by morphological characteristics and morfológicas e identifi cación de sustancias chemical constituents. Cladonia gender is químicas. Para el género Cladonia se represented by four species, while the rest of identifi caron cuatro especies, mientras que the genera recorded only one species. Usnea para el resto de los géneros sólo se identifi có aurantiaco-atra was the most abundant una especie. Usnea aurantiaco-atra fue species and the rarest was Leptogium la especie más abundante y que presentó puberulum, only present in one of surveyed mayor cobertura y Leptogium puberulum zones. This work is the fi rst survey of lichen la más escasa, sólo presente en una de las communities in this area. zonas estudiadas. Este trabajo constituye la primera revisión de los parches de líquenes Key words: Lichen communities, maritime presentes en esta área. Antarctic, King George Island. Palabras claves: comunidades de líquenes, Antártida marítima, isla Rey Jorge. 105 Núm. 33: 105-116 Enero 2012 INTRODUCCIÓN efectos del cambio climático se observan primero y con mayor severidad en latitudes La Antártida marítima, abarca la costa altas (Vincent, 1997 y Walker, 1997). Las occidental de la Península Antártica e islas islas Shetland del Sur, debido a su ubicación Orcadas del Sur y Shetland del Sur, donde geográfi ca, representan un área sensible las variaciones estacionales y presencia a los efectos del cambio climático y por de humedad confi guran espacios de alta tanto los estudios de las comunidades biodiversidad (Holdgate, 1967; Serrano, terrestres de dicha zona son relevantes para 2003). La isla Rey Jorge, perteneciente estimar la tasa y la dirección de los cambios al archipiélago de las Shetland del ambientales y ecológicos en el tiempo (Kim Sur, presenta clima marítimo frío, con et al., 2007; Lewis Smith, 1990; Longton, zonas libres de glaciares y formaciones 1988 y Robinson et al., 2003). vegetales propias del bioma “tundra abierta antártica” (Serrano, 2003). La vegetación La península Fildes (al oeste de la isla predominante está constituida por briofi tas Rey Jorge), ha sido categorizada como y líquenes (Holdgate, 1967), la cual forma Área Antártica Especialmente Protegida un mosaico de comunidades que ocupan (ASPA) N°125 (Patrimonio Natural, áreas pequeñas con un número de especies 2009). Esta categoría tiene como objetivo relativamente bajo (Olech, 2004). Los general la preservación de especies y estudios de líquenes de la isla Rey Jorge diversidad genética de zonas representativas señalan la presencia de 294 taxones, lo de la ecoregión antártica. En este sentido que representa un 77% del total de taxones el aporte que brinda la información sobre identifi cados en la Antártida (Ovstedal & las características de las comunidades Lewis Smith, 2001). Si bien numerosos criptogámicas de las diferentes zonas de la trabajos científi cos han caracterizado las península Fildes, se torna fundamental para formaciones criptogámicas y vegetales cumplir con los objetivos de estas zonas presentes en la isla (Lindsay, 1971; protegidas. Furmanczyk & Ochyra, 1982; Olech, 1994; Kim et al., 2007), no ocurre lo mismo con En este trabajo se realiza una descripción de estudios que mencionen estimaciones de la composición y estructura de la comunidad cobertura y composición específi ca de estas de líquenes presente en el entorno de la comunidades en la Bahía Collins. Base Científi ca Antártica Artigas (BCAA), ubicada en la bahía Collins de la península Conti & Cecchetti (2001) señalan que Fildes, isla Rey Jorge. los líquenes pueden ser utilizados como bioindicadores o biomonitores en dos MÉTODO formas diferentes: a través del mapeo de las diferentes especies existentes en Área de estudio un área o a través de la medición directa de contaminantes (bioacumulación). El área de estudio está localizada en la Este uso potencial de los líquenes cobra península Fildes (isla Rey Jorge, Shetland relevancia en la Antártida ya que diversas del Sur), en Bahía Collins en el entorno investigaciones hacen énfasis en que los de las instalaciones de la BCAA (62º10´ 106 Piñeiro, V. et al.: Líquenes del entorno de la Base Científi ca Antártica Artigas, B. Collins, Isla Rey Jorge, Antártida. S/ 58º50´ O) (Fig. 1). Los muestreos se Muestreo fl orístico realizaron durante los periodos de verano, desde el año 2006 al 2008, en seis campa- Las comunidades de líquenes fueron ñas antárticas: noviembre 2006, diciembre estudiadas utilizando el método de los 2006, enero 2007, diciembre 2007, mayo cuadrados de Braun-Blanquet en Mateucci 2008 y diciembre 2008. & Colma (1982) adaptado a las condiciones locales, utilizando cuadrantes de 30 x 50 cm En los alrededores de la BCAA, al igual que subdivididos en 10 subcuadrantes de 15 x en el resto de la península, predominan las 10 cm. En cada parche se trazó al menos, criptógamas que conforman un mosaico de un transecto, la longitud del mismo se comunidades que ocupan pequeñas áreas estableció dependiendo del largo máximo (parches), separadas por amplios espacios de los parches. Dentro de cada transecto se libres de vegetación (Fig. 2) (Olech, 2004; distribuyeron los cuadrantes cada un metro Serrano, 2003). Para estudiar la frecuencia aproximadamente y se tomó una fotografía y cobertura de las especies liquénicas, se de cada uno, a partir de la cual se determinó eligieron cuatro zonas, cuyas características la frecuencia de aparición y porcentaje de se indican en la tabla 1: zona I corresponde cobertura de las especies. Este trabajo se al arco de la bahía Collins; zona II área centró principalmente en el estudio de las de mayor influencia de las actividades especies foliosas y fructiculosas, y dentro BCAA; zona III abarca la punta Suffi eld y de las crustosas las más conspicuas. la zona IV alrededores del lago Uruguay. En cada zona, se muestrearon los parches de Para cada cuadrante se calculó la frecuencia líquenes más conspicuos y representativos de cada especie como el número de sub- de la heterogeneidad fl orística percibida; cuadrantes en los que aparece la especie dos parches en la Zona I, tres parches en la i en relación al total de subcuadrantes (Fi Zona II, dos parches en la Zona III y tres = ni/10). parches en la Zona IV (Fig. 3). La frecuencia de cada especie en los En la tabla 1 se mencionan las características diferentes parches fue calculada a través de los parches estudiados dentro de cada del promedio de las Fi en el parche. La zona. Se describe su distancia a la costa cobertura de cada especie fue determinada más cercana, altura sobre el nivel del mar, como el porcentaje de superficie que pendiente (nula, suave, media y abrupta), ocupaba en cada cuadrante. El porcentaje de tipo de sustrato (suelo mineral: < 0.2 cm; cobertura de cada especie en los diferentes grava: 0.2 a 6 cm; canto rodado: 6 a 25 parches fue calculado a través del promedio cm; bloque: > 25 cm y musgo) (modifi cado de los porcentajes de cobertura de la especie de Kim & Cheng, 2003) y su ubicación en los cuadrantes muestreados en el parche. (coordenadas geográfi cas GPS). Las zonas La lista de especies fue completada con se diferencian por sus características colectas adicionales realizadas en cada una topográfi cas y de sustrato, ocurriendo lo de las zonas. mismo entre parches de una misma zona. La superfi cie de los parches muestreados La determinación de las especies liqué- varió entre 26 m2 y 800 m2. nicas se basó en un estudio de los carac- 107 Núm. 33: 105-116 Enero 2012 Mapa de la isla Rey Jorge, se detalla ubicación de la BCAA, área donde llevó a cabo el estudio.
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