Monday 22nd December 2008 (updated Jan 2009)
A team of intrepid explorers are set to spend a no-frills Christmas and New Year aboard a small boat off the rocky coast of South Georgia in the Antarctic, one of the most remote and inhospitable of the UK’s OverseasTerritories.
Whilst most people are settling down for their turkey and Christmas pudding, the six researchers from Buglife and the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew will be braving some of the roughest seas in the South Atlantic to hunt for invasive invertebrates and plants on the island.
It is mid-summer on South Georgia yet temperatures can drop to -5oC with 100kph winds straight off the glaciers and snow falls regularly. The other wildlife of the island will add to the challenges of the expedition. Fur seals are particularly aggressive as the bulls defend their breeding territories, while gulls and skuas have been known to try to steal scientific equipment.
Buglife entomologist Roger Key has spent the past three months designing special equipment to cope with the harsh conditions – including a vacuum cleaner designed to suck up and trap alien insect species, and a storm-proof ‘Berlese extractor’ made from flower pots, plastic funnels and garden netting – but is happy to forego the Christmas luxuries: “This is the first time in 50 years that I haven’t been at home for Christmas, but this a once in a lifetime opportunity to visit such an unspoilt place.”  |
| Testing equipment for Antarctic bug expedition (c) Roger Key |
Invasive species are now the single greatest threat to biodiversity in the SouthAtlanticTerritories, and the project will determine for the first time what impact this is having on South Georgia’s vulnerable native species. Alien species have been brought to South Georgia by everyone from 19th century whalers to current day cruise-ship tourists.
The expedition will also aid understanding of how climate change is affecting the plants and animals of South Georgia. Glaciers on the island are retreating rapidly, making it easier for alien species to colonise new parts of the island, once cut off by the glaciers themselves.
Colin Clubbe, who heads up RBG Kew’s Overseas Territories Programme, says, “This survey is a vital first step in helping to ensure the future of South Georgia’s flora and the animal and insect life it supports. If the island’s icy climate warms it could give invasives the chance to spread rapidly, to the detriment of South Georgia’s native wildlife.”
The project is part of the RSPB’s South Atlantic Invasive Species project, aimed at reducing the impact of invasive species in the South Atlantic UK Overseas Territories (UKOTs), and is funded by the European Commission through EDF-9.
About the survey
The researchers will be conducting a survey of introduced plant and insect life on the island in order to better understand its effect on South Georgia’s native species, which include 25 plants and over 100 invertebrates. The team will be sampling sites around the island, recording and mapping the introduced species – including the dandelion species Taraxacum officinale and a predatory beetle – so that their populations can be monitored in the future.They are also aiming to collect seed from all 25 native plant species for banking and safe keeping in Kew’s Millennium Seed Bank.
