Effects of human trampling on populations of soil fauna in the McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica

What are the real environmental impacts of Antarctic tourism? Unveiling their importance through a comprehensive meta-analysis

Human activities in Antarctica were increasing before the COVID-19 pandemic, and tourism was not an exception. The growth and diversification of Antarctic tourism over the last few decades have been extensively studied. However, environmental impacts associated with this activity have received less attention despite an increasing body of scholarship examining environmental issues related to Antarctic tourism. Aside from raising important research questions, the potential negative effects of tourist visits in Antarctica are also an issue discussed by Antarctic Treaty Consultative Parties. This study presents the results of a meta-analysis of scholarly publications that synthesizes and updates our current knowledge of environmental impacts resulting from Antarctic tourism. A first publication database containing 233 records that focussed on this topic was compiled and subjected to a general bibliometric and content analysis. Further, an in-depth content analysis was performed on a subset of 75 records, which were focussed on showing specific research on Antarctic tourism impacts. The main topic, methods, management proposals, and research gaps highlighted by the respective authors of these 75 publications were assessed. The range of research topics addressed, the methods used - including the application of established research designs from the field of environmental impact assessment -, and the conclusions reached by the study authors are discussed. Interestingly, almost one third of the studies did not detect a direct relationship between tourism and significant negative effects on the environment. Cumulative impacts of tourism have received little attention, and long-term and comprehensive monitoring programs have been discussed only rarely, leading us to assume that such long-term programs are scarce. More importantly, connections between research and policy or management do not always exist. This analysis highlights the need for a comprehensive strategy to investigate and monitor the environmental impacts of tourism in Antarctica. A first specific research and monitoring programme to stimulate a debate among members of the Antarctic scientific and policy communities is proposed, with the ultimate goal of advancing the regulation and management of Antarctic tourism collaboratively.

Research sites get closer to field camps over time: Informing environmental management through a geospatial analysis of science in the McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica

As in many parts of the world, the management of environmental science research in Antarctica relies on cost-benefit analysis of negative environmental impact versus positive scientific gain. Several studies have examined the environmental impact of Antarctic field camps, but very little work looks at how the placement of these camps influences scientific research. In this study, we integrate bibliometrics, geospatial analysis, and historical research to understand the relationship between field camp placement and scientific production in the McMurdo Dry Valleys of East Antarctica. Our analysis of the scientific corpus from 1907-2016 shows that, on average, research sites have become less dispersed and closer to field camps over time. Scientific output does not necessarily correspond to the number of field camps, and constructing a field camp does not always lead to a subsequent increase in research in the local area. Our results underscore the need to consider the complex historical and spatial relationships between field camps and research sites in environmental management decision-making in Antarctica and other protected areas.

Adaptive Management of Sustainable Tourism in Antarctica: A Rhetoric or Working Progress?

Growth and diversification of tourism activities in Antarctica have not been matched by proactive strategies for planning or management. Recognizing that the adaptive management approach has been effectively implemented in managing tourism in protected areas, we examine to what extent this approach has been incorporated into the Antarctic tourism research and management, and what constraints exist for its implementation. To better understand the extent of literature contributions, we conducted an appraisal of 72 peer-reviewed journal articles published from 1992 to 2020 and Antarctic management documents. From a scientific perspective, researchers have been advocating for adaptive management approaches to Antarctic tourism and have applied different elements, particularly ecological assessments, design of management measures, monitoring, and regulatory mechanisms. However, these contributions have not been necessarily translated into management policy and regulations. We acknowledge that full implementation of an adaptive management approach is not easily achievable due to the unique Antarctic regime. However, we argue that comprehensive site-specific and regional adaptive management models could be applied as the first step for a more systematic implementation. This incremental approach could contribute to enhanced stakeholder participation and improved decision-making processes, ultimately leading to a more proactive and effective management of Antarctic tourism, essential for the conservation of the continent.

Shotgun metagenomics reveal a diverse assemblage of protists in a model Antarctic soil ecosystem

The soils of the McMurdo Dry Valleys (MDV) of Antarctica are established models for understanding fundamental processes in soil ecosystem functioning (e.g. ecological tipping points, community structuring and nutrient cycling) because the extreme physical environment drastically reduces biodiversity and ecological complexity. Understanding the functioning of MDV soils requires in-depth knowledge of the diversity of MDV soil species. Protists, which contribute significantly to soil ecosystem functioning worldwide, remain poorly characterized in the MDV. To better assess the diversity of MDV protists, we performed shotgun metagenomics on 18 sites representing a variety of landscape features and edaphic variables. Our results show MDV soil protists are diverse at both the genus (155 of 281 eukaryote genera) and family (120) levels, but comprise only 6% of eukaryotic reads. Protists are structured by moisture, total N and distance from the local coast and possess limited richness in arid (< 5% moisture) and at high elevation sites, known drivers of communities in the MDV. High relative diversity and broad distribution of protists in our study promotes these organisms as key members of MDV soil microbiomes and the MDV as a useful system for understanding the contribution of soil protists to the structure of soil microbiomes.

Antarctic environmental change and biological responses

Antarctica and the surrounding Southern Ocean are facing complex environmental change. Their native biota has adapted to the region's extreme conditions over many millions of years. This unique biota is now challenged by environmental change and the direct impacts of human activity. The terrestrial biota is characterized by considerable physiological and ecological flexibility and is expected to show increases in productivity, population sizes and ranges of individual species, and community complexity. However, the establishment of non-native organisms in both terrestrial and marine ecosystems may present an even greater threat than climate change itself. In the marine environment, much more limited response flexibility means that even small levels of warming are threatening. Changing sea ice has large impacts on ecosystem processes, while ocean acidification and coastal freshening are expected to have major impacts.

Short-term effects of visitor trampling on macroinvertebrates in karst streams in an ecotourism region

In order to evaluate the potential risks of human visitation on macroinvertebrate communities in streams, we investigated the effect of trampling using two short-term experiments conducted in a Brazilian ecotourism karst region. We asked three questions: (a) Does trampling increase the drift rate of aquatic macroinvertebrates and organic matter? (b) Does trampling change the macroinvertebrate community organization? (c) If trampling alters the community structure, is a short time (5 days, a between weekends interval - peaks of tourism activities) sufficient for community restructuring? Analysis of variance of richness, total abundance, abundance of the most abundant genus (e.g., Simothraulopsis and Callibaetis), and community composition showed that trampling immediately affects macroinvertebrate community and that the intervals between the peaks of visitation (5 days) are not sufficient to complete community restructuring. Considering that bathing areas receive thousands of visitors every year and that intervals of time without visitation are nearly nonexistent, we suspect that the negative effects on the macroinvertebrate community occur in a cumulative way. Finally, we discuss some simple procedures that could potentially be used for reducing trampling impacts in lotic environments.

Linking soil biodiversity and vegetation: implications for a changing planet

Soil biota are intimately tied to plant communities through herbivory and symbiosis and indirectly by the decomposition of dead organic plant material. Through both roots and aboveground organic material (e.g., leaves and wood), plants provide substantial inputs of organic matter to soil systems. Plants are the basis for most biotic soil food webs that comprise an enormous diversity of species whose multiple interactions function to help regulate nutrient cycling, which in turn influences plant growth. Many factors govern the biogeography of soil biota, including the physical and chemical properties of soil, climate, the composition and type of vegetation, and interactions with other soil biota. Despite awareness of factors influencing soil communities, no single factor allows predictions of soil animal diversity or distribution. However, research is showing that plants can have unique soil biotic communities. Degradation of soil, which removes predators and biotic regulation that occurs in less managed ecosystems, can result in increased pathogens and pests that affect humans, other animals and plants. Global changes such as land use, desertification, and soil pollution all have been shown to alter soil animal diversity and abundance. Because of our dependence on soils and plant production, studies linking soil biotic communities to primary productivity are needed to assure long-term soil sustainability.

Taking the conservation biology perspective to secondary school classrooms

The influence of conservation biology can be enhanced greatly if it reaches beyond undergraduate biology to students at the middle and high school levels. If a conservation perspective were taught in secondary schools, students who are not interested in biology could be influenced to pursue careers or live lifestyles that would reduce the negative impact of humans on the world. We use what we call the ecology-disrupted approach to transform the topics of conservation biology research into environmental-issue and ecology topics, the major themes of secondary school courses in environmental science. In this model, students learn about the importance and complexity of normal ecological processes by studying what goes wrong when people disrupt them (environmental issues). Many studies published in Conservation Biology are related in some way to the ecological principles being taught in secondary schools. Describing research in conservation biology in the language of ecology curricula in secondary schools can help bring these science stories to the classroom and give them a context in which they can be understood by students. Without this context in the curriculum, a science story can devolve into just another environmental issue that has no immediate effect on the daily lives of students. Nevertheless, if the research is placed in the context of larger ecological processes that are being taught, students can gain a better understanding of ecology and a better understanding of their effect on the world.