Hooker and islands1

Sir Joseph Dalton Hooker (1817–1911), friend and scientific confidant of Charles Darwin, lectured in 1866 on ‘Insular floras’ at the Annual Meeting of the British Association for the Advancement of Science. His interest and knowledge of islands had been aroused when he travelled to the Antarctic aboard the Erebus under Sir James Clark Ross from 1839–43. On his return, Darwin passed on to Hooker the botanical collections he had made on the Beagle voyage, including those from the Galapagos. Hooker's conclusions from these and from his own material and experiences were important to Darwin as he developed the ideas that culminated in the publication of the Origin of Species. The 1866 lecture provided a focus for subsequent and informative studies on evolution, and islands continue to provide invaluable natural laboratories for evolutionary biology and genetics. © 2009 The Linnean Society of London, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2009, 96 , 462–481.     

First record of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Munidopsis albatrossae</Emphasis> (Crustacea: Decapoda: Galatheidae) from Antarctic waters

During the BENTART 2006 Expedition, a specimen of the galatheid Munidopsis albatrossae (Crustacea, Decapoda) was sampled in the Bellingshausen Sea, at 1920 m depth on soft bottoms. This specimen represents the first record of the family for Antarctic waters. This and other recent records have substantially increased the known species richness of decapod crustaceans in Antarctic waters, which are discussed to reflect an increase of scientific effort, anthropogenic introductions, and/or new colonizations possibly associated to changes in environmental conditions.     

Redescription of the Antarctic springtail Desoria klovstadi using morphological and molecular evidence

Isotoma klovstadi Carpenter, 1902 was one of the first Collembola described from the Antarctic continent. It was first collected in November 1899 during the British Antarctic Expedition on the north coast of Victoria Land in the Ross Sea region. It is now known to occur in an extensive area of northern Victoria Land, including the offshore Possession, Coulman, and Foyn Islands. More recently, I. klovstadi was moved to the genus Gnathisotoma Cassagnau, 1957 and has been included in this genus in an unpublished checklist (online) of all described Collembola. Here, we redescribe the species and use morphological and molecular (COI and 18S genes) evidence to investigate its affinities within the Isotominae. We show that it does not belong to Gnathisotoma, or Isotoma s. str. (the viridis group) as currently conceived, but is likely to be part of the species complex of Isotoma s. lat. We discuss reasons for placing it in the genus Desoria Nicolet, 1841. Our results reinforce the already high level of endemicity in the Antarctic fauna and emphasise the value of both morphological and molecular studies in examining relict Gondwanan taxa and their evolutionary relationships with those of other Southern Hemisphere continents.     

Microcystins,BMAA and BMAA isomers in 100-year-old Antarctic cyanobacterial mats collected during Captain R.F. Scott’s Discovery Expedition

Microcystins (MCN), β-N-methylamino-L-alanine (BMAA) and anatoxin-a were investigated in Antarctic cyanobacterial mats collected from Ross Island and the McMurdo Ice Shelf, East Antarctica during Captain Scott’s ‘Discovery’ National Antarctic Expedition (1901–1904). Ultra-performance liquid chromatography-photodiode array detection (UPLC-PDA) and tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) analysis were used to quantify the cyanotoxins in seven cyanobacterial mat samples. MCNs were identified in six of the mat samples at concentrations from 0.5 to 16.1 µg?g^–1 dry weight. BMAA was found in one sample (528 ng?g^–1 dry weight, total BMAA), as well as two BMAA isomers, 2,4-diaminobutyric acid (DAB) and N-(2-aminoethyl) glycine (AEG) in six samples up to 6.56 and 6.79 μg?g^–1 dry weight, respectively. No anatoxin-a was detected. The findings confirm that MCNs, BMAA and BMAA isomers are preserved under dry herbarium conditions. The ‘Discovery’ cyanobacterial mat samples represent the oldest polar cyanobacterial samples found to contain cyanotoxins to date and provide new baseline data for cyanotoxins in Antarctic freshwater cyanobacterial mats from prior to human activity in Antarctica, the development of the ozone hole and current levels of climatic change.     

SIR JOSEPH DALTON HOOKER IN THE KEW ARCHIVE

Sir Joseph Dalton Hooker was born in Halesworth, Suffolk in 1917. The second son of Sir William Jackson Hooker, Joseph Hooker would, throughout the course of his life, become one of the most famous and lauded scientists of his day. At its pinnacle, Joseph Hooker's career would see him hold the post of Director of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew for 20 years (1865–1885), and be the first botanist after Joseph Banks to be elected President of the Royal Society between 1873 and 1878. His archives and letters, which are described here, are held in the Library, Art and Archives at Kew.     

Fluoride content of Antarctic marine animals caught off Elephant Island

Summary A number of marine animals were collected off Elephant Island (South Shetland Islands) and analyzed for fluoride (mg/kg wet weight). In fish muscle from six Antarctic species the content was low (approx. 2) not exceeding the content of fishes from other waters. In bone-tissue a concentration of 616–1207 was found. In some benthic living animals the amount of fluoride (determined in the whole body) was different depending on the species investigated. Low amounts of approx. 10 were encountered in a pycnogonid, an octopodid and a polychaet. Very high values of 200–600 were determined in isopods, amphipods, ophiuroids and asteroids, these concentrations exceeded sometimes the value found in Antarctic krill.Results of the Antarctic Expedition 1981 of the Federal Republic of Germany with FRV Walther Herwig     

RICE‐PAPER PLANT –TETRAPANAX PAPYRIFER

From the 1820s pith became a familiar material in Europe, under the name of rice‐paper, as a raw material for artificial flowers, and as a medium for export paintings from China. The structure of pith sheets was early recognised as different to that of paper, but it was not until 1852 that William Jackson Hooker was able to describe the source plant, as Aralia papyrifera Hook., now Tetrapanax papyrifer (Hook.) K. Koch. Using his consular contacts, Hooker was able to build up a remarkable collection of pith, as raw materials, artificial flowers and Chinese paintings. Many are described and illustrated in this article, in the context of recent work on the history and conservation of pith paintings.     

New records of temperate and sub-Antarctic marine benthic macroalgae from Antarctica

 During visits to several localities on the South Shetland Islands and the Antarctic Peninsula in summer 1994 we made collections of marine benthic algae. Among the algae we collected were three new records for Antarctica [Petalonia fascia (OF Müller) Kuntze; Enteromorpha intestinalis (L.) Nees; Rhodymenia subantarctica Ricker] and seven other species [Scytosiphon simplicissimus (Clemente) Cremades; Chordaria linearis (Hooker et Harvey) Cotton; Halopteris obovata (Hooker et Harvey) Sauvageau; Acrosiphonia arcta (Dillwyn) J. Agardh; Enteromorpha compressa (L.) Nees; Bangia atropurpurea (Roth) C. Agardh; Porphyra plocamiestris Ricker] that had been reported on only one or two previous occasions (or, in one case, three). The ten species detailed in this paper fall into two groups: four species previously known from sub-Antarctic islands and/or locations in southern South America, and six species having a wider distribution in temperate regions. We discuss the possibility that the less accessible subtidal habitats of some species may have prevented earlier discovery. Other species may be comparatively recent adventives, most likely introduced with shipping. In view of possible global climate changes, species of this latter group are regarded as suitable organisms for monitoring changes of water temperature. Received: 12 December 1995/Accepted: 14 April 1996     

A SUSPECTED CASE OF MYCOPHYCOBIOSIS BETWEEN MYCOSPHAERELLA APOPHLAEAE (ASCOMYCETES) AND APOPHLAEA SPP. (RHODOPHYTA)1

Apophlaea lyallii Hooker f. et Harvey and A. sinclairii Harvey in Hooker et Harvey, endemic Rhodophyta from New Zealand, were found to harbor a systemic fungus, Mycosphaerella apophlaeae Kohlmeyer. The algae occur on rocks in the upper intertidal zone and are resistant to desiccation and insolation. These suspected symbiotic associations which are similar to, but different from, lichens, are considered mycophycobioses. This is the first report of a supposed mycophycobiosis in members of the Rhodophyta.     

<Emphasis Type="Italic">Drepanocladus longifolius</Emphasis> (Amblystegiaceae), an addition to the moss flora of King George Island,South Shetland Islands,with a review of Antarctic benthic mosses

Drepanocladus longifolius (Mitt.) Paris is recorded for the first time from King George Island, South Shetland Islands, in the maritime Antarctic. It was collected in West Lake during the 23rd Chinese National Antarctic Research Expedition in 2006–2007. The moss was found at a depth of 5–6 m attached to the bed of the lake. The stems of the moss are about 1–1.5 m in length. The moss exhibits seasonal growth patterns, with shorter branch internodes, more widely spaced leaves and more branches in summer than in winter. Most of the branches are initiated in summer. The annual shoot extension is about 3–6 cm, which implies that the plants must be at least 15 years of age. The distribution of aquatic moss species and records in Antarctica is outlined and discussed and the nomenclature of previous reports clarified.     

Long-Term Trends of Nutrients and Apparent Oxygen Utilization South of the Polar Front in Southern Ocean Intermediate Water from 1965 to 2008

The variation of nutrients over decadal timescales south of the polar front in the Southern Ocean is poorly known because of a lack of continuous observational data in this area. We examined data from long-term continuous hydrographic monitoring of 43 years (1965–2008) in the Indian sector of the Southern Ocean, via the resupply of Antarctic stations under the Japanese Antarctic Research Expedition and Australian Antarctic Research Expedition. We found significant increasing trends in phosphate and nitrate, and a decreasing trend in apparent oxygen utilization (AOU) in intermediate water (neutral density = 27.8–28.1 kgm⁻³) south of the polar front. The rates of phosphate and nitrate increase are 0.004 µmol yr⁻¹ and 0.02 µmol yr⁻¹, respectively. The rate of decline of AOU was 0.32 µmol yr⁻¹. One reason for this phosphate and nitrate increase and AOU decline is reduced horizontal advection of North Atlantic Deep Water, which is characterized by low nutrients and high AOU. The relationship between climate change and nutrient variability remains obscure, emphasizing the importance of long-term monitoring.     

Fossil bivalves in marine sediments of Vestfold Hills in Eastern Antarctica

Bivalves collected in Vestfold Hills during the 55th Russian Antarctic Expedition (RAE, 2009?2010) are represented by five species. Four of them (Laternula elliptica, Thracia meridionalis, Adamussium colbecki, and Philobrya sublaevis) were collected in the sediments that filled the coastal lake terraces during the Holocene; these species are still abundant on the Antarctic shelf at present. Bivalves were found in eight samples, with L. elliptica shells and fragments thereof found in seven of those samples. The sample collected near Deep Lake had the most diverse species composition, as it contained all four species named above. Shells of named species widely occurring in present-day Antarctica were found high above sea level in the marine sediments of the oasis. This indicate to the similarity of the oasis habitats in the past and the recent marine conditions. Fragments of shells of the fifth (now extinct) species Ruthipecten tuftsensis were found in glacial–marine sediments of the Marine Plain dating back to the late Pleistocene. The present study of fossil bivalves from the late Cenozoic marine sediments in Vestfold Hills is the first of its kind in Russia.     

A study of enzyme polymorphism in the antarctic amphipod Paramoera walkeri Stebbing

Summary Studies concerning the evaluation of the genetic structure and the mechanisms of genetic adapation to the Antarctic environment were carried out on two population samples (A and B) of the amphipod Paramoera walkeri Stebbing collected in two different areas of the Terranova Bay during the Italian Antarctic Expedition 1987/1988. The analyses of the level of genetic variability were conducted on starch gel. The electrophoretic results on the twenty two loci examined reveal a very low amount of genetic polymorphism in both populations with an average observed heterozygosity of 0.6% in population A and 0.7% in population B. The two populations can be considered part of a single breeding unit on the basis of the Student test for paired observations since the differences in single-locus heterozygosity for seven polymorphic loci are not significant (P>0.70). A possible explanation of the observed low genetic polymorphism is discussed in terms of genetic adaptation, as suggested by some results obtained in studies on enzyme activity carried out at the level of the PGI locus.     

Comparing temperature sensitivity of bacterial growth in Antarctic marine water and soil

The western Antarctic Peninsula is an extreme low temperature environment that is warming rapidly due to global change. Little is known, however, on the temperature sensitivity of growth of microbial communities in Antarctic soils and in the surrounding oceanic waters. This is the first study that directly compares temperature adaptation of adjacent marine and terrestrial bacteria in a polar environment. The bacterial communities in the ocean were adapted to lower temperatures than those from nearby soil, with cardinal temperatures for growth in the ocean being the lowest so far reported for microbial communities. This was reflected in lower minimum (T_min) and optimum temperatures (T_opt) for growth in water (?17 and +20°C, respectively) than in soil (?11 and +27°C), with lower sensitivity to changes in temperature (Q₁₀; 0–10°C interval) in Antarctic water (2.7) than in soil (3.9). This is likely due to the more stable low temperature conditions of Antarctic waters than soils, and the fact that maximum in situ temperatures in water are lower than in soils, at least in summer. Importantly, the thermally stable environment of Antarctic marine water makes it feasible to create a single temperature response curve for bacterial communities. This would thus allow for calculations of temperature‐corrected growth rates, and thereby quantifying the influence of factors other than temperature on observed growth rates, as well as predicting the effects of future temperature increases on Antarctic marine bacteria.     

PHYTOPLANKTON ABUNDANCE AND COMPOSITION IN THE SOUTHERN OCEAN

The Russian research vessel Akademik Treshnikov, circumnavigated Antarctica in the summer of 2016–2017. The authors describe some of the findings of their research on phytoplankton, and contrast their voyage with that made by J.D. Hooker in 1839–1843.     

Anne Barnard,her life and contribution to Curtis's Botanical Magazine

Anne Barnard (23 June 1833–19 January 1899), née Henslow, made around 125 illustrations for Curtis's Botanical Magazine, during the editorship of J.D. Hooker. Her life and botanical works are reviewed here, and examples of her original paintings are given.     

Biodiversity and biogeographic affiliation of Bryozoa from King George Island (Antarctica)

King George Island (KGI), which is located between the Antarctic and South American continents, may play a crucial role in the exchange of Bryozoa amongst the various Antarctic sectors and across the Polar Front. Knowledge regarding the biological diversity of this area could help us understand the evolution of the Antarctic ecosystem and its connectivity to the South American continent as well as the colonization ability of particular species. Here, we investigate the patterns of diversity and biogeographic affiliation of the cheilostome Bryozoa from KGI and the surrounding areas. Of 114 identified taxa from a depth range of 6–492 m, 26 species were reported for the first time in KGI. The most speciose genera were Camptoplites, Osthimosia, Smittina, and Cellarinella. Species richness at KGI consisted of 70% of the total bryozoans at the South Shetland Islands (SSI). Fifty-nine per cent of the bryozoans from KGI are endemic to Antarctica, which closely reflects the previously estimated endemism rate for bryozoans and other Antarctic taxa. Cluster analysis indicated that the strongest faunal links of SSI bryozoans were with Antarctic Peninsula assemblages, corresponding to the physical distance between both locations. The biogeographic similarities between SSI and South America confirm the broad trend of existing Antarctic–South American faunal links previously observed in bryozoans and many other taxa and indicate that SSI might be an important transitional zone between Antarctica and South America.