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Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences
Genetic Structure Of East Antarctic Populations Of The Moss Ceratodon Purpureus, L. J. Clarke, D. J. Ayre, Sharon A. Robinson
Genetic Structure Of East Antarctic Populations Of The Moss Ceratodon Purpureus, L. J. Clarke, D. J. Ayre, Sharon A. Robinson
Faculty of Science - Papers (Archive)
The capacity of the polar flora to adapt is of increasing concern given current and predicted environmental change in these regions. Previous genetic studies of Antarctic mosses have been of limited value due to a lack of variation in the markers or non-specificity of the methods used. We examined the power of five microsatellite loci developed for the cosmopolitan moss Ceratodon purpureus to detect genetically distinct clones and infer the distribution of clones within and among populations from the Windmill Islands, East Antarctica. Our microsatellite data suggest extraordinarily high levels of variation reported in RAPD studies were artificially elevated by …
Responses Of Plants In Polar Regions To Uvb Exposure : A Meta-Analysis, K. K. Newsham, Sharon A. Robinson
Responses Of Plants In Polar Regions To Uvb Exposure : A Meta-Analysis, K. K. Newsham, Sharon A. Robinson
Faculty of Science - Papers (Archive)
We report a meta-analysis of data from 34 field studies into the effects of UV-B radiation on Arctic and Antarctic bryophytes and angiosperms. The studies measured plant responses to decreases in UV-B radiation under screens, natural fluctuations in UV-B irradiance, or increases in UV-B radiation applied from fluorescent UV lamps. Exposure to UV-B radiation was found to increase the concentrations of UV-B absorbing compounds in leaves or thalli by 7% and 25% (expressed on a mass or area basis, respectively). UV-B exposure also reduced aboveground biomass and plant height by 15% and 10%, respectively, and increased DNA damage by 90%. …
Climate Change Manipulations Show Antarctic Flora Is More Strongly Affected By Elevated Nutrients Than Water, J. Wasley, Sharon A. Robinson, C. E. Lovelock, M. Popp
Climate Change Manipulations Show Antarctic Flora Is More Strongly Affected By Elevated Nutrients Than Water, J. Wasley, Sharon A. Robinson, C. E. Lovelock, M. Popp
Faculty of Science - Papers (Archive)
Climate change is expected to affect the high latitudes first and most severely, rendering Antarctica one of the most significant baseline environments for the study of global climate change. The indirect effects of climate warming, including changes to the availability of key environmental resources, such as water and nutrients, are likely to have a greater impact upon continental Antarctic terrestrial ecosystems than the effects of fluctuations in temperature alone. To investigate the likely impacts of a wetter climate on Antarctic terrestrial communities a multi-season, manipulative field experiment was conducted in the floristically important Windmill Islands region of East Antarctica. Four …