Ukrainian scientists made an important finding – in Vernadsky station area there was discovered a plant species that had not previously been found here. This could be further evidence of warming in West Antarctica.
It is about Marchantia berteroana. It was first found on the northeastern cape of Darboux Island by Ivan Parnikoza, a member of the seasonal expedition, head of the NASC Department of Biology and Ecology. This location is known from archival sources: in the 1980s, British researchers studied rare species of mosses here and described the local vegetation quite thoroughly.
Ivan Parnikoza had just found these species, but what was his surprise when the scientist discovered large green areas of a new species next to them. British researchers, studying these rocks, simply could not help but notice it.
This means that we have the fact of penetration of a new plant species into Vernadsky station area. Later, this liverwort was also found by Ukrainian biologists on Booth Island, the northernmost in our region of the Argentine Islands – the Kyiv Peninsula.
Researchers note that the appearance of a new species may be further evidence of warming in the region. Since, liverworts are quite thermophilic and used to grow in more favorable regions of the Antarctic Sea. If they have now spread to Vernadsky area, the conditions have become better for them here.
It is also interesting that in Ukraine you can see a relative of the Marchantia berteroana – Marchantia polymorpha. At the same time, its presence in Antarctica has not yet been confirmed.
So, as we wrote earlier, the Antarctic is becoming more and more green, and the Marchantia berteroana has become a new green element in Vernadsky station area.
Thanks to Ivan Parnikoza for the photo and information.
