著者

神田 啓史

出版者

低温生物工学会

雑誌

凍結及び乾燥研究会会誌 (ISSN:02888297)

巻号頁・発行日

vol.38, pp.99-103, 1992-10-20

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Aquatic mosses in Antarctic lakes were first recorded when Russian biologists carried out Antarctic studies in the International Geophysical Year (IGY), 1957-1958. Then some aquatic mosses were collected at a depth of over 30m in lakes. In Syowa Station area, two aquatic mosses Bryum pseudotriquetrum and Dicranella sp. were known, of which the latter moss with peculiar globose gemmae was found from lake beds at 3-5m depth in Skarvsnes region. Joining the 29th Japanese Antarctic Research Expedition (JARE-29, 1987-89) for a botanical study as one of the over-wintering members, the present investigator collected and determined the species of some aquatic mosses occurring on the lake beds near the Syowa Station area: i. e. Skarvsnes,Byvagasane, Breidvagnipa and Langhovde. Consequently, most specimens were a submerged form of Bryum pseudotriquetrum, but others included species of Dicranella sp. and submerged forms of Pottia heimii and Bryum amblyodon. The Dicranella sp. should be assigned to cosmopolitan species Leptobryum pyriforme on examination of cultural characters in this study. There are two theories to account for the origin of the Antarctic moss flora. One suggests that they are remnants of a preglacial climax vegetation, the other that they were carried to Antarctic by air current or sea birds from other continents. Since most terrestrial and aquatic mosses in the Syowa Station area are cosmopolitan species, the latter theory seems more reasonable.