State of the world’s plants and fungi 2020

Kew’s State of the World’s Plants and Fungi project provides assessments of our current knowledge of the diversity of plants and fungi on Earth, the global threats that they face, and the policies to safeguard them. Produced in conjunction with an international scientific symposium, Kew’s State of the World’s Plants and Fungi sets an important international standard from which we can annually track trends in the global status of plant and fungal diversity

Age and environment of Miocene-Pliocene glaciomarine deposits, James Ross Island, Antarctica

Knowledge of the late Miocene-Pliocene climate of West Antarctica, recorded by sedimentary units within the James Ross Island Volcanic Group, is still fragmentary. Late Miocene glacio-marine deposits at the base of the group in eastern James Ross Island (Hobbs Glacier Formation) and Late Pliocene (3 Ma) interglacial strata at its local top on Cockburn Island (Cockburn Island Formation) have been studied extensively, but other Neogene sedimentary rocks on James Ross Island have thus far not been considered in great detail. Here, we document two further occurrences of glaciomarine strata, included in an expanded Hobbs Glacier Formation, which demonstrate the stratigraphic complexity of the James Ross Island Volcanic Group: reworked diamictites intercalated within the volcanic sequence at Fiordo Belen, northern James Ross Island, are dated by Ar-40/Ar-39 and Sr-87/Sr-86 at c. 7 Ma (Late Miocene), but massive diamictites which underlie volcanic rocks near Cape Gage, oil eastern James Ross Island, yielded an Ar-Ar age of < 3.1 Ma (Late Pliocene). These age assignments are confirmed by benthic foraminiferal index species of the genus Ammoelphidiella. The geological setting and Cassididina-dominated foraminiferal biofacies of the rocks at Fiordo Belen suggest deposition in water depths of 150-200 m. The periglacial deposits and waterlain tills at Cape Gage were deposited at shallower depths (< 100 in), as indicated by all abundance of the pectinid bivalve 'Zygochlamys' anderssoni and the epibiotic foram Cibicides lobatulus. Macrofaunal and foraminiferal biofacies of glaciomarine and interglacial deposits share many similarities, which suggests that temperature is not the dominant factor in the distribution of late Neogene Antarctic biota. Approximately 10 m.y. of Miocene-Pliocene climatic record is preserved within the rock sequence of the James Ross Island Volcanic Group. Prevailing glacial conditions were punctuated by interglacial conditions around 3 Ma

Analysis of James Ross Island volcanic complex and sedimentary basin based on high-resolution aeromagnetic data

High-resolution aeromagnetic surveys provide a geophysical tool to help image the subsurface structure of volcanoes and their tectonic framework. Here we interpret high-resolution aeromagnetic data and models for James Ross archipelago and surrounding regions to provide a new perspective on Neogene magmatism emplaced along the eastern margin of the Antarctic Peninsula. Based on the analysis and modelling of magnetic anomalies we were able to image the subglacial extent of Miocene to Recent alkaline rocks of the James Ross Island Volcanic Group and map tectonic structures that appear to have exerted important controls on Neogene magmatism. High-amplitude linear anomalies detected over Mount Haddington stratovolcano were modelled as caused by subvertical feeder bodies extending to a depth of at least 3 km. These feeder bodies may have been emplaced along a N–S oriented volcano-tectonic rift zone. We also identified several effusive subglacial centres and imaged two concentric magnetic arcs, which we related to Neogene volcanic and subvolcanic lineaments, likely controlled by Mid-Cretaceous strike-slip fault belts and associated deformation zones. The regional magnetic quiet zone that encompasses James Ross Island is caused by the thick sedimentary infill of the Larsen Basin, and a low-amplitude magnetic high within the basin is inferred to reflect a basement push-up structure associated with strike-slip faulting along the eastern edge of the Antarctic Peninsula. In the offshore regions magnetic anomalies southwest of Tabarin Peninsula and west of Vega Island may reflect recent volcanic structures that have yet to emerge from the sea-floor

Diversity of fungal DNA in lake sediments on Vega Island, north-east Antarctic Peninsula assessed using DNA metabarcoding

We assessed the diversity of fungal DNA present in sediments of three lakes on Vega Island, north-east Antarctic Peninsula using metabarcoding through high-throughput sequencing (HTS). A total of 640,902 fungal DNA reads were detected, which were assigned to 224 taxa of the phyla Ascomycota, Rozellomycota, Basidiomycota, Chytridiomycota and Mortierellomycota, in rank order of abundance. The most abundant genera were Pseudogymnoascus, Penicillium and Mortierella. However, a majority (423,508, 66%) of the reads, representing by 43 ASVs, could only be assigned at higher taxonomic levels and may represent taxa not currently included in the sequence databases used or be new or previously unreported taxa present in Antarctic lakes. The three lakes were characterized by high sequence diversity, richness, and moderate dominance indices. The ASVs were dominated by psychrotolerant and cosmopolitan cold-adapted Ascomycota, Basidiomycota and Mortierellomycota commonly reported in Antarctic environments. However, other taxa detected included unidentified members of Rozellomycota and Chytridiomycota species not previously reported in Antarctic lakes. The assigned diversity was composed mainly of taxa recognized as decomposers and pathogens of plants and invertebrates

State of the World’s Plants and Fungi

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