Details of Award
NERC Reference : NE/C514874/1
Ammonia Dispersion and effects on lichens in the vicinity of a penguin rookery.
Grant Award
- Principal Investigator:
- Professor P Crittenden, University of Nottingham, Sch of Biology
- Co-Investigator:
- Professor MA Sutton, UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology, Atmospheric Chemistry and Effects
- Grant held at:
- University of Nottingham, Sch of Biology
- Science Area:
- Terrestrial
- Atmospheric
- Overall Classification:
- Terrestrial
- ENRIs:
- Pollution and Waste
- Natural Resource Management
- Global Change
- Biodiversity
- Science Topics:
- Environmental Microbiology
- Pollution
- Biogeochemical Cycles
- Ecosystem Scale Processes
- Abstract:
- Large colonies of animals such as birds and seals are frequently featured on television wildlife programmes. it is seldom evident from such documentaries that these sites have a characteristic stench. The smell is due principally to ammonia released during decomposition of excreta (accumulations of which are called guano). Because nitrogen is a limiting factor for plant growth in many ecosystems, it is thought that ammonia released into the air from large animal colonies can have significant ecological effects in the surrounding areas. This is currently a topical issue in regions with intensive farming where ammonia released by dense populations of farm livestock is making a significant contribution to regional nitrogen cycles. In the Antarctic, large natural colonies of marine animals such as seals and penguins gather in summer at coastal and ice-edge sites. Ammonia emitted by these colonies probably has a very significant effect on the ecology of the infertile rocky terrain that becomes ice-free in the summer months. This terrain typically supports simple vegetation dominated by lichens, mosses and algae, organisms that are adapted to extreme conditions and are largely dependent on gases and dust in the air, and salts in precipitation, for growth. Our project will study the effects of a major penguin rookery on the surrounding lichen-dominated vegetation. The rookery is at Cape Hallett, Ross Bay, and is populated by about 100000 Adelie penguins. We will measure ammonia concentrations in air at different distances from the rookery (up to 20 km away) and use the measurements to produce a map of ammonia concentrations. This will help us understand how much ammonia a rookery of this size emits and the area likely to be affected. We will also measure how much ammonia lichens have taken up and discover to what extent this might affect their growth. This project is a contribution to Antarctica New Zealand's Terrestrial Biology Research Programme.
- NERC Reference:
- NE/C514874/1
- Grant Stage:
- Completed
- Scheme:
- Small Grants Pre FEC
- Grant Status:
- Closed
- Programme:
- Small Grants
This grant award has a total value of £19,439
FDAB - Financial Details (Award breakdown by headings)
| Total - T&S | Total - Other Costs | Total - Equipment |
|---|---|---|
| £1,361 | £10,088 | £7,990 |
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