Antarctic Peninsula - Flora and Fauna

Flora and Fauna

The coasts of the peninsula have the mildest climate in Antarctica and moss and lichen-covered rocks are free of snow during the summer months, although the weather is still intensely cold and the growing season very short. The plant life today is mainly mosses, lichens and algae adapted to this harsh environment, with lichens preferring the wetter areas of the rocky landscape. The most common lichens are Usnea and Bryoria species. Antarctica's two flowering plant species, the Antarctic hair grass (Deschampsia antarctica) and Antarctic pearlwort (Colobanthus quitensis) are found on the northern and western parts of the Antarctic Peninsula, including offshore islands, where the climate is relatively mild. Lagotellerie Island in Marguerite Bay is an example of this habitat.

Antarctic krill are found in the seas surrounding the peninsula and the rest of the continent. The Crabeater Seal spends most of its life in the same waters feeding on krill. Bald notothen is a cryopelagic fish that lives in sub-zero water temperatures around the peninsula. Vocalizations of the Sei Whale can be heard emanating from the waters surrounding the Antarctic Peninsula.

The animals of Antarctica live on food they find in the sea--not on land--and include seabirds, seals and penguins. The seals include: Leopard Seal (Hydrurga leptonyx), Weddell Seal (Leptonychotes weddellii), the huge Southern Elephant Seal (Mirounga leonina), and Crabeater Seal (Lobodon carcinophagus).

Penguin species found on the peninsula, especially near the tip and surrounding islands, include the Chinstrap Penguin, Emperor Penguin, Gentoo penguin and the Adelie Penguin. Petermann Island is the world's southernmost colony of Gentoo Penguins. The exposed rocks on the island is one of many locations on the peninsula that provides a good habitat for rookeries. The penguins return each year and may reach populations of more than ten thousand. Of these the most common on the Antarctic Peninsula are the chinstrap and gentoo, with the only breeding colony of Emperor Penguins in West Antarctica an isolated population on the Dion Islands, in Marguerite Bay on the west coast of the peninsula. Most emperor penguins breed in East Antarctica

Seabirds of the Southern Ocean and West Antarctica found on the peninsula include: Southern Fulmar (Fulmarus glacialoides), the scavenging Southern Giant Petrel (Macronectes giganteus), Cape Petrel (Daption capense), Snow Petrel (Pagodroma nivea), the small Wilson's Storm-petrel (Oceanites oceanicus), Imperial Shag (Phalacrocorax atriceps), Snowy Sheathbill (Chionis alba), the large South Polar Skua (Catharacta maccormicki), Brown Skua (Catharacta lönnbergi), Kelp Gull (Larus dominicanus), and Antarctic Tern (Sterna vittata). The Imperial Shag is a cormorant which is native to many subantarctic islands, the Antarctic Peninsula and southern South America.