Biological activity on a decaying caribou antler at Cape Herschel, Ellesmere Island, Nunavut, high Arctic Canada

Bibliographic Data

ID9218653
AuthorsAntony J Sutcliffe (Natural History Museum), Weston Blake (Geological Survey of Canada)
Year2000
Volume36
Issue198
Pages233-246
Publication date2000-07-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenuePolar Record (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0032-2474 • E-ISSN: 1475-3057
PublisherCambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1017/s0032247400016491
OpenAlexW2066326487
LanguageEN
Citations received3
References cited21

In the polar desert of the high Arctic, underlain by continuous permafrost and commonly snow-covered for much of the year, the paucity of plant growth might seem unsurprising. Although low temperatures and lack of moisture exert a strong influence on plant life and can greatly diminish the rate at which plants can grow, these are nevertheless not the only factors involved. Lack of mineral nutrients, in an environment where chemical weathering is inhibited, may play an even greater part. In consequence, where nutrient-rich decaying animal bones are present, it is not uncommon to find growing upon them a luxuriant vegetation of mosses and vascular plants, together with less spectacular algae and lichens, which show up in striking contrast to the barren ground around them. These microhabitats, in turn, carry their own fauna of invertebrates. This paper examines, in detail, one such specimen and its flora and fauna — a 2000-year-old shed caribou antler from the ground surface at Cape Herschel, Ellesmere Island, 78°N

Antler · Archaeology · Arctic · Arctic vegetation · Biology · Cape · Fauna · Flora (microbiology) · Geography · Invertebrate · Lichen · Peat · Permafrost · Sphagnum · Tundra · Vascular plant · Vegetation (pathology) · Climate change and permafrost · Ecology · Geology and Paleoclimatology Research · Indigenous Studies and Ecology · Paleontology

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