ALIEN SPECIES ON ANTARTICA (Syllabus: GS Paper 3 – Env and Eco)

Context: Alien species hitching rides on plastic debris are posing a significant threat to Antarctica's fragile marine ecosystem. These invasive species could disrupt the region's unique biodiversity and environmental balance.

Alien Species

• About: These are defined by the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) as species whose introduction and/or spread outside their natural past or present distribution threatens biological diversity.
• Scope: IAS encompass animals, plants, fungi, and microorganisms, affecting various ecosystems.
• Characteristics: According to the CBD, IAS exhibit the traits of "arrive, survive, and thrive," needing introduction, native food resources, fast reproduction, and outcompeting native species.
• Legal Definition in India: India's Wildlife Protection Act, 1972 (amended in 2022), defines IAS more narrowly as species not native to India, whose introduction or spread may threaten wildlife or its habitat.

Key Points of Study

• High Vulnerability: The Antarctic Peninsula is the most susceptible region to non-native species due to natural oceanic dispersal, ship traffic, and rapid climate warming.
• Barrier to Establishment: Antarctica's harsh environmental conditions typically prevent many species from establishing; however, rising temperatures and new ice-free areas are lowering these natural barriers.
• Human Impact: The growing human presence and activities in the region, including increased shipping, further elevate the risk of non-native species reaching and thriving in Antarctic ecosystems.

Antarctica

• About: The world’s southernmost and fifth largest continent. Its landmass is almost wholly covered by a vast ice sheet. 
• No human: Unique continent does not have human settlement.                                                                                 
• Coldest: It is also the world’s highest, driest, windiest, coldest, and iciest continent. 
• Size: Antarctica is about 14.2 million square km in size.
• Prohibited activates: Military activity, mining, nuclear explosions, and nuclear waste.
• Regulation: It is governed by about 30 countries, all of which are parties of the 1959 Antarctic Treaty System.