Terrestrial Biodiversity

Evaluation of deterioration of historic huts & biodiversity of terrestrial microorganisms

Principal Investigator: Roberta Farrell
Organisation: Waikato University

The extreme polar environment has protected many of the wooden huts and artefacts of the Heroic Period of exploration from rapid decay but they are not free from deterioration. This programme has three objectives; first, to identify the cause of biological and non-biological deterioration present in the Historic Huts and artefacts of the Ross Dependency; second, to investigate the biodiversity of the biological organisms in the Historic Hut areas, especially fungi and bacteria; and third, to test conservationally acceptable materials for their long-term preservation.

Recent publications:
Held et. al. Environmental factors influencing microbial growth inside the historic expedition huts of Ross Island, Antarctica. International biodeterioration and biodegredation 55: 45-53. 2005.

Blanchette, R.A. et al. Environmental pollutants from the Scott and Shackleton expeditions during the ‘Heroic Age’ of Antarctic exploration. Polar record 40(213): 143-151, 2004. View Abstract.

Blanchette, R.A. et al. Wood-destroying soft rot fungi in the historic expedition huts of Antarctica. Applied and environmental microbiology 70(3): 1328-1335, 2004. View Abstract.