THE TERRESTRIAL ARTHROPODS OF SOR-RONDANE IN EASTERN DRONNING-MAUD-LAND, ANTARCTICA, WITH BIOGEOGRAPHICAL NOTES

Five species of terrestrial arthropods have been found in Sor Rondane inland nunataks of eastern Dronning Maud Land, Antarctica, so far almost a biologically unexplored region. These arthropods comprised one collembolan and four mite species (one oribatid mite and three prostigmatic mite). Their occurrence was restricted to the nunataks in the central and western parts of the region. The same was also observed for the visible:vegetation, such as algae and mosses, near nesting-bird colonies. The maximum recorded population density was 859 arthropods/100 ml soil at the nest of snow petrel at Tanngarden, in the northwestern part of the region. The arthropod fauna of Sor Rondane is very similar to that of central Dronning Maud Land, particularly in Gjelsvikfjella and Muhlich-Hofmannfjella. The fauna is, however, different from that of the-eastern region, e.g. at Syowa Station and Enderby Land. Different species of collembolans and oribatid mites occur at locations separated by the Lutzow-Holm Bay and Shirase Glaciers, where-as prostigmatic mites do not show such a difference.