Antarctic Peninsula, Antarctica Photograph by NOAA/ Harley D. Nygren   Antarctica: West of the Transantarctic Mountains, including the Antarctic Peninsula Tundra   442,700 square miles (1,146,500 square kilometers) -- about four times the size of Nevada Relatively Stable/Intact

· Summer Hot Spot
· Special Features
· Did You Know?
· Wild Side
· Cause for Concern
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Summer Hot Spot

During the summer months, the mosses and lichens that cover much of the Marielandia Antarctic Tundra lie snow-free and exposed to the polar sun. The soft cushion of plants seems inviting enough to lie on, but this is the Antarctic Peninsula, and even at mid-day in the summer, temperatures may reach only a few degrees above freezing. Not only that, but you might have to share your sunning spot with a bunch of noisy seals and penguins.

Special Features

Almost all of the biodiversity found in the Marielandia Antarctic Tundra depends on the resources of the sea. That’s because almost nothing grows on land except for mosses, lichens, and algae. Compared to the rest of Antarctica, which is completely covered in ice all year long, this ecoregion is more like a botanical garden.

	The male emperor penguin incubates his eggs while holding them on top of his feet for over two months during the height of the Antarctic winter, while his mate returns to the sea for food.

Wild Side

A variety of seals can be found in the Marielandia Antarctic Tundra, including leopard seals, Weddell seals, southern elephant seals, and crabeater seals. The ecoregion is also home to Adelie, chinstrap, and macaroni penguins. Interestingly, the crabeater seal doesn’t eat crabs at all, but rather gets its meals from filtering krill from the water. And, as you might have guessed, the macaroni penguin doesn’t feast on pasta every night, but instead makes its meals from fish and squid. Its name comes from feathers on its head that suggest the fancy hats worn in the late 17^th and 18^th century by English dandies called macaronis.

Cause for Concern

Even though this ecoregion is remote, there are a variety of potential human impacts on its biodiversity. Global warming threatens to melt large amounts of the ice that makes up most of the Antarctic. The depletion of the ozone layer above Antarctica exposes the biodiversity below with increasing levels of solar radiation. And as tourism and scientific expeditions to the area grow, pollution could also pose a problem.

For more information on this ecoregion, go to the World Wildlife Fund Scientific Report.