ERETMOPTERA MURPHYI

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Context

• The invasion of a tiny insect is altering Antarctica’s soil & its ecosystem. The other fear is that it can spread through other islands as it can survive in water.

Details

Location

• Antarctica’s Signy Island, half of which is always covered in ice, has been dealing with a flightless midge, for years.

Impact

• Eretmoptera murphyi feasts on dead organic matter and has led to faster plant decomposition, thus increasing the soil nitrate levels by three-five times compared to places on the island where the midge is absent and only native invertebrate species live. 

About the insect

• It is a native of South Georgia, a sub-Antarctic island, and was accidentally introduced to Signy in the 1960s during a botany experiment.
• It’s proliferation became apparent in the 1980s. 

How they spread?

• Experts have proposed some theories for the cause of the spread of murphyi, the most prominent one being through humans.
• It is possible they clung to the soles of researchers and tourists who walked over their colonies and travelled longer distances than they could have by any other means. 
• The other fear is that it can spread through other islands as it can survive in water. 

https://www.downtoearth.org.in/news/wildlife-biodiversity/how-the-invasion-of-a-tiny-insect-is-altering-antarctica-s-soil-its-ecosystem-89266