MNA (Section of Genoa) and NIWA Invertebrate Collection - Ross Sea Tanaidacea

Distribution records of Amphipoda based on the collection stored at the Italian National Antarctic Museum (MNA) is an occurrence type dataset published by Italian National Antarctic Museum (MNA, Section of Genoa). This dataset provides occurrence information for Amphipoda specimens spanning 25 years of scientific research and dating back to 1995. The distributional information provided here represents the specimens stored at the Italian National Antarctic Museum (MNA) belonging to the order Amphipoda and acquired in the context of 23 different research projects that took place during 16 scientific polar expeditions conducted in Antarctica. It represents an additional resource documenting the distribution of Antarctic Amphipoda in the Southern Ocean, from the Antarctic Peninsula to the Ross Sea, focusing on the Terra Nova Bay area. This dataset reports a total of 456 distributional occurrences of Amphipoda specimens, collected during 117 different sampling events, and corresponding to 24 families, 27 genera and 34 different species. Out of the total occurrences reported, 217 are identified to the species level, 72 to the genus and 75 to the family level.

Antarctic and SubAntarctic Ophiuroidea - MNA (Section of Genoa)

We describe the diversity of marine copepods of Terra Nova Bay (TNB) sampled by 25 μm filters installed in the desalination unit (DU) of the Italian research station "Mario Zucchelli". The opening of the intake pipe of the DU is positioned at a depth of 4 meters and allowed a total of 2,116 specimens to be sampled and recognized. In addition, new occurrence records of copepod genera and species are reported in the same zone. We provide an overview of the marine copepods diversity reported for TNB. The total 2,116 individuals correspond to 14 genera and 15 species and are represented by 167 occurrence records in this dataset. Around 52% of the total number of species are new records for the TNB area are reported in this dataset.

Distribution records of sea cucumbers (Echinodermata, Holothuroidea) based on the collection stored at the Italian National Antarctic Museum (MNA, section of Genoa) is an occurrence type dataset published by Italian National Antarctic Museum (MNA). The dataset comprises a total of 328 distributional records, each one corresponding to a voucher specimen stored at the Italian National Antarctic Museum (MNA) – Genoa section. These records originate from the sampling activities performed in the context of eleven different research projects that took place during 11 scientific polar expeditions conducted in the Ross Sea and the Antarctic Peninsula. In total, 89 different sampling events were conducted using a variety of sampling instruments and methodologies.

Culture Collection of Fungi From Extreme Environments (CCFEE) Tuscia Associated Section The Mycological Section of the MNA was founded in 2006 at the University of Tuscia, where the group of Systematic Botany and Mycology had established a collection of Antarctic microfungi. Since that time, the collection has been constantly implemented and today includes about 277 fungal strains belonging to 55 species. One of the main aim pursued by the CCFEE is the conservation of rock specimens, colonized by cryptoendolithic fungi and lichens, collected in the framework of PNRA expeditions. Part of the mission includes the study and valorisation of microfungi isolated from various types of Antarctic samples, including soil, mosses and, above all, rocks collected over about 30 years of Antarctic researches. Rocks are preserved at –20 °C and the cultures on slant agar, frozen form at – 80 °C; yeasts are freeze-dried. Samples curated at CCFEE are indicated by the code MNA-CCFEE-progressive in the database.

This dataset gathers distributional data on planktonic copepods (Crustacea, Copepoda) collected in the framework of the III, V and X Expeditions of the Italian National Antarctic Program (PNRA) held in the western Ross Sea from 1987 to 1995. Sampling was conducted with BIONESS and WP2 net in 94 different sampling stations, mainly distributed in the Terra Nova Bay area, at the depth of 0-1000 meters. In terms of spatial coverage, this dataset covers 6027 distributional records that are also reported in terms of original abundance data (ind/m3) to allow a possible modelization of species distributions thanks to the availability of environmental variables that were collected together with the biological samples. The total of distributional records here reported has two different origins: 5306 are represented by bibliographic records obtained by digitizing the original data reports, whereas 721 correspond to physical museum vouchers, now curated by the Italian National Antarctic Museum (MNA, Section of Genoa). This group of museum samples comprises 8225 individual specimens, that were identified to the lowest possible taxonomic level. They belong to 4 orders, 25 families, 52 genera and 82 species, out of which 17 could be only determined at the genus level

Permafrost hosts a potentially large pool of microorganisms, which is supposed to be the only life forms known to have retained viability over geological time. Thawing of the permafrost renews their physiological activity and exposes ancient life to modern ecosystems (Gilichinsky et al, 2008). The adaptation mechanisms of microorganisms, at species or population level, make them susceptible to extreme environmental conditions. The survival of microorganisms in permafrost raises the question of what constitutes the limit for microbial life (Steven et al., 2006; Wagner 2008).

We present a data set on Antarctic biodiversity for the phylum Rotifera, providing taxonomic information, geographic distribution, location, and habitat. The data set gathers all the published literature about rotifers found and identified across the Continental, Maritime, and Subantarctic biogeographic regions of Antarctica. A total of 1422 records of rotifers in Antarctica found from 1907 to 2018 is reported, with information on taxonomic hierarchies, updated nomenclature, geographic information, geographic coordinates, and type of habitat. All taxa belonging to Rotifera were considered. In particular, we gathered data from records at the species, genus, family, class (Bdelloidea, Monogononta, Seisonacea), and phylum (Rotifera) level (Fontaneto & De Smet 2015)

Information regarding the molluscs in this dataset is based on the Rauschert dredge samples collected during the Latitudinal Gradient Program (LGP) on board the R/V “Italica” in the Ross Sea (Antarctica) in the austral summer 2004, in the framework of the 19th PNRA Antarctic expedition. The study area was the continental shelf along the latitudinal transect comprised between Cape Adare (~71°S) and Terra Nova Bay (~75°S). On the whole,eighteen stations, comprised between 84 and 515m of depth, were sampled The present dataset focus on six molluscs classes (Mollusca: Gastropoda, Bivalvia, Monoplacophora, Aplacophora, Polyplacophora and Scaphopoda). In total 8,359 specimens have been collected belonging to 161 species and corresponding to 505 species distributional records. Of these, in order of abundance, 5,965 specimens were Gastropoda (accounting for 113 species), 1,323 were Bivalvia (accounting for 36 species), 949 were Aplacophora (accounting for 7 species), 74 specimens were Scaphopoda (3 species), 38 were Monoplacophora (1 species) and, finally, 10 specimens were Polyplacophora (1 species). This data set represent the first large-scale survey of benthic micromolluscs for the area and provides important information about the distribution of several species which have been seldom or never recorded before in the Ross Sea.