In the analyzed material there were also diaspores of other invasive species, for example: Cirsium arvense and Galinsoga parviflora (www.​cbd.​int/​invasive/​database.​shtml). The range of the diaspores introduced by expeditions is very wide. Most of them seem not to create a real threat for the Antarctic ecosystem, like for example schizocarps

of Galium aparine adopted to zoochory or antropochory, or cultivated species like Linum usitatissimum and Papaver somniferum. Seeds of the two last-named species are commonly used for pastries, and could be transported with bread. These are expected to be unviable after baking. But some species numerously represented in the collected material diasporas, like these from Asteraceae family, which are adopted to anemochory, may disperse relatively easily by strong Antarctic winds. If they have the ecophysiological features required for survival in the polar environment, they BMS345541 datasheet could create a potential threat. The way of SU5402 reproduction is also very important in the potential invasiveness of species in the Antarctic. Species that

reproduce vegetatively or are self-pollinated or anemophilous have a better chance to establish a breeding population than entomophilus species, due to the fact that in the whole Antarctic indigenous free-living entomofauna is extremely rare, with the lack of groups of pollinating insects. Only two native species of Diptera (Chironomidae) are found on the western shore of the Antarctic Peninsula and the associated archipelagos (Vernon et al. 1998) Parochlus steinenii and Belgica antarctica (Usher and Edwards 1985) and two non-native terrestrial invertebrates: Eretmoptera

murphyi Schaeffer and Christensenidrilus blocki Dozsa-Farkas and Convey (Hughes and Worland 2010) found on Signy Station (South Orkney Islands). But according to our experience, through supply of the research stations a wide range of alien invertebrates can be accidentally transported in viable state and ultimately introduced to the Antarctic (Chwedorzewska in prep.). So, the Astemizole two functional groups of alien organisms reached this region simultaneously: entomophilus plants and pollinator insects, which could potentially create a new synergy. On the local scale it already happens in the sub-Antarctic, where two KU-57788 purchase representatives of a new ecological functional group—pollinating insects: Eristalis croceimaculata Jacobs (Diptera: Syrphidae) and Calliphora vicina Robineau-Desvoidy (Diptera: Calliphoridae) were established (Convey et al. 2010). The range of the species found in our studies was similar to that found by Lee and Chown (2009b) in connection with materials required to construct Halley VI Antarctic Station (Dronning Maud Land) and by Chown et al. (2012a). A high proportion of species were from the taxa including globally invasive species, the most represented families were Poaceae and Asteraceae (Lee and Chown 2009b).