Alien species could damage Antarctic ecosystems

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Alien species could damage Antarctic ecosystems
By Monica Heger, OurAmazingPlanet Contributor / June 16, 2010

Alien species could damage Antarctic ecosystems - CSMonitor.com
excerpt from above:

A tiny fly not native to Antarctica has proven it can not only withstand the icy polar climate, but thrive within it. This insect invader is just one of many foreign species that have reached several islands around Antarctica, with possible consequences for the native flora and fauna.

Scientists with the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) have discovered that a species of fly originally from South Georgia, the chironomid midge, has flourished since its accidental introduction to Signy Island in the Antarctic in the 1960s. It has expanded to more than 650 feet (200 meters) away from its original site, and in some areas is more numerous than any of the native insects...