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.

Isopoda Latreille, 1816 is an order that consists of a vast number of taxa, living and thriving in land, sea, fresh- and groundwater. Isopods in the Southern Ocean are highly speciose and well-represented from the shelf to deep-sea zones. Biogeographical data regarding Ross Sea isopods are presented here, examining the National Antarctic Museum (MNA) Genoa section samples belonging to 15 Antarctic Expeditions. A total of 279 MNA samples were identified, resulting in 53 accepted species distributed in 24 families and 48 genera. From this identification, 15 species are considered new records for the Ross Sea area. GBIF and OBIS (Ocean Biodiversity Information System) (https://obis.org) databases, and bibliographic research were used as validation to the eventually new records for the Ross Sea area. This dataset describes the abundance and distribution of Isopoda of the 15 antarctic campaigns: PNRA Expedition Xth (1994/95), XIth (1995/96), XIIIth (1997/98), XIVth (1998/99), XVIIth (2001/02), XIXth (2003/04), XXVth (2009/10), XXVIIth (2011/12), XXVIIIth (2012/13), XXIXth (2013/14), XXXIIth (2016/17), XXXIVth (2018/19), and NSF (National Science Foundation) "Icefish04", and BAS (British Antarctic Survey) Expedition JR15005 "SO-AntEco" and JR18003 "ICEBERGS2". at Southern Ocean between 23 January 1995 and 05 December 2018.

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)

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.

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

The Italian Collection of Antarctic Bacteria (CIBAN) was established in 1989 at the Department of Chemical, Biological, Pharmaceutical and Environmental Sciences of the University of Messina. CIBAN is one of the few collections in the world dedicated to Antarctic bacteria and, since its inception, it has grown to include 515 cold-adapted strains belonging to 69 Genera. Bacteria were extracted from seawater, sediment, and benthic organisms, mainly from the Terra Nova Bay marine area in East Antarctica. CIBAN also hosts bacterial isolates from the continent. Quality control: Strains are routinely streaked on agar plates every six months to control purity and viability. Method steps: All cultures are maintained in duplicate on agar slants at 4 °C. Antarctic strains are also preserved by freezing cell suspensions at – 80 °C in liquid broth to which 20% glycerol is added.

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.

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.

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