An Antarctic hot spot for fungi at Shackleton's historic hut on Cape Royds.

The historic expedition huts located in the Ross Sea Region of the Antarctic and the thousands of artifacts left behind by the early explorers represent important cultural heritage from the "Heroic Era" of Polar exploration. The hut at Cape Royds built by Ernest Shackleton and members of the 1907-1908 British Antarctic Expedition has survived the extreme Antarctic environment for over 100 years, but recent studies have shown many forms of deterioration are causing serious problems, and microbial degradation is evident in the historic wood. Conservation work to reduce moisture at the hut required removal of fodder, wood, and many different types of organic materials from the stables area on the north side of the structure allowing large numbers of samples to be obtained for these investigations.