1. Climate change and Southern Ocean ecosystems I: how changes in physical habitats directly affect marine biota
- Author
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Philippe Ziegler, Philip W. Boyd, Christophe Barbraud, Stuart Corney, Andrew J. Constable, Kate Richerson, Robert A. Massom, Daniel P. Costa, Julian Gutt, Nobuo Kokubun, Stephen Nicol, Mary-Anne Lea, Karen J. Westwood, Keith Reid, Dieter Wolf-Gladrow, Eileen E. Hofmann, Phil Trathan, Takahiro Iida, So Kawaguchi, Kerrie M. Swadling, Eugene J. Murphy, Kevin R. Arrigo, Walker O. Smith, Kunio T. Takahashi, Azwianewi B. Makhado, David K. A. Barnes, Hugh W. Ducklow, Philippe Koubbi, Nadine M. Johnston, Sarah Jacob, Michael D. Sumner, Graham Hosie, Michael P. Meredith, José C. Xavier, Andrew T. Davidson, Dirk Welsford, Klaus M Meiners, Nathaniel L. Bindoff, Louise Emmerson, Colin Southwell, Stephen R. Rintoul, Mitsuo Fukuchi, Jonathon S. Stark, Barbara Wienecke, Henri Weimerskirch, Angelika Brandt, Mark A. Hindell, Martin J. Riddle, Jessica Melbourne-Thomas, Simon W. Wright, Centre d'études biologiques de Chizé (CEBC), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Biocenter Grindel and Zoological Museum, University of Hamburg, Australian Antarctic Division (AAD), Australian Government, Department of the Environment and Energy, National Institute of Polar Research [Tokyo] (NiPR), Alfred-Wegener-Institut, Helmholtz-Zentrum für Polar- und Meeresforschung (AWI), Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies [Horbat] (IMAS), University of Tasmania [Hobart, Australia] (UTAS), Economics, and University of Sussex
- Subjects
Aquatic Organisms ,Krill ,Climate Change ,Oceans and Seas ,Climate change ,Antarctic Regions ,ocean acidification ,Wind ,Physical oceanography ,Sea ice ,Water Movements ,Environmental Chemistry ,Marine ecosystem ,Ice Cover ,14. Life underwater ,marine ecosystems ,marine mammals ,Ecosystem ,General Environmental Science ,Global and Planetary Change ,geography ,sea-ice ,geography.geographical_feature_category ,Ecology ,biology ,plankton ,Marine habitats ,benthos ,Ocean acidification ,15. Life on land ,biology.organism_classification ,Biota ,penguins ,Oceanography ,Antarctic krill ,13. Climate action ,[SDE]Environmental Sciences ,Environmental science ,Antarctica ,krill - Abstract
International audience; Antarctic and Southern Ocean (ASO) marine ecosystems have been changing for at least the last 30 years, including in response to increasing ocean temperatures and changes in the extent and seasonality of sea-ice; the magnitude and direction of these changes differ between regions around Antarctica that could see populations of the same species changing differently in different regions. This paper reviews current and expected changes in ASO physical habitats in response to climate change. It then reviews how these changes may impact the autecology of marine biota of this polar region: microbes, zooplankton, salps, Antarctic krill, fish, cephalopods, marine mammals, seabirds, and benthos. The general prognosis for ASO marine habitats is for an overall warming and freshening, strengthening of westerly winds, with a potential pole-ward movement of those winds and the frontal systems, and an increase in ocean eddy activity. Many habitat parameters will have regionally specific changes, particularly relating to sea-ice characteristics and seasonal dynamics. Lower trophic levels are expected to move south as the ocean conditions in which they are currently found move pole-ward. For Antarctic krill and finfish, the latitudinal breadth of their range will depend on their tolerance of warming oceans and changes to productivity. Ocean acidification is a concern not only for calcifying organisms, but also for crustaceans such as Antarctic krill; it is also likely to be the most important change in benthic habitats over the coming century. For marine mammals and birds, the expected changes primarily relate to their flexibility in moving to alternative locations for food and the energetic cost of longer or more complex foraging trips for those that are bound to breeding colonies. Few species are sufficiently well studied to make comprehensive species-specific vulnerability assessments possible. Priorities for future work are discussed. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
- Published
- 2013
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