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Precautionary spatial protection to facilitate the scientific study of habitats and communities under ice shelves in the context of recent, rapid, regional climate change

TL;DR: In this article, the authors highlight why commercial fishing activities should not be permitted in these habitats, and suggest that areas under existing ice shelves in Subareas 88.3, 48.1 and 48.5 should be preserved and protected for scientific study.
Abstract: Recent rapid climate change is now well documented in the Antarctic, particularly in the Antarctic Peninsula region. One of the most evident signs of climate change has been ice-shelf collapse; overall, 87% of the Peninsula’s glaciers have retreated in recent decades. Further ice-shelf collapse will lead to the loss of existing marine habitats and to the creation of new habitats, with consequent changes in both ecological processes and in community structure. Habitats revealed by collapsed ice shelves therefore offer unique scientific opportunities. Given the complexity of the possible interactions, and the need to study these in the absence of any other human-induced perturbation, this paper highlights why commercial fishing activities should not be permitted in these habitats, and suggests that areas under existing ice shelves in Subareas 88.3, 48.1 and 48.5 should be preserved and protected for scientific study. The boundaries of these areas should henceforth remain fixed, even if the ice shelves recede or collapse in the future. Designation of areas under ice shelves as areas for scientific study would fulfil one of the recommendations made by the Antarctic Treaty Meeting of Experts in 2010.

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23 Mar 2010
TL;DR: In this article, the authors analyse les relations conceptuelles (imprecises) de la vulnerabilite, de la resilience and de la capacite d'adaptation aux changements climatiques selon le systeme socioecologique (socio-ecologigal systems -SES) afin de comprendre and anticiper le comportement des composantes sociales et ecologiques du systeme.
Abstract: Cet article analyse les relations conceptuelles (imprecises) de la vulnerabilite, de la resilience et de la capacite d’adaptation aux changements climatiques selon le systeme socio-ecologique (socio-ecologigal systems – SES) afin de comprendre et anticiper le comportement des composantes sociales et ecologiques du systeme. Une serie de questions est proposee par l’auteur sur la specification de ces termes afin de developper une structure conceptuelle qui inclut les dimensions naturelles et so...

1,133 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) has managed the ecosystems of the high seas of the Southern Ocean since 1982 as discussed by the authors, and is seen as an example of best practice in managing marine resources in international waters.

19 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The assessment identifies South Georgia and sub-Antarctic islands in the Indian Ocean as being the most critical data gaps for this species and suggests that the global population has increased by approximately 11% since 2013, with even greater increases along the WAP.
Abstract: Though climate change is widely known to negatively affect the distribution and abundance of many species, few studies have focused on species that may benefit. Gentoo Penguin (Pygoscelis papua) populations have grown along the Western Antarctic Peninsula (WAP), a region accounting for ~ 30% of their global population. These trends of population growth in Gentoo Penguins are in stark contrast to those of Adelie and Chinstrap Penguins, which have experienced considerable population declines along the WAP attributed to environmental changes. The recent discovery of previously unknown Gentoo Penguin colonies along the WAP and evidence for southern range expansion since the last global assessment in 2013 motivates this review of the abundance and distribution of this species. We compiled and collated all available recent data for every known Gentoo Penguin colony in the world and report on previously unknown Gentoo Penguin colonies along the Northwestern section of the WAP. We estimate the global population of Gentoo Penguins to be 432,144 (95th CI 338,059 – 534,114) breeding pairs, with approximately 364,359 (95th CI 324,052 – 405,132) breeding pairs (85% of the population) living in the Atlantic sector. Our estimates suggest that the global population has increased by approximately 11% since 2013, with even greater increases (23%) along the WAP. The Falkland Islands population, which comprises 30% of the global population, has remained stable, though only a subset of colonies have been surveyed since the last comprehensive survey in 2010. Our assessment identifies South Georgia and sub-Antarctic islands in the Indian Ocean as being the most critical data gaps for this species.

18 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors evaluate the extent to which these recommendations have been implemented in the global and regional legal frameworks, the flexibility and resilience to tackle climate change of the provisions can be assessed.

17 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) is aware of the urgent need to develop climate-responsive options within its ecosystem approach to management.

14 citations

References
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Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Two decapod crustacean larval morphotypes belonging to the Anomura and Brachyura were found for the first time in Antarctic waters, and the occurrence of the present larval forms is considered as a possible intrusion of Subantarctic water masses into the Antarctic environment.
Abstract: Two decapod crustacean larval morphotypes belonging to the Anomura and Brachyura were found for the first time in Antarctic waters. Nine specimens were obtained from qualitative plankton hauls in Maxwell Bay (Bransfield Strait) (62°14'33S; 58°43'81W) off King George Island, Antarctic Peninsula. The anomuran morphotype belonged to the Hippidae, and apparently to the genus Emerita, whereas the brachyuran representative was assigned to the genus Pinnotheres (Pinnotheridae). At present, species determination is not possible due to lack of knowledge of larval morphology in both families. Adult forms of these reptant decapods are not known from Antarctic waters; the occurrence of the present larval forms is considered as a possible intrusion of Subantarctic water masses into the Antarctic environment. This hypothesis is supported by the additional presence of the copepod genus Acartia in the same sample material, which is exclusively known from Subantarctic waters.

92 citations


"Precautionary spatial protection to..." refers background in this paper

  • ...Potentially, species that have their southernmost distribution in the subAntarctic and which may be able to extend their range further to the south, may be possible invaders to these new habitats (Aronson et al., 2007; Thatje and Fuentes, 2003; Griffiths et al., 2013)....

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Journal ArticleDOI
05 Feb 2009-PLOS ONE
TL;DR: Rapid warming in the Southern Ocean is now removing the physiological barriers to shell-breaking predators, and crabs are returning to the Antarctic Peninsula, and over the coming decades to centuries, it is predicted a rapid reversal of the Eocene trends.
Abstract: BACKGROUND As Earth warms, temperate and subpolar marine species will increasingly shift their geographic ranges poleward. The endemic shelf fauna of Antarctica is especially vulnerable to climate-mediated biological invasions because cold temperatures currently exclude the durophagous (shell-breaking) predators that structure shallow-benthic communities elsewhere. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS We used the Eocene fossil record from Seymour Island, Antarctic Peninsula, to project specifically how global warming will reorganize the nearshore benthos of Antarctica. A long-term cooling trend, which began with a sharp temperature drop approximately 41 Ma (million years ago), eliminated durophagous predators-teleosts (modern bony fish), decapod crustaceans (crabs and lobsters) and almost all neoselachian elasmobranchs (modern sharks and rays)-from Antarctic nearshore waters after the Eocene. Even prior to those extinctions, durophagous predators became less active as coastal sea temperatures declined from 41 Ma to the end of the Eocene, approximately 33.5 Ma. In response, dense populations of suspension-feeding ophiuroids and crinoids abruptly appeared. Dense aggregations of brachiopods transcended the cooling event with no apparent change in predation pressure, nor were there changes in the frequency of shell-drilling predation on venerid bivalves. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE Rapid warming in the Southern Ocean is now removing the physiological barriers to shell-breaking predators, and crabs are returning to the Antarctic Peninsula. Over the coming decades to centuries, we predict a rapid reversal of the Eocene trends. Increasing predation will reduce or eliminate extant dense populations of suspension-feeding echinoderms from nearshore habitats along the Peninsula while brachiopods will continue to form large populations, and the intensity of shell-drilling predation on infaunal bivalves will not change appreciably. In time the ecological effects of global warming could spread to other portions of the Antarctic coast. The differential responses of faunal components will reduce the endemic character of Antarctic subtidal communities, homogenizing them with nearshore communities at lower latitudes.

70 citations


"Precautionary spatial protection to..." refers background in this paper

  • ...In addition, altered ecosystem dynamics may also allow non-native species to invade, as ocean warming potentially removes physiological barriers that have previously led to the isolation of the Antarctic benthos (Clarke et al., 2004; Barnes and Peck, 2008; Aronson et al., 2009; Smith et al., 2011)....

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Journal ArticleDOI
01 Feb 1994-PALAIOS
TL;DR: The deep-sea floor is traditionally perceived as a habitat where low food flux and sluggish bottom currents force life to proceed at slow, steady rates as discussed by the authors, however, a number of recent discoveries indicate that endogenous disturbances may be relatively frequent, and that pulses of food reach the seafloor from the upper ocean.
Abstract: The deep-sea floor is traditionally perceived as a habitat where low food flux and sluggish bottom currents force life to proceed at slow, steady rates. In this view, benthic community structure is controlled by equilibrium processes, such as extreme levels of habitat partitioning, made possible by remarkable ecosystem stability. A number of recent discoveries indicate, however, that endogenous disturbances may be relatively frequent, and that pulses of food reach the seafloor from the upper ocean. The biological processes driven by these events can be highly variable in space and time, exhibiting disequilibrium dynamics

67 citations


"Precautionary spatial protection to..." refers background in this paper

  • ...A period of 10 years is insufficient time to understand how benthic colonisation might proceed, even in temperate regions (Smith, 1994; Grassel and Morse-Porteous, 1987)....

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Journal ArticleDOI
27 Feb 2013-PLOS ONE
TL;DR: A nearly 50-year study in which a sudden shift in the population dynamics of an ecologically important, structure-forming hexactinellid sponge, Anoxycalyx joubini was observed, and a region-wide shift in phytoplankton productivity driven by the calving of a massive iceberg is reported.
Abstract: Polar ecosystems are sensitive to climate forcing, and we often lack baselines to evaluate changes. Here we report a nearly 50-year study in which a sudden shift in the population dynamics of an ecologically important, structure-forming hexactinellid sponge, Anoxycalyx joubini was observed. This is the largest Antarctic sponge, with individuals growing over two meters tall. In order to investigate life history characteristics of Antarctic marine invertebrates, artificial substrata were deployed at a number of sites in the southern portion of the Ross Sea between 1967 and 1975. Over a 22-year period, no growth or settlement was recorded for A. joubini on these substrata; however, in 2004 and 2010, A. joubini was observed to have settled and grown to large sizes on some but not all artificial substrata. This single settlement and growth event correlates with a region-wide shift in phytoplankton productivity driven by the calving of a massive iceberg. We also report almost complete mortality of large sponges followed over 40 years. Given our warming global climate, similar system-wide changes are expected in the future.

64 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Current measurements indicated a northward flow between the Larsen B and Larsen A, suggesting that a major physical forcing on benthic population development comes from the South, and demonstrate that Antarctic macrobenthic populations can exhibit dramatic population dynamics.
Abstract: The aim of this study was to contribute to a general understanding of the response of the Antarctic macrobenthos to environmental variability and climate-induced changes. The change in population size of selected macrobenthic organisms was investigated in the Larsen A area east of the Antarctic Peninsula in 2007 and 2011 using ROV-based imaging methods. The results were complemented by data from the Larsen B collected in 2007 to allow a conceptual reconstruction of the environment-driven changes before the period of investigation. Both Larsen areas are characterised by ice-shelf disintegration in 1995 and 2002, respectively, as well as high inter-annual variability in sea-ice cover and oceanographic conditions. In 2007 one ascidian species, Molgula pedunculata, was abundant north and south of the stripe of remaining ice shelf between Larsen A and B. Population densities decreased drastically in the Larsen A between 2007 and 2011, coincident with the decrease in Corella eumyota, another ascidian. Among the ophiuroids, the population of deposit feeders increased, while suspension feeders halved their abundance. Current measurements indicated a northward flow between the Larsen B and Larsen A, suggesting that a major physical forcing on benthic population development comes from the South. The results demonstrate that Antarctic macrobenthic populations can exhibit dramatic population dynamics. Analyses of sea-ice dynamics, salinity, temperature and surprisingly ice-shelf disintegration history, however, did not provide any clear evidence for environmental drivers underlying the apparent changes.

64 citations


"Precautionary spatial protection to..." refers background in this paper

  • ...However, these communities are also potentially much more dynamic than so far assumed and can show surprising rates of change, even over relatively short time periods (Gutt et al., 2010, 2013; Dayton et al., 2013)....

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  • ...…2002) and ocean acidification (Bednaršek et al., 2012), reductions in the extent and timing of seasonal sea-ice (Stammerjohn et al., 2008) and the retreat and collapse of ice shelves, glaciers and ice tongues (Cook and Vaughan, 2010; Cook et al., 2005; Gutt et al., 2010, 2013; Rignot et al., 2013)....

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  • ...The positions of the Larsen A and Larsen B iceshelf fronts from the ADD are shown in Figure 1(b); however, ship-based observations in these areas (Gutt et al., 2013) highlight how dynamic the movement of ice-shelf fronts can be....

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  • ...The studies described by Gutt et al. (2013) suggest that the compilation of information in the ADD might sometimes lag behind observations on the ground....

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  • ...…vehicles is now feasible and is already providing extensive new evidence about changes in benthic community structure in areas where ice shelves have collapsed in the past, including on changes in the population size of selected macrobenthic organisms (e.g. Gutt et al., 2013; Dayton et al., 2013)....

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