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Antarctic ecosystems in transition – life between stresses and opportunities

Antarctic ecosystems in transition – life between stresses and opportunities
Antarctic ecosystems in transition – life between stresses and opportunities

Important findings from the second decade of the 21st century on the impact of environmental change on biological processes in the Antarctic were synthesised by 26 international experts. Ten key messages emerged that have stakeholder-relevance and/or a high impact for the scientific community. They address (i) altered biogeochemical cycles, (ii) ocean acidification, (iii) climate change hotspots, (iv) unexpected dynamism in seabed-dwelling populations, (v) spatial range shifts, (vi) adaptation and thermal resilience, (vii) sea ice related biological fluctuations, (viii) pollution, (ix) endangered terrestrial endemism and (x) the discovery of unknown habitats. Most Antarctic biotas are exposed to multiple stresses and considered vulnerable to environmental change due to narrow tolerance ranges, rapid change, projected circumpolar impacts, low potential for timely genetic adaptation, and migration barriers. Important ecosystem functions, such as primary production and energy transfer between trophic levels, have already changed, and biodiversity patterns have shifted. A confidence assessment of the degree of ‘scientific understanding’ revealed an intermediate level for most of the more detailed sub-messages, indicating that process-oriented research has been successful in the past decade. Additional efforts are necessary, however, to achieve the level of robustness in scientific knowledge that is required to inform protection measures of the unique Antarctic terrestrial and marine ecosystems, and their contributions to global biodiversity and ecosystem services.

adaptation, benthic dynamism, biogeochemical cycles, climate change, invasion, new habitats, ocean acidification, primary production, range shifts, sea ice
1464-7931
798-821
Gutt, Julian
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Isla, Enrique
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Xavier, José C.
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Adams, Byron J.
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Ahn, In Young
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Cheng, C. H.Christina
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Colesie, Claudia
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Cummings, Vonda J.
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di Prisco, Guido
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Griffiths, Huw
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Hawes, Ian
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Hogg, Ian
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McIntyre, Trevor
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Meiners, Klaus M.
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Pearce, David A.
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Peck, Lloyd
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Piepenburg, Dieter
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Reisinger, Ryan R.
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Saba, Grace K.
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Schloss, Irene R.
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Signori, Camila N.
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Smith, Craig R.
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Vacchi, Marino
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Verde, Cinzia
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Wall, Diana H.
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Gutt, Julian
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Isla, Enrique
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Xavier, José C.
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Adams, Byron J.
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Ahn, In Young
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Cheng, C. H.Christina
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Colesie, Claudia
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Cummings, Vonda J.
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di Prisco, Guido
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Griffiths, Huw
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Hawes, Ian
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Hogg, Ian
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McIntyre, Trevor
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Meiners, Klaus M.
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Pearce, David A.
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Peck, Lloyd
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Piepenburg, Dieter
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Reisinger, Ryan R.
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Saba, Grace K.
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Schloss, Irene R.
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Signori, Camila N.
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Smith, Craig R.
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Vacchi, Marino
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Verde, Cinzia
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Wall, Diana H.
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Gutt, Julian, Isla, Enrique, Xavier, José C., Adams, Byron J., Ahn, In Young, Cheng, C. H.Christina, Colesie, Claudia, Cummings, Vonda J., di Prisco, Guido, Griffiths, Huw, Hawes, Ian, Hogg, Ian, McIntyre, Trevor, Meiners, Klaus M., Pearce, David A., Peck, Lloyd, Piepenburg, Dieter, Reisinger, Ryan R., Saba, Grace K., Schloss, Irene R., Signori, Camila N., Smith, Craig R., Vacchi, Marino, Verde, Cinzia and Wall, Diana H. (2021) Antarctic ecosystems in transition – life between stresses and opportunities. Biological Reviews, 96 (3), 798-821. (doi:10.1111/brv.12679).

Record type: Article

Abstract

Important findings from the second decade of the 21st century on the impact of environmental change on biological processes in the Antarctic were synthesised by 26 international experts. Ten key messages emerged that have stakeholder-relevance and/or a high impact for the scientific community. They address (i) altered biogeochemical cycles, (ii) ocean acidification, (iii) climate change hotspots, (iv) unexpected dynamism in seabed-dwelling populations, (v) spatial range shifts, (vi) adaptation and thermal resilience, (vii) sea ice related biological fluctuations, (viii) pollution, (ix) endangered terrestrial endemism and (x) the discovery of unknown habitats. Most Antarctic biotas are exposed to multiple stresses and considered vulnerable to environmental change due to narrow tolerance ranges, rapid change, projected circumpolar impacts, low potential for timely genetic adaptation, and migration barriers. Important ecosystem functions, such as primary production and energy transfer between trophic levels, have already changed, and biodiversity patterns have shifted. A confidence assessment of the degree of ‘scientific understanding’ revealed an intermediate level for most of the more detailed sub-messages, indicating that process-oriented research has been successful in the past decade. Additional efforts are necessary, however, to achieve the level of robustness in scientific knowledge that is required to inform protection measures of the unique Antarctic terrestrial and marine ecosystems, and their contributions to global biodiversity and ecosystem services.

Text
Biological Reviews - 2020 - Gutt - Antarctic ecosystems in transition life between stresses and opportunities - Version of Record
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More information

Accepted/In Press date: 10 December 2020
e-pub ahead of print date: 22 December 2020
Published date: June 2021
Keywords: adaptation, benthic dynamism, biogeochemical cycles, climate change, invasion, new habitats, ocean acidification, primary production, range shifts, sea ice

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 455516
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/455516
ISSN: 1464-7931
PURE UUID: bb650a32-ca2f-40ce-831a-31ddd8304711
ORCID for Ryan R. Reisinger: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0002-8933-6875

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Date deposited: 24 Mar 2022 17:33
Last modified: 06 Jun 2024 02:11

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Contributors

Author: Julian Gutt
Author: Enrique Isla
Author: José C. Xavier
Author: Byron J. Adams
Author: In Young Ahn
Author: C. H.Christina Cheng
Author: Claudia Colesie
Author: Vonda J. Cummings
Author: Guido di Prisco
Author: Huw Griffiths
Author: Ian Hawes
Author: Ian Hogg
Author: Trevor McIntyre
Author: Klaus M. Meiners
Author: David A. Pearce
Author: Lloyd Peck
Author: Dieter Piepenburg
Author: Grace K. Saba
Author: Irene R. Schloss
Author: Camila N. Signori
Author: Craig R. Smith
Author: Marino Vacchi
Author: Cinzia Verde
Author: Diana H. Wall

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